Best Colleges for Kinesiology

Two of the three careers people pick this major for are closed to a bachelor's degree. Physical therapy needs a doctorate. Athletic training needs a master's, and has since 2022.

That isn't a reason to skip kinesiology. It's the reason the school you pick matters, because some of these campuses run the graduate program you'll need next and some don't.

So this page compares the thing that decides it. For each school: what the major is really called, whether there's an accredited athletic training master's on campus, whether there's a physical therapy doctorate, and whether you can stack the two degrees and save a year.

Your Bachelor's Is a Starting Line, Not a Licence

Kinesiology is the science of how people move. The degree is real and the science is real. What it isn't is a credential you can practise on.

Physical therapy needs a DPT. To practise you need a Doctor of Physical Therapy from a program accredited by CAPTE, then a state licence exam.

APTA puts the typical program at about three years, and since January 2016 the DPT is the only entry-level degree CAPTE accredits. So a four year kinesiology degree plus a DPT is seven years.

Athletic training moved to master's level and closed the old door. The Athletic Training Strategic Alliance decided in 2015 that the entry-level degree would be a master's, and bachelor's programs could not admit, enroll or matriculate athletic training students after the start of the fall term in 2022.

Programs are accredited by CAATE. If a list tells you a bachelor's prepares you to be an athletic trainer, it's describing a route that closed.

Plenty is still open at bachelor level. Strength and conditioning, exercise physiology in a clinical or corporate setting, health promotion, sport management, personal training and coaching all hire people with this degree.

Several of those come with their own certifications rather than a licence.

The Major Has Four Different Names

Searching for kinesiology alone will hide good programs from you. The same field sits under different department names, and two of the strongest schools on this page don't use the word at all.

• Boston University calls it Human Physiology. There's no kinesiology major there.

• Florida State calls it Exercise Physiology, and runs a separate Sports Sciences major for strength and conditioning.

• Pittsburgh calls it Rehabilitation Science, with a pre-athletic training concentration inside it.

• Florida calls it Applied Physiology and Kinesiology.

If exercise science is the version you're really after, our guide to the best exercise science colleges covers that side of the field.

The Ten Programs, and What Comes After Them

The two columns that matter are the graduate ones. An athletic training master's on the same campus means you can keep going without moving.

A physical therapy doctorate on campus means the same for the PT route, and sometimes an accelerated path that saves a year.

1. University of Virginia

UVA puts kinesiology in the School of Education and Human Development, and the degree is a BSEd rather than a BS. Graduate study splits into adapted physical education, athletic training and sports medicine, exercise physiology, and health and physical education.

The athletic training master's is the reason to look here. It's CAATE accredited and built as 47 credits of coursework, 17 of clinical practicum and 3 of research, so the clinical hours are a third of the degree rather than an add-on.

There's no physical therapy doctorate at UVA, so the PT route means applying out.

2. University of Florida

At Florida, the major is Applied Physiology and Kinesiology in the College of Health and Human Performance, and the department reports that its applicants see a 47 percent acceptance rate into physical therapy programs and 46 percent into medical school.

The DPT is here and it's strong. It sits in the College of Public Health and Health Professions, ranked sixth among public universities by US News.

One thing to read carefully. Florida has a Doctor of Athletic Training, and that one is post-professional, meaning it's for people who are already credentialed athletic trainers. It's not a way in. There's no entry-level athletic training program here.

3. Boston University

There's no kinesiology major at Boston University. The equivalent is the BS in Human Physiology at Sargent College, which also runs a five year bachelor's to master's option.

The six year BS to DPT is the headline. You finish a BS in Health Studies after four years and the Doctor of Physical Therapy after six, instead of applying out and starting again.

Sargent lists no athletic training program at any level, so cross BU off if that's the target.

4. Florida State University

At Florida State, the closest major is the BS in Exercise Physiology, and there's a separate Sports Sciences major aimed at strength and conditioning that prepares students for the National Strength and Conditioning Association's performance scientist exam.

Check the athletic training situation before you apply. FSU's own program page says the program voluntarily withdrew its CAATE accreditation effective August 1, 2019, and that students entering after Fall 2016 have to complete a graduate professional program to become eligible for the Board of Certification.

The bachelor's on its own doesn't get you to the exam. There's no physical therapy doctorate at FSU either, so both clinical routes mean applying elsewhere.

5. University of Pittsburgh

The strongest pair of graduate programs on this page belongs to Pitt. Its physical therapy doctorate is ranked first in the nation by US News, and its athletic training master's is CAATE accredited.

