Best Online Kinesiology Degrees (2026)

Cost and flexibility carry this one to third of 46 bachelor's programs. Louisiana at Lafayette charges a flat $380 per credit with no out-of-state fees, and 8-week courses start five times a year. Pick the Health Promotion and Wellness concentration if you want CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist) exam prep. No CAAHEP or CASCE accreditation is listed, which holds the credential score at 5.

Track record is the strongest part of Texas Tech's score, a perfect 10, and outcomes adds an 8.5. The online degree is asynchronous with 8-week courses and multiple start dates. Tuition runs $415 to $500 per credit hour depending on residency. The page names physical therapy, occupational therapy and strength and conditioning as paths it prepares you for.

Price and the military rate do the work here. New Mexico State charges every online student $395.40 per credit hour, and active military pay $250. New Mexico residents earning a first bachelor's may qualify for the state Opportunity Scholarship, which can cover up to 100% of tuition and required course fees. The Applied Exercise Science concentration can fold in physical therapy prerequisites.

California Baptist earns a perfect 10 for flexibility: asynchronous courses, 8-week sessions, six starts a year and up to 100 units of transfer credit. Cost is the drag. The general rate is $541 per unit, though military Tuition Assistance drops to $250 per unit. Coursework follows NSCA and ACSM standards, and the school says it prepares you to sit for each exam.

Program depth is where North Dakota scores best, 9 of 10. Four concentrations (Teacher Education, Coaching and Sports Management, Kinesiology Applications, Allied Health), a 10-credit internship and placement partners like the YMCA and UND Athletics fill it out. The Allied Health stream covers prerequisites for physical therapy, occupational therapy or chiropractic. Active-duty students using Federal Tuition Assistance pay $250 per credit.

An outcomes score of 9 out of 10 lifts Kansas State to twelfth of 46, since its graduation rate and earnings data beat most of the field. Online tuition is $435.71 per credit for residents and nonresidents alike, before college and department fees. You're taught by on-campus K-State professors, and the career list names physical therapy, occupational therapy and physician assistant paths.

Oregon State ranks 16th of 46 despite a cost score of 2, because outcomes (8.8) and track record (8.8) are strong. At $409 per quarter credit across 180 credits, tuition totals $73,620, with no nonresident surcharge. Depth adds an honors thesis option, 3 required experiential learning credits, and preparation for ACSM and NSCA certifications.

This one fits a narrow reader, and that's why it sits 17th of 46. Only holders of an Associate of Applied Science or Technology degree can apply, with a 2.0 cumulative GPA. In return, everyone pays the in-state rate of $452 per credit plus a $25 instructional support fee, courses are asynchronous, and up to 60 hours transfer in.

Arizona State's track record score is a perfect 10, and an outcomes score of 8.1 backs it up, which offsets a cost score of 2.4. Tuition is listed at $580 per credit hour plus program fees. Classes run 7.5 weeks. ASU says the curriculum covers prerequisites for physical therapy, occupational therapy and physician assistant programs, and an optional 3-credit internship can build clinical hours.

Tarleton's credential score of 7 comes from naming specific exams: NSCA-CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), ACSM-EP (Exercise Physiologist) and personal training certificates from NASM, ACE and ACSM. Track record adds a 9.9. Flexibility scores 3 because the page lists on-campus, hybrid and online formats without saying which concentrations run fully online, so confirm that before applying.

Flexibility carries Concordia Chicago: asynchronous 8-week courses, no entrance exams, and up to 90 credit hours accepted in transfer. Tuition is $440 per credit hour. Its outcomes score is the weak spot at 1.5 of 10. The core includes Principles of Strength and Conditioning, and a 4+1 pathway leads to the school's Applied Exercise Science master's after one more year.

Monterey Bay is a completion program, so you arrive with 60 or more transferable semester credits, 30 of them general education, and a 2.00 GPA. The 50 upper-division units cost a flat $550 each, $27,500 in all, whether or not you live in California. Eight-week courses, three entry points a year and a two-year path keep the timeline clear.

Georgia Southern ranks second of 99 master's programs, and cost is the reason: $378 per credit, $11,340 for 30 credits, with the same rate out of state. Credential scores 8 because the coaching curriculum follows the National Standards for Sport Coaches and carries NCACE accreditation. The GRE isn't required, but you must be coaching while enrolled, and cohorts start in summer only.

Three perfect scores explain eleventh place: flexibility (asynchronous, 7-week terms, six application windows, no campus visits), credential and depth. The Strength and Conditioning option is CASCE-accredited (Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Accreditation Council) and prepares you for the CSCS exam. There's no GRE, and any bachelor's subject is accepted with a 3.0 GPA.

California Baptist's master's costs $737 per unit, so 30 units come to $22,110 before fees, which explains a cost score of 2.5. What earns 25th place is outcomes (8.1), an NSCA Education Recognition Program seal, and a curriculum built toward the CSCS exam. It's asynchronous, takes 12 months full time, and requires Exercise Physiology completed with a C or better.

