Majors

Best Colleges for Kinesiology and Exercise Science, by Earnings

839 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science, about 46,670 degrees a year. Across the 577 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $53,294 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Rice University	TX	$87,404	53	8%
2	Emory University	GA	$87,254	81	10.7%
3	University of Virginia	VA	$81,110	98	16.8%
4	University of Scranton	PA	$79,700	66	81.2%
5	Wake Forest University	NC	$79,599	102	21.7%
6	University of Michigan	MI	$79,411	279	15.6%
7	Manhattan University	NY	$78,264	28	78.9%
8	Seton Hall University	NJ	$77,835	59	73.3%
9	Carroll University	WI	$77,095	118	66.8%
10	Saint Louis University	MO	$77,066	117	75%
11	Simmons University	MA	$76,569	47	70%
12	University of Delaware	DE	$76,478	150	70.6%
13	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$74,963	183	45.2%
14	Lebanon Valley College	PA	$74,429	87	83.8%
15	University of Mississippi	MS	$73,870	108	96.6%
16	Chatham University	PA	$73,633	25	62%
17	University of Connecticut	CT	$73,289	53	52.4%
18	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	$73,238	157	59.7%
19	Purdue University	IN	$72,724	2	49.9%
20	Wittenberg University	OH	$72,289	31	72.4%
21	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$71,844	322	58.1%
22	DePauw University	IN	$71,696	19	57.2%
23	University of Oklahoma	OK	$71,589	163	76.6%
24	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$70,919	257	75.4%
25	College of William & Mary	VA	$68,992	125	34.1%
26	Indiana University	IN	$68,675	395	78.2%
27	Syracuse University	NY	$68,219	235	45.9%
28	Bethel University	MN	$68,202	38	87.8%
29	Elon University	NC	$68,178	86	66.4%
30	University of Mary	ND	$68,088	30	75.3%
31	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$67,782	176	42.4%
32	University of South Carolina	SC	$67,705	296	60.2%
33	Central Connecticut State University	CT	$67,562	47	73.3%
34	Saint Ambrose University	IA	$67,548	90	77.3%
35	Pennsylvania State University	PA	$67,399	210	60.6%
36	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg	PA	$67,399	27	97.6%
37	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks	PA	$67,399	20	98.7%
38	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona	PA	$67,399	12	98.1%
39	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton	PA	$67,399	1	98.5%
40	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington	PA	$67,399	1	96.8%
41	Sonoma State University	CA	$67,351	80	93.4%
42	Michigan State University	MI	$67,290	298	84.8%
43	University of Georgia	GA	$67,275	239	37.7%
44	Citadel Military College of South Carolina	SC	$66,934	44	22.7%
45	Rockhurst University	MO	$66,881	36	69.6%
46	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$66,580	272	26.6%
47	Marian University	IN	$66,491	26	95.5%
48	St Olaf College	MN	$66,314	26	48.3%
49	Saint Mary's College of California	CA	$66,265	35	86.5%
50	Elmhurst University	IL	$66,244	34	73.6%
51	Adelphi University	NY	$66,003	48	65.9%
52	University of Jamestown	ND	$65,831	17	88.1%
53	Roanoke College	VA	$65,112	49	83.1%
54	Pepperdine University	CA	$65,100	51	62.9%
55	John Carroll University	OH	$65,098	71	80.9%
56	University of Massachusetts-Boston	MA	$64,665	162	83.8%
57	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	$64,579	75	31.3%
58	Schreiner University	TX	$64,439	26	88.2%
59	Shenandoah University	VA	$64,373	20	77%
60	University of Utah	UT	$64,356	79	86%
61	DeSales University	PA	$64,161	27	77.1%
62	University of Evansville	IN	$63,830	33	77.6%
63	Temple University	PA	$63,714	182	80.4%
64	George Mason University	VA	$63,672	91	87.5%
65	Alma College	MI	$63,641	22	57%
66	University of Dayton	OH	$63,592	1	65.5%
67	University of Tulsa	OK	$63,485	49	61.5%
68	University of Sioux Falls	SD	$63,466	32	82.9%
69	The University of Findlay	OH	$63,397	9	83.4%
70	Winona State University	MN	$63,303	52	75.5%
71	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	$63,286	365	15.3%
72	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	$63,269	51	88.8%
73	James Madison University	VA	$63,065	272	71.5%
74	Texas A&M University	TX	$62,888	466	57.4%
75	University of Kansas	KS	$62,876	201	93.5%
76	Southern Methodist University	TX	$62,838	99	63.3%
77	National University	CA	$62,748	14
78	Abilene Christian University	TX	$62,645	40	66%
79	CUNY Queens College	NY	$62,602	45	64.4%
80	University of Maryland	MD	$62,362	189	44.8%
81	Illinois State University	IL	$62,112	77	88.2%
82	Stetson University	FL	$61,974	6	71.6%
83	Bellarmine University	KY	$61,841	52	86.1%
84	Saint Edward's University	TX	$61,741	28	81.4%
85	University of Iowa	IA	$61,732	543	83.6%
86	Ohio Dominican University	OH	$61,628	40	94.2%
87	Manhattanville University	NY	$61,395	45	87.3%
88	Howard University	DC	$61,316	77	41.3%
89	Lubbock Christian University	TX	$61,286	22	73.1%
90	California State University-San Marcos	CA	$61,252	164	95.1%
91	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$61,250	179	89.6%
92	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$61,070	79	90.5%
93	St Catherine University	MN	$61,048	17	91.9%
94	Washington State University	WA	$60,950	61	86.6%
95	University of Minnesota	MN	$60,931	86	79.8%
96	Florida State University	FL	$60,909	151	24.2%
97	Colorado State University	CO	$60,835	217	88.5%
98	California Baptist University	CA	$60,816	130	84.9%
99	Xavier University	OH	$60,804	75	86.4%
100	Fitchburg State University	MA	$60,768	4	86.9%

Showing the top 100 of 577 colleges that report earnings. 262 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Kinesiology and Exercise Science graduates?

Rice University ($87,404), Emory University ($87,254), University of Virginia ($81,110), University of Scranton ($79,700), Wake Forest University ($79,599) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Kinesiology and Exercise Science majors make?

The median across 577 colleges is $53,294 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $19,431 to $87,404.

Which colleges have the biggest Kinesiology and Exercise Science programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: University of Iowa (543), California State University-Fullerton (542), Texas A&M University (466), University of Memphis (424), Texas State University (423).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.