Best Online Exercise Science Programs in Texas (2026)

• Top Bachelor's67.2 out of 100

  Texas Tech University

  Online Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology

  Texas · B.S.

  Texas Tech University's B.S. Review
• Top Master's67.6 out of 100

  Texas State University

  Master of Science, Major in Exercise Science, Sport Coaching Concentration

  Texas · M.S.

  Texas State University's M.S. Review
• Top Associate49.8 out of 100

  Angelina College

  Associate of Arts in Health and Physical Education

  Texas · A.A.

  Angelina College's A.A. Review

Residency changes the price at some Texas public schools and not at others. Texas Tech says its online kinesiology rate depends on your residency. Sam Houston State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and East Texas A&M all post separate resident and non-resident figures. Texas State and UT Rio Grande Valley show one online rate, and Parker and East Texas Baptist list one for everyone.

Texas pays below the national median for all three exercise jobs. BLS OEWS data from May 2025 puts Texas exercise physiologists at a $56,780 median, against $59,460 nationally, and only 520 people hold the title. The middle 80 percent earn between $36,890 and $79,150.

Trainers and group fitness instructors are a much bigger group: 19,260 jobs, a $40,880 median and a $19.65 hourly median. Coaches and scouts number 15,300 with a $36,510 median, though the top 10 percent reach $78,720. Our exercise physiologist salary guide has the state-by-state table.

Texas licenses athletic trainers through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Applicants need a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate degree, and the department lists a current Board of Certification credential as one qualifying route. Everyone also completes the state jurisprudence exam.

The Hardin-Simmons Master of Athletic Training is accredited by CAATE and makes graduates eligible for the BOC exam. It is 77 credits at $595 each, and it isn't a work-while-you-study degree: year one has six mandatory one-week lab intensives in Abilene, and year two is full-time in-person clinical work. Our athletic training comparison explains how the field differs from exercise science.

If you'd rather study out of state, the school has to be authorized to enroll Texas residents online. Open its state authorization page and look for Texas, then ask where your practicum, internship or clinical site can be arranged near you.

A program is on this page when a school based in Texas runs it and it is delivered online, either fully, as degree completion, or online with required campus or clinical time. Inside each degree level, programs are ordered by the six-factor score in our methodology: cost, outcomes, online flexibility, credential alignment, program depth and track record.

Prices come from each school's own pages. Where a school posts only a range or a main-campus estimate, we say so and don't invent a rate. Texas wages and the national picks sit beside the list and never change a score.

• School based in Texas, 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 Texas Residents Pay for Online Programs

Start with the master's degrees, because that's where Texas has the most choice. Texas State charges $502 a credit and $18,072 for 36 credits. UT Rio Grande Valley lists $444.44 a credit and about $16,000 in total. East Texas Baptist charges $447, or $13,410 for 30 credits, plus a $70 online fee per course. Hardin-Simmons sets $595 for its online-only graduate programs.

Public schools that bill by the semester take more work to compare. Sam Houston State lists $1,675.55 for a three-credit course for Texas residents and $2,890.55 for non-residents, plus $101 per credit in distance learning fees. East Texas A&M lists $3,851 for nine graduate hours for residents and $7,703 for non-residents, plus $50 an hour for online courses.

UT Permian Basin publishes a total instead: $11,729.70 to $12,902.67 for 30 to 33 credits, with fees extra. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi posts only a main-campus estimate of $7,178 in-state and $16,031 out-of-state for 12 credits a year, plus $50 to $100 per web-based course. Ask each school for a full-degree bill before you compare.

Bachelor's degrees are 120 credits, so small rate gaps add up. Abilene Christian lists $395 a credit, $47,400 in tuition before transfer credit, and a $310 resource fee per 8-week session. Concordia University Texas lists $550, or $350 with its Start Now Scholarship for new online students. Parker charges $777, which comes to $93,240. Tarleton doesn't publish an online-specific rate.

If you're a Texas veteran, ask about the Hazlewood Act. Texas Woman's University says it covers Texas residents with an honorable discharge and at least 181 days of active duty, for up to 150 attempted credit hours. It excludes books and lodging. Check with the veterans office at any public school here, and see our military ranking for programs with military rates.