UTRGV is built for teachers. The physical education concentration is designed for people currently teaching in public, private or religious schools, with a 3.0 GPA listed. Cost scores 8.8: $444.44 per credit, about $16,000 for 36 credits. Seven-week courses let you finish in as little as 12 months, and electives cover resistance and cardiovascular programming.

Options are the story at North Dakota. You choose thesis, non-thesis or a Professional Science Master's with data analytics courses, and depth scores 9 of 10. Outcomes adds a 7.6. One online rate applies regardless of residency, and courses are asynchronous but not self-paced. Applied Exercise Physiology covers gas-analyzed cardiorespiratory testing. Yellow Ribbon and VA benefits are accepted.

Credential and outcomes carry University of Mary. The Strength and Conditioning concentration is CASCE-accredited, and the school reports that 38 of 38 test takers passed the CSCS exam over three years, 100%. Flexibility scores only 3 because the parent degree includes a short residency in year two. Tuition is $670 per credit plus a $55 distance fee.

Central Missouri pairs a low price with real lab exposure. At $450 per credit hour, 30 credits come to $13,500 before fees. The sport performance emphasis includes athlete monitoring courses and a partnership with UCM Athletics working with NCAA athletes, and the labs include motion capture, force plates, a metabolic cart and DEXA. You can finish with a thesis or an internship.

Troy sits 8th of 28 in the master's section on a low graduate rate: $475 per credit across 30 credits, on 9-week terms with five starts a year. Sport psychology and coaching are both offered online, and the non-thesis track ends in a 3-credit internship with athletes and teams. Admission is rolling, so there's no deadline to plan around.

LSU's best factor is outcomes, 9.2 of 10. The price is a flat $644 per credit with no out-of-state fees, or $23,184 for 36 credit hours. Courses are asynchronous with no set login times, and the diploma matches what on-campus students receive. The Health Promotion and Sport Performance concentration blends athlete training with public-health behavior change.

Hardin-Simmons scores 8 on credential and 8 on depth. It offers four tracks, and only Exercise Science and Human Performance holds NSCA Education Recognition Program status and prepares you to sit for the CSCS exam. At $595 per credit hour, 30 credits total $17,850. The page says 100% of graduates completed an internship, and admission includes an interview with the program director.

Depth is a perfect 10 at Sam Houston: a Sport and Human Performance concentration, an optional 200 to 400 hour internship, four research labs, and a thesis you can complete from out of town with remote supervision. Texas residents pay $1,675.55 for a 3-hour fall course including mandatory fees, nonresidents $2,890.55. Some sections meet live.

Corban suits you only if you can sign on to its faith requirement, since admission asks you to profess faith in Jesus Christ. In return you get a master's that can finish in 12 months, with a mentored internship or research project. Tuition is $750 per credit, $27,000 in all. The program launched in Fall 2026, so track record is 0.

Angelina has the strongest cost factor of the four associate programs: $108 per credit in district, $163 out of district and $210 out of state, for 60 credits in about two years. It's built to transfer, with articulation agreements at four-year universities. Add a $50 distance fee per course, and plan on TSI testing to start.

Georgia Military College charges everyone $169 per credit hour plus a $23 resource fee, with no out-of-state premium, which helps if you live outside Georgia. Online courses run at your own pace. Guaranteed-acceptance transfer agreements cover Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Mercer and Berry, and track record is where its score is strongest.

Central Texas College is a practical pick for military-connected students. It awards credit for military training recommended by the American Council on Education, works with Tuition Assistance and VA benefits, and accepts CLEP and DSST exams. Tuition is $125 in district, $163 out of district and $250 nonresident, and the degree transfers toward Eastern Oregon University's B.S. in Physical Activity & Health.

Blinn is on this list for its transfer pipeline, and it earns a 10 on track record. The plan feeds Texas A&M, Sam Houston State, Texas State and Tarleton State. In-district students pay $64 per semester hour, other Texas residents $123 and out-of-state students $279, plus an $80 general fee per hour.

UND is the doctorate for a researcher who can't relocate. Most courses are online, synchronous or asynchronous by your choice, with no residency stated. You need a master's and a 3.5 graduate GPA, and up to 30 credits can transfer toward the 90. Fall applications close March 15, and spring applications close October 15.

UNCG's Ed.D. has been online since 2014 and asks for a master's plus three years of professional experience. North Carolina residents pay $359.48 per credit, or $17,255.04 for 48 credits, and online students elsewhere pay $667.04. Plan for three campus visits, starting with a 3-day summer orientation. Admission is fall only, and the GRE isn't required.

Old Dominion's Doctor of Applied Science swaps the dissertation for a capstone project, and its 36 credits can wrap up in as little as 2.5 years, mostly asynchronously in 8-week terms. Virginia residents pay $672 per credit and everyone else $662, an odd flip in the published rates. The next cohort starts August 23, 2027.