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Strength & Conditioning Masters Overview

100% online

Format

1 year

Length

42 credit hours

Credits

NSCA CSCS

Exam ready

Recognized by Intelligent.com among the Best Accelerated Online Master's Degree Programs, 2025.

Our Master of Science in Strength and Conditioning is built on a science-based, evidence-informed curriculum — developed and led by experienced coaches currently active in the field. This isn't theory taught from the sidelines. It's industry-driven training from experts.

Graduates leave ready to apply scientific knowledge where it matters most: helping athletes optimize performance. That means running sport-specific testing sessions, designing safe and effective strength and conditioning programs, and guiding athletes on nutrition and injury prevention. Complete this 100% online, one-year program, and you'll be prepared to sit for the NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam.

Earn a degree built specifically for strength and conditioning coaches — without stepping away from the field. The program is 100% online, so you keep coaching while you keep advancing.

Career opportunities are everywhere: high school, college, semi-pro, professional athletics, and tactical. Training facilities and private gyms. Education and research. Wherever performance matters, Logan graduates are ready.

Start building the career you've been training for.

Inside Logan's online MS in Strength & Conditioning

Curriculum

42 credit hours in seven-week courses covering sport psychology, sports nutrition, program design, program administration, and resistance training and conditioning.

Courses run in an accelerated seven-week format — two back-to-back sessions per trimester — so you can complete the degree in as little as one year. Part-time enrollment options are available.

Start anytime — spring, summer and fall — so you can begin in the term that fits your coaching season.

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Develop and implement exercise programs to support and enhance athletic performance.
  • Recognize deficits in athletic performance to evolve and modify strength and conditioning programming.
  • Demonstrate effective communication skills to reinforce positive motivation, instructional feedback for lifts and exercises, and provide nutritional guidance for athletes.
  • Assess biomechanical movement patterns and interpret physiological adaptations to resistance training and exercise.
  • Employ Scientific literacy to construct needs analysis for optimal sport-specific programming.

Accreditation

Logan University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, 230 S. LaSalle St., Ste. 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604, 800-621-7440.

Field Experience

Two separate field experiences. 150 hours minimum each. 300 hours total.

You choose where you train — professional or semi-professional athletics, collegiate athletics, club teams, private gyms, or tactical settings — with a CSCS-credentialed strength and conditioning coach. Placing yourself means you build the program around the athletes and the setting you actually want to work in.

For professionals already in the field, the program provides additional support for coaches who are members of the NSCA, CSCCa, or NHSSCA.

Work with your dedicated field experience coordinator to personalize your on-site training.

PAST FIELD EXPERIENCES
  • Johnathan Ploke, MS ('24) — trained with Moana Pasifika professional rugby in New Zealand.
  • Mason Melancon ('24) — hands-on experience with the University of Tennessee football program.
  • Alexandra Potter ('25) — Canadian Sports Institute — Calgary

Certification

Graduates are prepared to sit for the NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam.

Career Outlook

Graduates work in high school, collegiate and professional athletics, private gyms, tactical strength and conditioning, and education and research.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 20% job growth for strength and conditioning coaches through 2031 — significantly faster than average.

Tuition & Aid

$6,300

Estimated full-time trimester tuition

9 credit hours at $700 per credit hour — the financial-aid full-time minimum, not the load each program requires

Tuition rates are in effect for the fall, spring and summer trimesters, and new rates are set each year beginning with the fall trimester. Amounts below come from the Logan University academic catalog and are estimates; the Finance Office provides official tuition and fee amounts.

Administrative fees

PAYMENT PLAN
$25
LATE REGISTRATION
$100
LATE PAYMENT
$100
Transcripts
$10
ID replacement
$15

Enrollment status & aid

  • For financial aid, full-time is 9 or more credit hours; part-time is 5-8; less than half-time is 4 or fewer. Sports Science & Rehabilitation and Strength & Conditioning students carry 12 credit hours per trimester to finish on the accelerated schedule.
  • Federal loans and in-school deferment require at least 5 credit hours that apply to your degree.

$700 per credit hour across 42 credit hours — $29,400 in program tuition.

Full-time is 12 to 18 credit hours per trimester, not the 9-credit federal financial-aid minimum. Those are different numbers.

Full cost of attendance, payment plans, loans and grants are on the Financial Aid and Tuition & Fees pages.

The Dr. Ken Leistner Memorial Scholarship

$1,000 to one MS in Strength & Conditioning student every trimester, honoring Kenneth Evan Leistner, DC ('80) — a world-renowned chiropractor and strength and fitness coach.

It's endowed: the principal is invested and only the yearly interest funds the award, keeping it available for future generations of strength and conditioning students.

Kenneth Evan Leistner, DC, holding an Olympic barbell loaded with a 25 kg plate

Kenneth Evan Leistner, DC ('80)

Over five decades, Dr. Ken pioneered a unique brand of high-intensity training, worked and consulted with celebrities and professional athletes, and was a prolific writer and expert in multiple fields. His techniques and philosophy are followed by members of the powerlifting and fitness community to this day.

Learn More

Admission Requirements

Same requirements as the MS in Sports Science & Rehabilitation.

  • A baccalaureate degree or higher from a USDE- or CHEA-recognized institution.
  • A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Official transcripts from every institution attended.
  • Prerequisites with a C or higher: six credit hours in physics, kinesiology, exercise science, biomechanics or statistics, plus six in biological science.
  • A current resume or CV.

Maintaining Academic Standing

Admission requires a cumulative GPA of 2.5. Enrolled students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0, reviewed at the end of every trimester as part of satisfactory academic progress, and a 3.0 cumulative GPA is required to graduate.

Haven't met every prerequisite? You may be admitted on a probational basis with a reduced course load and regular meetings with an Academic Success Coach. The Alternative Admissions Track Program is available — Admissions@logan.edu or 636-230-1750.

FAQ

How does the field experience work?
Two field experiences, each seven weeks and a minimum of 150 hours — 300 hours total, at a site you choose, supervised by a CSCS-credentialed strength and conditioning coach.
What settings can I complete it in?
Professional and semi-professional athletics, collegiate athletics, club teams, private gym facilities and tactical settings.
Why Logan for strength and conditioning?
The courses were written and are taught by coaches still working in the field — NFL, NCAA, Major League Baseball, tactical and private performance. Every course maps to NSCA standards. The seven-week online format means you keep coaching while you study, and the 300 hours happen at sites you choose.
Do I need a science background?
Any bachelor's degree works as long as you've completed the prerequisites. We've admitted students with degrees in business, psychology and other non-science fields alongside kinesiology, exercise science and human biology.
When can I start?
The program runs year-round, with starts in the spring, summer and fall.
Is this program accredited?

Logan University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits degree-granting institutions across nineteen states. Institutional accreditation covers every Logan degree program, including this one.

Logan University accreditation seal
Higher Learning Commission230 S. LaSalle St., Ste. 7-500Chicago, IL 60604800-621-7440
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