Kinesiology Degree Guide
A kinesiology degree can help you build the specialized knowledge to work with patients of varying fitness abilities. You can help patients improve their overall well-being and mobility, or help athletes recover from injuries and improve performance.
Earning a degree in kinesiology can lead to a rewarding career using exercise techniques to improve people’s lives. If you’re an extrovert who loves fitness and is interested in a career in the health sciences, consider pursuing a degree in kinesiology.
Below, you’ll find kinesiology careers by degree level, average salaries, and what to consider before pursuing this degree.
What Is Kinesiology?
Kinesiology is the study of the body’s movement. You’ll study how the human body performs in both sport and daily life and how to make performance safer, healthier, and more efficient.
As a kinesiologist, you may focus on improving mobility to enhance a patient’s quality of life to perform everyday tasks or to optimize health and wellness outcomes.
Kinesiology differs from physiotherapy in its focus and approach. Physiotherapists focus on diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal problems, while kinesiology specialists use their knowledge in human physiology and movement to develop customized exercise programs and help patients recover mobility, improve their performance, or prevent injury.
Types of Kinesiology Concentrations
Some kinesiology degree programs allow you to specialize in a specific area of the field, such as exercise science, physical education (PE), strength and conditioning, and health and wellness. Each concentration is designed to put you on a specific kinesiology career path:
Some of the most common kinesiology degree concentrations include:
Exercise Science (Physiology): You can use your degree to build a career in exercise and fitness, helping people meet fitness goals. You can become a personal trainer and work one-on-one with clients or, with some experience, pursue a career as an exercise physiologist.- Health and Wellness: Kinesiology degrees can also translate to employment in the health and wellness field. Many gyms, public, and even corporate companies employ wellness consultants to help ensure workers’ happiness and healthy daily practices.
- Physical Education and Coaching: A kinesiology degree is also relevant to PE and coaching. Many kinesiology majors work as coaches for schools or professional sports teams, helping athletes improve their performance.
- Strength and Conditioning: This specialization teaches you the ins and outs of strength and conditioning training, preparing you to work with high school, collegiate, or professional athletes in sports performance clinics or in fitness centers.
- Sports Administration (Management): With a sports management concentration, you can combine kinesiology and business expertise to work in sports administration, run fitness facilities, or pursue other sports management careers.
Reality Check: Is Kinesiology a Good Major?
Kinesiology can be a good major choice if you’re interested in a career in fitness and performance, especially if your goal is to work with athletes. A kinesiology degree can prepare you for many diverse career paths in fitness and sports, ranging from personal training to fitness management. It can also be a stepping stone to related fields like sports management, medicine, or physical therapy, allowing you to build a broader range of expertise.
Kinesiology Degrees: From Associate to Doctorate
You can pursue a kinesiology degree at every education level. At the bachelor’s level, you can obtain athletic trainer certification. At the graduate level, you can pursue research related to kinesiology and exercise science.
Associate Degree in Kinesiology
- Program Length: 2 years
- Potential Jobs: Physical therapy aide, athletic coach, fitness instructor, fitness consultant
An associate degree in kinesiology is best if you’re interested in pursuing entry-level work in the fitness training industry. The degree generally takes 1-2 years to complete, depending on whether you take courses at a full- or part-time pace. Coursework explores introductory anatomy and physiology, exercise science, and psychology.
Upon graduation, you can transition directly to working as fitness consultants, personal trainers, and fitness instructors. You can also work as a massage therapist or a physical therapy aide with additional training.
Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology
- Program Length: 4 years
- Potential Jobs: PE teacher, strength and conditioning coach, kinesiologist
A bachelor’s in kinesiology, which typically takes four years to complete, goes into further depth on studying human movement and exercise than an associate degree. You explore how fitness trainers, PE educators, and therapists use exercise as a form of medicine.
Coursework covers topics like principles of motor skills, women’s health and exercise across the lifespan, and exercise physiology. Concentrations include exercise science, physical education, and health and fitness leadership.
A bachelor’s program is best suited if you want to become a certified athletic trainer or work as a PE teacher. With a bachelor’s degree, you can work in community recreation, educational, and clinical settings, pursuing more specialized roles than you could with only an associate degree.
Master’s Degree in Kinesiology
- Program Length: 2 years
- Potential Jobs: Athletic administrator, physical therapist, athletic director
Many future coaches, sports administrators, and certified trainers have master’s degrees in kinesiology, which usually take 2-3 years to earn. This degree covers the clinical aspects of exercise science, kinesiology, and physiology, along with advanced sports medicine topics.
Coursework explores advanced biomechanics of human motion, issues in athletic training, and the history and philosophy of sports. Concentrations include sports management, exercise physiology, and sports medicine.
A master’s in kinesiology prepares you for employment as strength and training coaches, athletic program administrators, and exercise physiologists. The degree is often a minimum qualification for working as a coach or athletic administrator. You can also pursue postgraduate study in kinesiology and physical therapy.
Doctorate in Kinesiology
- Program Length: 4-5 years
- Potential Jobs: University professor, researcher, sports psychologist
If you’re interested in research, education, and other advanced topics in kinesiology, you can pursue a doctorate in the field. A doctoral degree in kinesiology takes about four years to complete and covers advanced topics in biomechanics, exercise physiology, and research methods for kinesiology.
