Best Online Exercise Science Programs in Louisiana (2026)

• Top Bachelor's68.7 out of 100

  University of Louisiana at Lafayette

  Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (Online)

  Louisiana · B.S.

  University of Louisiana at Lafayette's B.S. Review
• Top Master's57.4 out of 100

  Louisiana State University

  Master of Science in Kinesiology, Concentration in Health Promotion and Sport Performance

  Louisiana · M.S.

  Louisiana State University's M.S. Review

All four Louisiana programs come from public universities. LSU is the flagship in Baton Rouge, and the other three are UL Lafayette, the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) and McNeese State University in Lake Charles. UL Lafayette says its online programs are approved and regulated by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors and the Louisiana Board of Regents.

The in-state versus out-of-state question has a simple answer for online study here. UL Lafayette charges $380 a credit to every online undergraduate, ULM charges $500 to every online graduate student, and LSU charges $644 with no out-of-state fee. The national median is $445 a credit for online bachelor's programs and $610 for master's, so UL Lafayette and ULM sit under the median and LSU sits above it.

Pay looks different by job. BLS puts Louisiana's median for exercise physiologists at $52,450, against $59,460 nationally, and the state has only 40 of those jobs. Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors have a Louisiana median of $44,410. Coaches and scouts sit at $60,960, well above the $47,320 national median.

Licensure is the state's real distinction. Louisiana licenses clinical exercise physiologists through the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, and the law's definition centers on supervised cardiopulmonary rehabilitation work. If you plan to work in Louisiana and want that license, choose your master's with the board's rules in front of you.

One caution for out-of-state programs. A school has to be authorized to enroll students in Louisiana, and a degree that qualifies you for a license in the school's state may not qualify you in yours. Ask any school you're considering to confirm both in writing before you pay a deposit.

A program lands on this page when its school is based in Louisiana and we've verified it as an online program, fully online or with limited campus time. That gave us four programs at four schools.

Within each level, programs are ordered by the six-factor Online Program Score in our methodology: cost (25%), outcomes (20%), online flexibility (20%), credential alignment (15%), program depth (10%) and track record (10%). Pay data comes from BLS and never changes a score.

• School based in Louisiana, 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.

How the Four Louisiana Programs Differ

UL Lafayette's online B.S. in Kinesiology is the only bachelor's and the only program with a rhythm built for working adults. Courses run 8 or 16 weeks, and you can start in January, March, June, August or October.

You pick a Health Promotion and Wellness or Sport Management concentration, finish with an internship or capstone, and must keep a 2.5 GPA to graduate. The school says the program isn't open to F-1 international students.

LSU's master's is a 36-credit concentration in Health Promotion and Sport Performance. It's asynchronous, with no set class times and no live lectures, and LSU says no campus visit is required. The cost of $23,184 for 36 credits is the clearest number on this page, but you'll need a bachelor's with a 3.0 GPA, three recommendation letters and a statement of purpose.

ULM offers the online Sport Management concentration of its M.S. in Exercise Science at $500 a credit, and that rate includes mandated fees. Regular admission takes a 2.5 undergraduate GPA. If your bachelor's isn't in exercise science, kinesiology or sport management, ULM says you must earn a B or higher in your first 12 hours or be dismissed.

McNeese State's 33-credit M.S. in Kinesiology is offered in person and 100% online. It asks for an undergraduate major or minor in kinesiology or a related field, plus three hours each of exercise physiology and tests and measures. You choose Health and Wellness Promotion or Sports Performance and finish with a comprehensive exam. It scores lowest of the four, and its outcomes score is the weakest of the group.

None of the four is a clinical exercise physiology degree. That matters for the next section, and you can check every detail on each program's page, such as UL Lafayette's bachelor's and LSU's master's.

Getting Licensed as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist in Louisiana

Louisiana's Clinical Exercise Physiologists Licensing Act says no one may use the title licensed clinical exercise physiologist without a license from the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. The law defines the job as working under a physician's direction to design exercise programs and run graded exercise tests in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation for people with conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

The board's initial licensure page lists three requirements. First, a master of science or master of education in an exercise studies curriculum from an accredited school that was approved by ACSM or the board when you graduated. Second, passing the ACSM certifying exam. Third, a 300-hour internship in exercise physiology under a licensed exercise physiologist.

The degree comes first, and our four Louisiana master's programs aren't clinical. LSU and McNeese State lean toward health promotion and sport performance, and ULM's online concentration is sport management. Before you enroll in any of them for the license, email the board and ask whether that program counts as approved.

If you want the clinical route, start with our online clinical exercise physiology master's list. Two CAAHEP-accredited options are Lebanon Valley College and the University of Mary, and both require time on campus. ACSM also says that from August 15, 2027, candidates for its Exercise Physiologist and Clinical Exercise Physiologist credentials must graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited program.

The board's page uses older ACSM credential names, so ask the board how it treats ACSM's current Clinical Exercise Physiologist credential (ACSM-CEP).

What Louisiana Pays Exercise Physiologists, Trainers and Coaches

These figures are from the BLS May 2025 wage survey. For exercise physiologists, Louisiana's median is $52,450 and the mean is $56,020, with the lowest tenth earning $40,410 and the highest tenth $81,330. But only 40 people hold that job title in the state, so one hospital hiring or not hiring changes the picture. Our exercise physiologist salary page shows the national spread.

Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors are far more common, at 2,290 jobs. The median is $44,410, the lowest tenth earns $21,190 and the highest tenth $60,180. Nationally the median is $47,160, so trainers in Louisiana earn a bit less than the U.S. figure.

Coaches and scouts number 2,550 in Louisiana and show a median of $60,960. Don't read too much into the mean of $86,520 or the highest tenth at $194,130. This group covers coaches and scouts at every level, and the lowest tenth earns $23,310.

A degree doesn't set these figures, and no program promises you a salary. What the data does show is that Louisiana's clinical jobs are few and the trainer and coach jobs are many. Pick your degree for the job you want, not for the size of the state's median.

When Another State's Online Program Makes More Sense

Three reasons send Louisiana students out of state. The first is accreditation. UL Lafayette's Health Promotion and Wellness concentration points to CHES (Certified Health Education Specialist) exam prep, but the bachelor's holds neither CAAHEP nor CASCE accreditation that we could verify. CASCE stands for Collegiate Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education.

From January 1, 2030, the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) says U.S. candidates for the CSCS need a bachelor's from a CASCE-accredited program.

If that rule matters to you, look at our certification-ready list. Northeastern State University in Oklahoma has a CAAHEP-accredited online bachelor's at $279 a credit for non-residents, about what Oklahomans pay. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's 36-credit master's is CASCE accredited and doesn't require the GRE.

The second reason is the master's price and range. The University of Florida's 30-credit master's in applied physiology and kinesiology ranks first of 99 master's programs, costs less per credit than LSU's $644, and accepts any bachelor's major with a 3.0 upper-division GPA. Our best online exercise science degrees list shows how others compare.

The third is cost. If you're pricing a bachelor's, the cheapest online exercise science degrees page shows what other states charge, though UL Lafayette's $380 already beats the $445 national median.

Before you enroll out of state, check the school's authorization. NC-SARA is the agreement most states use for online programs, and its student page explains the complaint process and lists a professional licensure directory. UL Lafayette itself warns that its online programs may not meet another state's license requirements, and the same warning applies in reverse to you.