Exercise Physiology

Types of Degrees Exercise Physiology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many exercise physiology and kinesiology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	984
Doctor’s Degree	84
Graduate Certificate	10

What Exercise Physiology Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to exercise physiology were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Exercise Physiology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in exercise physiology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Exercise Physiology Majors

When studying exercise physiology, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Exercise Physiology Majors

A major in exercise physiology will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Exercise Physiology Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with exercise physiology:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Exercise Physiologists	13.2%	$49,270
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	13.4%	$84,810

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology?

The major attracts more women than men. About 57% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of exercise physiology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	32
Black or African American	82
Hispanic or Latino	80
White	563
International Students	150
Other Races/Ethnicities	77

Geographic Diversity

Exercise Physiology appeals to people across the globe. About 15.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Exercise Physiology

Some degrees associated with exercise physiology may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to exercise physiology have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	17.3%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	5.7%
Master’s Degree	37.6%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.1%
Doctoral Degree	15.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	24.3%

Online Exercise Physiology Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	4	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	71	4
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	29	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Exercise Physiology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to exercise physiology.

Major	Number of Grads
General Physiology	3,110
Pathology/Experimental Pathology	313
Other Physiology, Pathology, & Related Sciences	215
Oncology & Cancer Biology	188
Vision Science/Physiological Optics	84
Biomechanics	68
Molecular Physiology	40
Cell Physiology	40
Reproductive Biology	40
Aerospace Physiology & Medicine	30
Cardiovascular Science	18
Endocrinology	8

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.