The accelerated route is the one to ask about. You take the BS in Rehabilitation Science with a pre-athletic training concentration and finish with both that bachelor's and the MS in Athletic Training, rather than applying separately.

Note the major's name. Pitt calls it Rehabilitation Science, so it won't turn up in a search for kinesiology programs.

6. University of Maryland

Maryland runs kinesiology inside the School of Public Health, and its graduate focus areas are cognitive-motor neuroscience, exercise physiology and physical cultural studies.

The PT path saves a year. The department partners with the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore on a dual BS and DPT, where your final undergraduate credits are earned in the first year of PT school. That replaces the fourth year of the bachelor's.

There's no athletic training program at College Park, so that route means going elsewhere for the master's.

7. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

At Illinois, kinesiology sits in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, recently renamed from Kinesiology and Community Health, inside the College of Applied Health Sciences.

You pick a concentration, and the choice is unusually structured. Health Sciences, Applied Exercise Science, Biobehavioral Health Science, or Teacher Education for PreK to 12.

The Health Sciences track is built for students heading to physical therapy, occupational therapy, medicine, nursing or PA school.

There's also a combined BS in Kinesiology with a Master of Public Health. Neither a DPT nor an athletic training program is on this campus.

8. University of Georgia

Georgia runs kinesiology out of the Mary Frances Early College of Education, and its CAATE accredited MS in Athletic Training is the clearest reason to be here.

The graduate menu is wide for a department this size. Master's work in biomechanics, exercise physiology or exercise psychology, a strength and conditioning track, and a PhD in human movement science that covers athletic training, biomechanics, exercise physiology, exercise psychology and motor control.

No physical therapy doctorate on campus.

9. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Wisconsin is one of only three schools here with both graduate routes on campus.

The athletic training master's is CAATE accredited and runs 24 months, and the physical therapy doctorate is a three year program in the School of Medicine and Public Health taking about 40 students a year.

They sit in different schools, which matters more than it sounds. Kinesiology and athletic training are in the School of Education, the DPT is in Medicine and Public Health, so they're separate applications with separate deadlines.

The undergraduate kinesiology degree is explicitly pre-professional, built to feed those next steps.

10. Texas A&M University

The Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management at Texas A&M has run a CAATE accredited athletic training master's since July 2013, and undergraduate concentrations in applied exercise physiology and motor behavior.

The five year route is the efficient one. A combined BS in Kinesiology and MS in Athletic Training gets you to Board of Certification eligibility a year sooner. Students who don't get into the combined program finish the kinesiology BS in another concentration.

Sport management sits in the same department, which makes the crossover easy. If that's the direction, our guide to the best master's in sports management degrees is the next stop. There's no physical therapy doctorate at College Station.

How to Choose Between Them

Work backwards from the job. If it's physical therapy, favour the schools with a doctorate on campus or a dual degree, because an accelerated path is worth a year of tuition and a year of salary.

If it's athletic training, the list shrinks fast. Five of these ten have an accredited master's, and two of those let you start it before you finish the bachelor's.

If you're not sure yet, pick breadth. Illinois with its four concentrations and Georgia with its wide graduate menu keep more doors open than a program built around one exit.

And whatever you shortlist, check the department name before you decide a school has nothing, because half of these call the major something else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I become a physical therapist with a kinesiology degree?

Not on its own. You need a Doctor of Physical Therapy from a CAPTE accredited program and a state licence. Kinesiology is a common and sensible pre-PT major, and the doctorate typically adds about three years.

Can I become an athletic trainer with a bachelor's?

No, not any more. The entry-level degree is a master's, and bachelor's programs could not admit athletic training students after the fall term of 2022. Trainers already practising under the old rules can continue.

Which of these schools has both graduate routes on campus?

Pittsburgh and Wisconsin-Madison have both an accredited athletic training master's and a physical therapy doctorate. Boston University and Florida have the doctorate but no athletic training program.

What can I do with only the bachelor's degree?

Strength and conditioning, exercise physiology in clinical or corporate settings, health promotion, personal training, coaching and sport management. Several of these run on certifications rather than a licence, so you can start earning while you decide about graduate school.

Why do some schools not call it kinesiology?

Departments name themselves after their research emphasis. Boston University uses Human Physiology, Florida State uses Exercise Physiology and Pittsburgh uses Rehabilitation Science. Search for all four names or you'll miss programs.

Does an accelerated dual degree cost less?

Usually yes, because it removes a year. Maryland's dual BS and DPT replaces the fourth undergraduate year, and the combined routes at Pittsburgh and Texas A&M work the same way. Ask each program to confirm the total credits and the total price.