Online Physical Education Degree: Bachelor's and Master's

By the Transforming Education editorial team. Reviewed for accuracy against the sources listed below.

An online physical education degree prepares you to teach PE, or to deepen your practice if you already do. It sounds like a contradiction. Physical education is about movement, and a laptop does not move. In practice the model is simple: the theory, pedagogy, curriculum and assessment coursework is delivered online, and the movement, safety and teaching practice happens where you live, in local gyms, pools and schools.

This guide explains how programs handle the practical pieces, what SHAPE America's standards expect, how licensure and non-licensure tracks differ, what the degrees cost, and what the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about teacher pay. It ends with verified online programs at regionally accredited public and private non-profit universities.

What a physical education degree is

Physical education degrees come at two levels with different jobs to do.

A bachelor's in physical education (B.S.Ed. or B.S.) is an initial teacher preparation degree. It combines exercise science foundations (anatomy, physiology, motor development, biomechanics), teaching methods for elementary and secondary PE, adapted physical education for students with disabilities, health and safety certifications, and a full student teaching semester. Graduates seek a K-12 PE teaching license.

A master's in physical education (M.Ed., M.A., M.S. or M.S.Ed.) usually serves teachers who already hold a license. Coursework covers curriculum design, assessment, research methods, professional issues, risk management, and leadership in physical education and athletics. Some master's programs also offer an alternative initial-certification route for people with a bachelor's in a related field, and some are content-only degrees with no certification outcome at all.

Both levels are shaped by the field's national standards, covered next.

SHAPE America standards

SHAPE America, the Society of Health and Physical Educators, publishes the standards that most state frameworks and teacher preparation programs build on.

The National Physical Education Standards were revised and released in 2024. The 2024 edition has four standards. A physically literate student:

1. Develops a variety of motor skills.
2. Applies knowledge related to movement and fitness concepts.
3. Develops social skills through movement.
4. Develops personal skills, identifies personal benefits of movement, and chooses to engage in physical activity.

Standards 3 and 4 are where PE overlaps with social-emotional learning: self-management, social awareness and responsible decision-making show up in how students handle competition, cooperation and their own fitness choices. Teachers looking for cross-over ideas can start with our SEL activities collection.

For teacher preparation, SHAPE America's 2017 National Standards for Initial Physical Education Teacher Education (the PETE standards, fourth edition) set six expectations for candidates: content and foundational knowledge; skillfulness and health-related fitness; planning and implementation; instructional delivery and management; assessment of student learning; and professional responsibility. SHAPE America notes that a revision of the PETE standards has begun. Programs that align to these standards are preparing you for how states and accreditors will judge your teaching.

How the practical components work online

Three categories of hands-on work exist in a PE degree, and online programs handle each differently.

Activity and safety courses. Skills courses, first aid, CPR and lifeguard training cannot be completed by watching video. Mayville State University's online B.S.Ed. in Physical Education shows the standard solutions: local assessment and testing for prior-learning credit in its first aid and CPR and lifeguard courses, a collaborative online enrollment with Dickinson State University, or an approved transfer course from a local community college or four-year institution.

Standard 2 of the PETE standards: your own skillfulness and fitness. Some programs assess candidates' movement competence through recorded demonstrations and fitness assessments submitted online; others rely on transfer activity credits. Ask how a program documents this standard before you enroll.

Field experiences and student teaching. These are in person. Mayville State places students in local, approved school districts with cooperating teachers for field experiences, practicums and student teaching. Jacksonville State's Teacher Education option is online with K-12 engagement built in. Liberty's M.A.T. requires a semester of student teaching.

At the master's level for already-certified teachers, the practical component is usually your own classroom: assignments ask you to design, deliver and assess units with your students and reflect on the results. That is why programs such as Arkansas's and Canisius's can be genuinely 100 percent online.

Who the degree is for

• Future PE teachers who need a licensure-track bachelor's and cannot relocate to a campus.
• Certified PE teachers seeking an advanced certificate, a salary step or a department leadership role. Jacksonville State's Teacher Education option moves Alabama Class B teachers to Class A; its Ed.S. moves them to Class AA.
• Coaches, trainers and recreation professionals with a bachelor's in exercise science or a related field who want a master's without teacher certification. Jacksonville State's Human Performance and Nutrition options and Canisius's content-based M.S. fit here.
• Career changers with a bachelor's degree who want an initial license. Jacksonville State's Alternative Fifth-Year option and Liberty's Health and Physical Education M.A.T. are built for this group.