Starting at Angelina, Central Texas College, or Blinn

All three community colleges run fully online associate degrees built to transfer. None is a clinical program, and none carries CAAHEP accreditation, so treat the degree as the first half of a bachelor's.

Blinn lists tuition of $64 in-district, $123 for other Texas residents and $279 out-of-state, plus an $80 general fee per semester hour. That works out to about $144, $203 and $359 a credit. Its four-semester plan totals 60 hours, and Blinn's page names Texas A&M, Sam Houston State, Texas State and Tarleton State as transfer destinations. It asks you to meet an advisor by 30 hours.

Central Texas College charges $125 in-district, $163 out-of-district and $250 for non-residents, with $7,500 in tuition for the 60 credits at the in-district rate and $9,780 at the out-of-district rate. Its catalog says Texas residents enrolling online are eligible for in-state tuition wherever they live, and it awards credit for ACE-recommended military training. It sits beside Fort Hood.

Angelina lists $108 in-district, $163 out-of-district and $210 out-of-state, plus $50 per online course. One catch: its online plan uses BIOL 1408 and 1409, while athletic training and physical training programs want BIOL 2401 and 2402. Ask the school you're transferring to which biology sequence it requires before you register.

Angelina and Central Texas College both mention the Texas Success Initiative, which the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board describes as an assessment of whether entering students are ready for college-level reading and math. You can be exempt with qualifying SAT, ACT or STAAR scores, so check before you pay for a test.

Which Texas Programs Meet the New ACSM and NSCA Rules?

Two rule changes decide which degrees lead to the big exercise certifications.

From August 15, 2027, the American College of Sports Medicine will accept ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP candidates only if they graduated from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), or one that has begun that process. CAAHEP lists four Texas exercise science bachelor's programs, and every one is on campus.

Hardin-Simmons' accredited bachelor's is in Abilene, while its online offerings are a master's and the athletic training degree.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association handles the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam differently. Today you need a bachelor's degree and CPR/AED certification, and that stays true through December 31, 2029. On January 1, 2030, U.S. candidates will need a bachelor's from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education (CASCE). Our CSCS guide lays out the dates.

Texas is where most of the online CASCE-listed options sit. Parker's bachelor's offers an 80-hour observational practicum or a 300-hour full-time internship placed anywhere in the country. Parker's master's is online coursework and adds a 300-hour internship only if you choose the 36-credit strength and conditioning track.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's master's is fully online with no campus visits, takes any bachelor's major, and needs a 3.0 GPA but no GRE. Its strength and conditioning option ends with a comprehensive exam testing CSCS competencies.

Read the 2030 wording closely. It names a bachelor's degree, so ask NSCA how a CASCE master's counts. And if you already hold a bachelor's, today's rule still applies to you until the deadline. Hardin-Simmons cites NSCA's older Education Recognition Program, which NSCA no longer lists, so ask that school about CASCE directly. Our accreditation guide shows how to check.

Best National Options for Texas Residents

If accreditation or price is your top concern, look beyond Texas. Northeastern State University's online bachelor's in Health and Human Performance appears on CAAHEP's list and bills non-Oklahoma online students $279 a credit. That sits under the $415 low end of Texas Tech's range. In our scoring it comes 4th of 46 bachelor's programs.

NSU requires a practicum and a capstone, so find out how a Texas student sets up the site. Get written confirmation that the online option is the one CAAHEP accredited.

At the master's level, the University of Florida's online MS in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology ranks first of 99 in our scoring. Its 30 credits cost less in total than Texas State's 36, even though the per-credit rate is higher. It asks for no GRE and has no campus visits.

For bachelor's degrees, American Public University System's Sports and Health Sciences degree ranks first of 46 at $360 a credit. Texas Tech is the nearest Texas match, in 5th place.

The full lists are here: best online exercise science degrees, online bachelor's programs and online master's programs. If physical therapy school is the goal, start with the pre-physical therapy list.