You can pursue specializations like motor control, rehabilitation science, or sports psychology. The degree also requires a research-based dissertation. With a doctoral degree in kinesiology, you’ll be prepared for highly specialized roles such as sports psychologist, kinesiology research scientist, and university professor.
While many of these positions are in academia, sports psychologists can also work in the professional sports industry. The degree can also prepare you for executive-level sports administration careers.
9 Colleges Offering Kinesiology Degree Programs
Although programs in related fields like exercise science are commonly offered at the undergraduate level, bachelor’s degrees specifically in kinesiology are less widely available. Most institutions that offer kinesiology programs do so at the master’s or doctoral level. So, what colleges have kinesiology programs? And what colleges offer the best kinesiology programs?
| Colleges and Universities | Program Offered at the Undergraduate Level? | Program Offered at the Graduate Level? | Fully Online Option? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia University in the City of New York | No | Yes | No |
| The Ohio State University | No | Yes | No |
| The United States Military Academy at West Point | Yes | No | No |
| The University of Texas at Austin | No | Yes | No |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Yes | Yes | Yes, MS only |
| University of Georgia | Yes | Yes | No |
| University of Michigan | Yes | Yes | No |
| University of Southern California | Yes | Yes | No |
| University of Wisconsin–Madison | Yes | Yes | No |
What to Consider Before Applying to a Kinesiology Program
When looking at accredited kinesiology programs, you’ll want to look for concentrations that best suit your career goals. You can also find programs that don’t require test scores or have lower GPA requirements, giving you more options.
Accreditation for Kinesiology Programs
You should ensure the accreditation status of your prospective kinesiology program before applying. Currently, CAAHEP handles programmatic accreditation for kinesiology degree programs.
Attending a kinesiology program with CAAHEP accreditation guarantees that you receive a high-quality, hard-science-based education. Graduation from a CAAHEP-accredited program is a prerequisite for professional certification as an athletic trainer.
Kinesiology Concentration Area
Many kinesiology degrees offer various concentrations to help you prepare for specific careers. If you have a specific career path in mind, it’s important to check that your prospective program offers your focus area. Common concentrations include athletic training, exercise physiology or science, and movement science.
Admission Requirements
Admissions requirements vary by program and school, but most undergraduate programs require a GPA, test scores, and official transcripts. Internships or experience in kinesiology could be seen as an advantage, but it’s not typically required. Personal statements, an essay, and letters of recommendation can strengthen your application. Common application requirements for a bachelor’s in kinesiology include:
- Official transcripts
- Letters of recommendation
- Standardized test scores, such as the ACT or SAT
- A personal statement or essay
For a graduate degree in kinesiology, application requirements can include:
- A bachelor’s degree in a closely related field
- A minimum undergraduate GPA, as shown on official transcripts
- GRE scores
- Letters of recommendation
- A personal statement or essay
What Can You Do With a Kinesiology Degree?
Kinesiology is a versatile area of study that prepares you for many different career options. For some, the degree provides a credential to pursue work in physical education, while others find employment as athletic trainers or coaches. You may also treat kinesiology as a pre-med major.
The following section details the most common career paths in the field, many of which relate directly to health services.
| 10 Kinesiology Careers | Median Annual Salary (2024) | Projected Job Growth (2023-33) | Minimum Degree Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitness Trainers and Instructor | $46,180 | 14% | Post-Secondary Certificate or Associate’s |
| Physical Therapist Assistant | $60,050 | 19% | Associate |
| Recreation and Fitness Study Teacher | $75,770 | 10% | Bachelor’s |
| Coach and Scout | $45,920 | 9% | Bachelor’s |
| Exercise Physiologist | $58,160 | 10% | Bachelor’s |
| Kinesiologist | $58,780* | N/A | Bachelor’s |
| Athletic Director | $71,200* | N/A | Bachelor’s |
| Athletic Trainer | $60,250 | 13% | Master’s |
| Physical Therapist | $101,020 | 14% | Doctorate |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Professors | $75,890 | 8% | Doctorate |
*Average salary as of July 2025
Kinesiology Degree Salary
Kinesiology jobs offer modest earnings at the entry level, with the potential for greater earnings upon moving into administrative positions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that fitness trainers and instructors earned a median salary of $46,180, while physical therapists made more than twice that at $101,020.
Entry-level kinesiology jobs remain in high demand. For instance, BLS data projects that employment for fitness trainers will grow by 14% from 2023 to 2033, substantially faster than the national average (4%).
How Much Does a Kinesiology Degree Cost?
The median tuition cost of a four-year kinesiology degree in a traditional on-campus program is around $50,000, whereas a two-year online associate’s degree is just shy of $2,500. Online kinesiology degrees at the undergraduate levels cost less, on average, than on-campus programs, with online bachelor’s degrees costing nearly $2,000 less per year.
Other factors that significantly impact the cost of your kinesiology degree include whether you attend a public or private college and whether you enroll part-time or full-time.
| Degree Level | Online Programs | Traditional, On-Campus Programs |
|---|---|---|
| Associate | $1,172* | $1,993 |
| Bachelor’s | $10,467 | $12,714 |
| Master’s | N/A | $12,080* |
*Limited data reporting
Frequently Asked Questions About Kinesiology Degrees
The highest-earning jobs in kinesiology are administrative positions in sports, fitness, and health and wellness, such as sports managers, fitness managers, and athletic directors. However, how much you can make depends on where you work, your degree level, and any additional certifications.
