Best Online Exercise Science Programs in Florida (2026)

• Top Bachelor's47.8 out of 100

  Florida Atlantic University

  Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion

  Florida · B.S.

  Florida Atlantic University's B.S. Review
• Top Master's79.2 out of 100

  University of Florida

  Online Master of Science in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology (Human Performance concentration)

  Florida · M.S.

  University of Florida's M.S. Review

Florida gives you three public universities with online exercise science programs, and they price residents very differently. Florida Atlantic University charges residents $203.29 a credit for its bachelor's and $371.82 for its master's. The University of West Florida charges residents $385.85 a credit. The University of Florida lists a single online rate of $585.75, so living in Florida doesn't lower the bill there.

The job market is big for coaches and trainers and small for exercise physiologists. BLS counts 18,070 exercise trainers and group fitness instructors and 18,120 coaches and scouts in Florida, against 330 exercise physiologists. Florida exercise physiologists earn a $60,100 median, a little above the $59,460 national median. Trainers earn $38,800 and coaches $39,370 in Florida, both below the national medians of $47,160 and $47,320.

Florida doesn't license exercise physiologists. The 2025 Florida Statutes put athletic trainers, dietitians and nutritionists, occupational therapists and others under Chapter 468, and exercise physiologists don't have a part there. The credentials employers ask for, ACSM-EP (American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist) and CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist from the NSCA, the National Strength and Conditioning Association), come from national bodies.

Athletic training is different. Florida regulates it, and it takes a professional master's in athletic training, so an exercise science degree alone doesn't get you there.

Online programs from other states can enroll you if the school is approved to serve Florida residents. Nearly every state belongs to SARA, the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement run by NC-SARA. Ask any out-of-state school whether it participates and whether its degree meets the certification rules you care about.

This page includes every online exercise science program from a school based in Florida that our data set publishes, meaning fully online programs and programs with limited campus requirements, all checked against the school's own pages on Sept. 29, 2026. Programs are grouped by level and ordered by our score.

The score weighs cost most heavily, then outcomes, online flexibility, credential alignment, program depth and track record. The full weights are in our methodology. Resident rates are shown next to what nonresidents pay, and wages come from BLS OEWS May 2025.

• School based in Florida, 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 Florida Residents Pay for an Online Exercise Science Degree

Start with what each price includes, because Florida's three schools quote them differently. UF's $585.75 and UWF's $385.85 both include fees, according to each school. FAU's $203.29 undergraduate and $371.82 graduate resident rates come from its standard tuition-and-fee schedule, and FAU adds a $30 per credit distance learning fee for online courses. Compare them on the same footing before you rank by price.

Florida law allows that fee. Section 1009.24 of the Florida Statutes lets a state university charge a per-credit distance learning fee for courses where most instruction happens through technology. A 120-credit bachelor's at FAU costs $24,394.80 in tuition and fees at the resident rate, and the $30 a credit comes on top.

Residency matters at FAU and UWF. Section 1009.21 defines a legal resident as someone who has kept a residence in Florida for the preceding year, bought a home they live in, or established domicile another way. FAU's nonresident rates run $799.72 for the bachelor's and $1,125.06 for the master's, so confirm your status with the registrar before you count on the low number.

At the master's level, UWF's 30-credit program totals $11,575.50 for residents. FAU's totals $11,154.60 in tuition and fees before the distance fee, and UF's totals $17,572.50. UWF also shows what leaving Florida costs: $1,144.43 a credit at the full nonresident rate, or $494.22 with an online waiver covering 90% of the nonresident portion. You request the waiver every semester, and it isn't automatic.

Do Florida's Online Programs Meet the New Certification Rules?

Two rule changes decide which certifications a degree keeps open. Starting Aug. 15, 2027, ACSM says candidates for ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP (Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist) must graduate from a program accredited by CAAHEP, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, or one that has started the process. Starting Jan. 1, 2030, NSCA says U.S. candidates for the CSCS need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program.

Florida has plenty of accredited campus programs. CAAHEP's public search lists 10 Florida records across 8 schools: Barry, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Central Florida, North Florida and West Florida. Two of them, Tampa and Central Florida, hold a Letter of Review, which means the process has started. None carries CAAHEP's distance flag, though schools can under-report it.

Our four online programs don't state CAAHEP accreditation. UWF's campus B.S. in Exercise Science is accredited, and CAAHEP lists a UWF master's in exercise science too, but the online Sports Performance and Coaching master's isn't described as either one. UF's online master's doesn't state accreditation, though NSCA's CASCE list names a UF graduate strength and conditioning concentration in Gainesville.

FAU aims its strength and conditioning coursework at the CSCS exam content, but neither FAU program appears on the CAAHEP or CASCE lists. That's fine today, because NSCA still asks only for a bachelor's degree and CPR/AED certification through Dec. 31, 2029. It matters if you'll sit the exam in 2030 or later.

If ACSM-EP or ACSM-CEP is the goal, ask every school in writing whether it has applied to CAAHEP. You can also look nationally. Northeastern State University in Oklahoma runs a fully online, CAAHEP-accredited bachelor's in health and human performance at $279 a credit for non-Oklahoma residents, with a required practicum. Our CAAHEP accredited list shows the rest, and the accreditation guide explains both rules.

Starting at a Florida College and Finishing Online

Florida's 2+2 system can cut what you pay for a bachelor's. The statewide articulation agreement in Section 1007.23 says every associate in arts graduate of a Florida College System institution must be admitted to the upper division of a state university, except for limited access programs. Those graduates also get priority over out-of-state students.

Before you count on that, ask FAU whether the exercise science major is limited access and how your associate courses map to its 120-credit degree. Then compare it with our list of online associate degrees in exercise science, since some let you start online too.

Know the catch in FAU's bachelor's. Only the exercise physiology concentration is offered fully online. The strength and conditioning concentration mixes in-person and online courses and requires an internship with at least two distinct athletic populations. If you can't get to a site in South Florida, plan around that.

FAU also connects the bachelor's to its master's. Its combined program lets 12 graduate credits count toward the undergraduate degree, and the school says both degrees can be finished in five years. You apply in your junior year with a 3.25 GPA, so it rewards planning early.

When a Program Outside Florida Beats the Local Choices

Our scoring puts UF's online master's in applied physiology and kinesiology first among 99 master's programs. The school's graduation rate is 91%, it needs no GRE, it offers five optional specializations, and you can finish in 1 to 1.5 years. The tradeoff is price. It costs more than the other two Florida master's programs, and Florida residents get no discount.

If price decides it, look north. Georgia Southern's online kinesiology master's with a coaching education concentration costs less per credit than UF's, and the school's Fall 2026 list shows the same online rate out of state. You do have to be coaching while you're in it, because the practicum happens in your own coaching setting.

The University of North Georgia's kinesiology master's is $320 for in-state and out-of-state students alike. See Georgia's list and our cheapest programs.

Planning for physical therapy school? Many DPT and PA programs want in-person lab sciences, so check every target program's prerequisites before choosing an online bachelor's. Then use our pre-physical therapy list and the pre-PT guide.