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Online Bachelor of Science
Exercise Science – PTA Completion Pathway
Build on your experience as a physical therapist assistant and prepare for new opportunities
You chose to pursue a career as a physical therapist assistant (PTA) because you love helping people recover from injury and lead more active lives. Take your passion to the next level with Harrisburg University.
We offer an online Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science completion program for licensed PTAs that can help you develop additional knowledge and skills to support patients now or pursue graduate-level qualifications in the future.
Program Features And Benefits
Transfer up to 70 approved credits - 53 from your PTA associate degree, and up to 17 more from other college-level study.
Study online with a total of four in-person weekends for skills labs.
Build additional knowledge and skills in healthcare leadership, wellness, and fitness.
Complete prerequisite study for graduate-level education, including HU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program.
Fulfill academic requirements for a range of health and fitness industry certifications.
What You’ll Learn
As a graduate of this program, you will be able to:
- Design comprehensive health and fitness programs for a variety of populations across their lifespan.
- Integrate mitigating risk and maximizing effectiveness of facility management and wellness-plan implementation.
- Prepare for the American College of Sports Medicines Exercise Physiologist certification exam.
Career opportunities
Completing your exercise science degree can help you enhance the service you provide as a PTA, but it can also equip you for new opportunities. For example, earning a bachelor’s in exercise science may qualify you to pursue exercise physiologist roles. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings for exercise physiologists are projected to grow by 10% over the 2022-2032 period.[1]
Other job titles this degree may prepare you for include:
- Coach or assistant coach
- Fitness trainer/instructor
- Fitness and wellness program coordinator
- Fitness center manager
- Athletics trainer
- Wellness or fitness coach
[1] https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/exercise-physiologists.htm#tab-6
Please note: additional science coursework (with labs) may be required depending on the curriculum for your PTA associate degree. You will need to complete a total of 120 credits to graduate (53 from your associate degree and 67 earned at HU).
How to apply
To apply to the online B.S. in Exercise Science, you will need to have a PTA associate degree and an active, unrestricted license to practice as a PTA. We recommend that applicants to this program have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.8.
See more details, including where to fill out our free application form, on our admissions page.
