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Best Colleges for Kinesiology & Exercise Science

50 Kinesiology & Exercise Science programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For Kinesiology & Exercise Science, Rice University (Texas) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $87,404. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	Rice University Houston, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$87,404	$10,000	104	97.9
2	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$79,411	$18,924	263	96.3
3	Emory University Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$87,254	$19,500	90	94.5
4	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$68,675	$19,400	391	91.7
5	University of Mississippi University, MS	Bachelor's Degree	$73,870	$21,516	109	90.5
6	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$81,110	$22,973	95	90.3
7	University of Georgia Athens, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$67,275	$19,516	292	89.8
8	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$79,599	$22,777	75	89.8
9	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$67,782	$19,986	166	89.7
10	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	Bachelor's Degree	$71,589	$21,508	169	89.6
11	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$68,992	$20,500	112	89.1
12	Utah Valley University Orem, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$63,951	$13,000	124	88.6
13	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	Bachelor's Degree	$64,356	$17,663	281	88.5
14	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$67,351	$20,174	116	88.2
15	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	Bachelor's Degree	$67,705	$21,500	290	88.1
16	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	Bachelor's Degree	$74,963	$24,000	186	88.1
17	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$66,580	$20,730	290	87.9
18	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,238	$23,250	158	87.7
19	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$64,579	$15,000	75	87.5
20	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$63,286	$16,500	346	87.4
21	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	Master's Degree	$66,230	$17,550	47	87
22	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$72,724	$20,500	28	86.9
23	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$73,289	$21,500	29	86.5
24	Concordia University-Chicago River Forest, IL	Master's Degree	$66,304	$21,612	250	86.4
25	University of Delaware Newark, DE	Bachelor's Degree	$76,478	$25,000	210	86.1
26	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$62,888	$18,667	453	86.1
27	Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$66,244	$18,375	37	86
28	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	Bachelor's Degree	$71,844	$24,838	369	86
29	University of Toledo Toledo, OH	Bachelor's Degree	$68,866	$20,058	—	86
30	Elon University Elon, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$68,178	$22,750	108	85.9
31	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	Bachelor's Degree	$70,919	$24,500	260	85.9
32	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	Master's Degree	$76,984	—	59	85.6
33	California Baptist University Riverside, CA	Master's Degree	$68,926	$23,309	122	85.2
34	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,505	—	248	85.1
35	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$63,065	$19,500	256	85.1
36	Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR	Master's Degree	$63,551	$20,012	195	84.9
37	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,495	$23,250	69	84.9
38	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	Master's Degree	$88,828	—	28	84.6
39	Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC	Master's Degree	$77,046	—	39	84.5
40	Sul Ross State University Alpine, TX	Master's Degree	$65,321	$13,538	21	84.5
41	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	Master's Degree	$70,383	$24,412	79	83.9
42	University of Western States Portland, OR	Doctoral Degree	$77,396	—	—	83.8
43	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	Bachelor's Degree	$61,250	$18,013	205	83.4
44	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$67,290	$24,580	312	83.3
45	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ	Bachelor's Degree	$77,835	$25,125	44	83.3
46	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	Master's Degree	$72,540	$25,602	126	83.2
47	Chapman University Orange, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$75,108	—	—	83.2
48	University of Kansas Lawrence, KS	Bachelor's Degree	$62,876	$20,500	193	83.2
49	Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO	Bachelor's Degree	$77,066	$26,316	99	83.2
50	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$61,252	$17,500	126	83.2

🔍 Filter Kinesiology & Exercise Science by state & degree level →

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Hidden Gems for Kinesiology & Exercise Science

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Kinesiology & Exercise Science — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$67,351	93%	88.2
2	Concordia University-Chicago River Forest, IL Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$66,304	93%	86.4
3	Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$66,244	74%	86
4	California Baptist University Riverside, CA Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$68,926	85%	85.2
5	Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$63,551	82%	84.9
6	Sul Ross State University Alpine, TX Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$65,321	99%	84.5
7	University of Western States Portland, OR Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$77,396	—	83.8
8	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$77,835	73%	83.3
9	Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$77,066	75%	83.2
10	Bethel University Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$68,202	—	83
11	Saint Mary's College of California Moraga, CA Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$66,265	87%	82.5
12	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA Strong Kinesiology & Exercise Science outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$64,309	93%	82.5

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the Kinesiology & Exercise Science field (CIP 31.05) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Kinesiology & Exercise Science programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best Kinesiology & Exercise Science program?+

By our outcome score, Rice University (Texas) ranks #1 for Kinesiology & Exercise Science, with median graduate earnings of $87,404.

How are these Kinesiology & Exercise Science programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter Kinesiology & Exercise Science programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.