Licensure track vs non-licensure track

Read every program page for the words "certification" and "license." The programs reviewed for this guide span the whole range:

A non-licensure master's is not a lesser degree. It is the right choice for a teacher who is already certified. It is the wrong choice for someone who needs a license.

Accreditation and why it matters

For bachelor's and initial-licensure programs, look for educator preparation accreditation from CAEP or AAQEP on top of the university's regional accreditation, and for state approval of the specific program. Mayville State's teacher education program is CAEP-accredited; Liberty's School of Education states CAEP accreditation. SHAPE America also serves as the specialized professional association that reviews PE programs within CAEP accreditation, which is why alignment to the PETE standards matters.

For non-licensure master's degrees, the university's institutional accreditation is what counts. Jacksonville State is accredited by SACSCOC; USF publishes its institutional accreditation on its accreditation page. Where a program page did not state the accreditor, the program list below says so and you should confirm it before applying.

Admissions basics

• Bachelor's: high school diploma or transfer credit; background check before field placement; a basic skills test may be required before student teaching, depending on the state.
• Master's for certified teachers: a bachelor's degree in physical education or a related field and a valid teaching certificate. Jacksonville State's Teacher Education option requires current Class B certification; Arkansas requires a related undergraduate degree plus a 3.0 GPA (or 3.0 on the last 60 hours with a 2.7 overall) and no GRE.
• Alternative initial certification: a bachelor's degree with no teaching certificate (Jacksonville State's Alternative Fifth-Year), or Liberty's M.A.T. requirement of a bachelor's with a 2.5 GPA and no standardized test.

Curriculum, credits and duration

• Bachelor's: 120 credits over four years, including general education and a full student teaching semester.
• Master's: 30 credits is the norm (Arkansas, USF, Canisius), with Jacksonville State's alternative certification option at 42 credits and Liberty's M.A.T. at 36.
• Ed.S.: Jacksonville State's is 30 to 31 credits, typically one to three years.
• Duration: Arkansas estimates two years; most 30-credit programs run 18 to 24 months part-time.

Try this: Ask each program for the syllabus of its curriculum course and check which standards it is built on. A program still teaching to the 2013 standards is behind the 2024 revision.

What it costs

All figures are approximate and come from the cited program pages and NCES.

• National context: NCES reports average 2022-23 undergraduate tuition and required fees of $9,800 at public four-year colleges in state and $40,700 at private non-profits (Fast Facts), and average 2021-22 graduate tuition and fees of about $12,600 at public and $29,900 at private non-profit institutions (Digest Table 330.50).
• Mayville State bachelor's: $358.72 to $432.58 per credit including fees for 2026-27 depending on residency, capped at 12 credits.
• University of Arkansas master's: $473.47 per credit at fall 2026 online rates, about $14,200 in tuition for 30 credits, plus per-credit fees.
• Liberty M.A.T.: $450 per credit full-time for 2026-27, about $16,200 for 36 credits.

Expect roughly $14,000 to $17,000 in tuition for an online master's at these programs before fees and books.

Online format realities

• You will be in a gym. Field experiences and student teaching for licensure programs are in person and during the school day.
• Local certifications cost extra. CPR, first aid and lifeguard courses taken locally carry their own fees.
• Asynchronous is common. Mayville State describes most courses as asynchronous; Arkansas and USF are fully online. Check whether live sessions are required.
• Placement is yours to arrange, with help. Confirm the program can approve a school in your district and supervise you there.

State reciprocity caveat

Licensure programs are built to their home state's rules. Mayville State's program is designed for North Dakota and notes that while North Dakota is part of the NASDTEC Interstate Agreement, each state sets its own requirements; students planning to teach elsewhere must meet an advisor before starting. Jacksonville State's certificates are Alabama classes. Liberty's M.A.T. follows Virginia requirements. Confirm approval with your own state department of education before you enroll, including any PE content test the state requires.

Career outlook and pay

BLS does not publish a separate occupation for PE teachers; they fall within the teacher categories below. From the Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections:

All three list a bachelor's degree as typical entry education and require a state license for public schools. The median wage for all occupations was $50,980. PE positions are often paired with coaching stipends and athletic director duties, which are not reflected in these medians.

Programs to consider

The programs below are online physical education degrees at regionally accredited public and private non-profit universities, verified on each program's own page. They include initial licensure, advanced certificate and non-licensure options, labeled as such. The list is in no particular order and is not a ranking. Confirm current tuition, certification outcomes and your state's approval with each program.