Best Online Exercise Science Programs in Alabama (2026)

• Top Bachelor's41.1 out of 100

  United States Sports University

  Bachelor of Sports Science (B.S.S.) in Exercise Science (Strength & Conditioning specialization)

  Alabama · B.S.S.

  United States Sports University's B.S.S. Review
• Top Master's64.0 out of 100

  Jacksonville State University

  Physical Education - Human Performance (Master of Science in Education)

  Alabama · M.S.Ed.

  Jacksonville State University's M.S.Ed. Review

Three of the five programs come from public universities: Jacksonville State, the University of West Alabama and Troy. The other two belong to United States Sports University, a private nonprofit in Daphne. Being an Alabama resident earns no discount, because each school lists one online rate for everyone.

The job market is small at the top of the field and larger around it. Alabama had 70 exercise physiologists, 2,680 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors, and 3,140 coaches and scouts in the BLS May 2025 estimates.

If you look at a school outside Alabama, that school has to be authorized to teach you here. Alabama takes part in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA) through the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, which also has authority over out-of-state schools offering programs in Alabama. Ask any school for its state authorization page and confirm it covers Alabama residents.

A program is on this page when its school is based in Alabama and the program is online and in exercise science or a close field such as kinesiology or human performance. Bachelor's programs come first, and inside each level we order by the six-factor score in our methodology: cost, outcomes, online flexibility, credential alignment, program depth and track record.

Rates come from each school's own pages, and Alabama residency never changes a score.

• School based in Alabama, program delivered online
• In-state rate shown when the school publishes one
• Scored on the same six factors as every list and ranked inside its degree level

Scores are the weighted sum of six factors (Cost 25%, Outcomes 20%, Online Flexibility 20%, Credential Alignment 15%, Program Depth 10%, Track Record 10%), version 1.0. The methodology page shows the rubric for each factor.

What Tuition Looks Like Across the Five Alabama Programs

Alabama residency doesn't buy you a lower online price at any of these schools. Jacksonville State lists $443 a credit for 2026-27 online graduate courses, and West Alabama lists $429 for all graduate students. Troy's online kinesiology master's is $475 a credit. United States Sports University charges $650 for its bachelor's and $640 for its master's, with no separate out-of-state rate.

Rates aren't the whole bill, so add the fees. Jacksonville State charges an $18 digital instruction fee per credit plus a $522 general university fee each fall and spring semester for six or more hours. West Alabama adds a $120 technology fee each semester. The United States Sports University bachelor's adds a $100 technology fee a semester, though books are included.

Now compare totals with the national middle. Across our 168 programs, the median master's rate is $610 a credit and the median bachelor's rate is $445. Jacksonville State ($13,290), West Alabama ($14,157) and Troy ($14,250) all come in under the $20,200 median master's tuition. These totals are tuition only.

The United States Sports University master's totals $21,120, and its 122-credit bachelor's totals $79,300. That's the price of a private, sports-focused school. The bachelor's takes up to 90 transfer credit hours, so credits you've already earned can shorten it a lot.

Pace differs too. West Alabama runs 8-week terms with six starts a year, and most students finish in about a year. Troy runs 9-week terms with five starts a year. The United States Sports University master's can take as little as 15 months. Jacksonville State accepts up to 6 transfer hours toward its 30, while West Alabama and the United States Sports University master's each take up to 15.

Matching an Alabama Degree to the Credential You Want

Start with the credential you're after, because that decides whether an Alabama degree is enough. Starting Aug. 15, 2027, candidates for the American College of Sports Medicine's Certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-EP) and Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-CEP) credentials must graduate from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), or one that has started the process.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) has a similar rule. Today the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam asks for a bachelor's degree and current CPR/AED certification, and that stays in place through Dec. 31, 2029. From Jan. 1, 2030, U.S. candidates need a bachelor's from a program accredited by the Collegiate Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education (CASCE).

None of the five Alabama programs shows up on the CAAHEP or CASCE lists we checked. That doesn't make them weak degrees. Jacksonville State's catalog says its human performance track addresses the CSCS, ACSM-EP and ACSM Certified Personal Trainer credentials.

But if you're heading for ACSM-EP after August 2027 or CSCS after 2029, ask ACSM or NSCA whether your degree will count before you pay for it. Personal trainer credentials like the ACSM Certified Personal Trainer need no degree, only being 18 and holding CPR/AED certification.

Alabama does have accredited campus options. CAAHEP lists Troy's Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology, which received initial accreditation on May 16, 2025 and is taught on the Troy campus.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham's Master of Science in Kinesiology holds a CAAHEP Letter of Review, a step short of full accreditation. The University of Montevallo's strength and conditioning concentration is on NSCA's CASCE list. None of these is an online program we rank.

For an online route, see our certification-ready ranking. Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, listed by CAAHEP as accredited, is on it. Nearby state pages help too: Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida.

Reading Alabama Pay Data Before You Choose a Degree Level

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counted 70 exercise physiologists in Alabama in May 2025. They earned a median of $50,820 and a mean of $54,400, with the 10th percentile at $40,540 and the 90th at $76,910. The national median for the same job is $59,460. That's a small market in one state, so expect to look at related jobs too.

The related jobs are bigger. Alabama had 2,680 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors with a median wage of $39,180, and the range ran from $19,330 at the 10th percentile to $57,320 at the 90th. It also had 3,140 coaches and scouts. Many training and coaching jobs don't require a degree, so ask whether a master's changes pay in the specific job you want.

If physical therapy is your goal, keep the degrees straight. Alabama's 3,040 physical therapists earned a median of $97,290, and its 1,500 occupational therapists earned $94,050. Those jobs take graduate professional school after your bachelor's, and an exercise science degree only supplies some of the prerequisites.

The United States Sports University bachelor's has an Allied Health track built around those prerequisites, and the school notes that PT and OT programs also require observation hours. Our pre-physical therapy ranking compares programs by that need.

A wage is an estimate of what people in a job earn, not what a graduate of any of these programs will make. For more on the range, see our exercise physiologist salary guide.

Paying for the Degree and Using Military Benefits

West Alabama lists FAFSA school code 001024 on its program page, so start the FAFSA early. Federal graduate loans also changed for new borrowers on July 1, 2026. The Grad PLUS program closed to them, and unsubsidized loans for graduate degrees now carry annual and total caps. Check your caps at studentaid.gov before you count on borrowing the full price of a master's.

Military rates cut the cost in Alabama. West Alabama's Military Connect Scholarship lowers its graduate rate to $329 a credit for active military, Guard, reserve, veterans, spouses and dependents. The school also says Defense Department Tuition Assistance covers up to $250 a credit for eligible active-duty students. United States Sports University charges active-duty students $250 a credit for the bachelor's and $575 for the master's.

That $575 master's rate sits well above the $250 Tuition Assistance figure West Alabama quotes, so you'd pay the difference on every credit. The school says the Department of Defense approves it to offer master's courses to Armed Forces members, and it's in the DANTES External Degree Catalog. Troy describes its online kinesiology master's as designed for working professionals and military-affiliated students.

For the national picture, see our military ranking.