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Clinical Exercise Physiology Graduate Degrees

Surround yourself with others who share your dreams, and pursue your master’s degree with support from students and educators who have a deep interest in the human body and the desire to use their knowledge to help others. Clinical Exercise Physiologists assess, plan, and implement fitness programs to improve cardiorespiratory function, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility in the human body. This is a campus-based program designed so that full-time students can complete the degree requirements in three semesters.

M.A./M.S. in Clinical Exercise Physiology

Choosing to earn your Master of Arts (M.A.) degree will prepare you to become certified as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist (CEP), while the Master of Science (M.S.) pathway is a thesis-based program that can serve as a standalone research-based degree or prepare you to sit for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) CEP certification exam. Most students who are planning to stay in the field of exercise science find the Master of Science to be the preferable program. This path puts you on track to sit for the certification offered by the ACSM and to be admissible to Ph.D. programs in any related field. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to advance your career as a master’s-level physiologist.

You’ll learn from highly-trained medical professionals with a combined 90 years of experience in the field on a campus located just 15 minutes from downtown Indianapolis, with access to a full range of entertainment, services, and career opportunities.

Career Benefits

Join your peers as you earn your master’s degree and become more equipped to enter the quickly growing industry of exercise physiology. The average exercise physiologist with a master’s degree earns about 11 percent more than their colleague without one, according to Labor Insights by Burning Glass. Students prepare to be physiologists, practicing scientists, or Allied Health Care professionals, using Marian University’s science-based curriculum that is equipped with the theory and skill sets necessary to excel as an exercise physiology professional. Program faculty are available to offer career counseling, offer support as mentors, and all students are welcome to participate in faculty-led research. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects exercise physiologists to experience nine percent job growth over the next 10 years.

What will you study?

The Master of Arts (M.A.)/Master of Science (M.S.) in clinical exercise physiology of exercise is designed to run in two forms:

  1. as a stand-alone M.A. or M.S. program or
  2. as a 4+1 concurrent with earning a Bachelor of Science from Marian University

The graduate program in clinical exercise physiology is designed for two primary outcomes:

  1. as an M.A. program leading to certification (a certification exam offered by the American College of Sports Medicine) as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist or
  2. as a thesis-based M.S. program, this can be used as a stand-alone research-based degree or can also be used to qualify for the CEP certification exam offered by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Course number Course name Credit hours
ESS 511 Biochemistry and Metabolism 4
ESS 524 Medical Physiology 4
ESS 534 Seminar in Physiology of Exercise 3
ESS 544 Seminar in Clinical Exercise Physiology 3
ESS 545 Clinical Exercise Physiology (lecture + laboratory) 4
ESS 550 Acute and Chronic Responses to Exercise 4

Course number Course name Credit hours
ESS 535 Clinical Exercise Testing and Exercise Prescription 3
ESS 536 Nutrition and Disease Prevention 3
ESS 554 Exercise Prescription for Patients with Chronic Disease 3
ESS 555 Cardiovascular Clinical Exercise Physiology 3
ESS 590 CEP Exam Preparation and Presentation 3

Course number Course name Credit hours
ESS 600 Research Methods and Design 2

Course number Course name Credit hours
ESS 601 Research 12
ESS 602 Thesis Defense 1

When do classes start?

Semester Application Deadline File Completion Deadline Semester Start
Fall 2025 July 15, 2025 August 1, 2025 August 18, 2025
Contact Us

Marian University
3200 Cold Spring Road
Indianapolis, IN 46222-1997
(317) 955-6000

admissions@marian.edu
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