Online Kinesiology Master’s Degree at TAMU-CC Earns Top 10 Spot on EduMed.org List

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s kinesiology program continues to garner national attention. The online Master of Science in Kinesiology was recently ranked by Edumed.org as one of the best online Master’s Degrees in Kinesiology for 2023 in the nation for its overall quality, affordability, and commitment to student success.

With only 8% of U.S. postsecondary institutions earning a ranking position, the Island University’s online M.S. in Kinesiology was ranked No. 7 on the Edumed.org list. The master’s program is one of the few that emphasizes sport science and athletic performance and is modeled to work with the schedule of a working student, said Dr. Frank Spaniol, TAMU-CC Professor of Sport and Exercise Science and Graduate Program Coordinator.

Classes are offered in an accelerated 7-week format, meaning students generally complete two classes per semester in the same time it takes a graduate student to complete a single course. Spaniol said the fully online program launched in 2016, several years after the hybrid format was introduced. 

“Our online program continues to grow in popularity, accounting for approximately 80% of the total number of kinesiology graduate students,” Spaniol said. “While our students come from a variety of backgrounds and locations, they share a common passion for expanding their knowledge of sport and exercise science.”

The Island University’s online M.S. in Kinesiology prepares professionals in the multi-faceted disciplines of athletic performance. These include biomechanics, exercise physiology, leadership/management of sport, motor performance, nutrition, assessment of sport performance, sport psychology, and strength and conditioning. The program provides and supports higher-level knowledge, specialized proficiencies, and the development of independent creativity.

EduMed.org researched and analyzed more than 7,700 accredited schools using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and from the schools themselves. The website’s data science team then applied a proprietary algorithm to rank all qualifying schools for each health care discipline. Primary data points include: 

• Academic counseling services
• Career placement services
• Student-to-faculty ratio
• Tuition
• Percent of students receiving school-based financial aid
• Amount of school-based aid per student

To be eligible, a school must hold active regional accreditation and have at least one partially online program in the ranking subject.  

The EduMed.org ranking is the latest in a continuing series of accolades for the Island University’s online M.S. in Kinesiology. It was ranked No. 5 in a 2020 list of Top 19 Online Master’s Exercise Science Degree Programs by the Guide to Online Schools. The program was also ranked No. 8 on Sports Management Degrees.com’s 20 Best Online Master in Kinesiology and Exercise Science programs list that same year. In 2015, Sports Management Degree Hub ranked the Island University’s program No. 9 in its Top 10 Best Online Master in Kinesiology Degree Programs list.

To learn more about kinesiology programs at TAMU-CC, visit kinesiology.tamucc.edu.