Movement, exercise and rehab science. A popular 4-year degree that opens doors, often to more school.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Counsellors: send it to a student from your own email in one click.
Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.
The median pay is about $67,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $46,000 at the lower end to about $103,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
4 years after high school, on the usual route.
$25,000 to $46,500 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
It depends where you work. You need a licence, certificate or registration in Ontario. Elsewhere there is none to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Moderate demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$67,000
Lower end
$46,000
Upper end
$103,000
Job Bank's national median is $32 an hour, about $67,000 a year at 40 hours a week. The lower end is $22 an hour and the upper end $49.73. Job Bank puts kinesiologists in one group with other therapy and assessment jobs, so these are not figures for kinesiologists alone.
$37.63 an hour
The median in Alberta, about $78,000 a year at 40 hours a week
Saskatchewan is close behind at $36.92. Ontario, the only province that regulates the job, has a median of $30.10, and British Columbia's is the lowest at $30.00 (Job Bank).
Roughly, all in
$25,000 to $46,500
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
This is four years of tuition at roughly $6,000 to $11,000 a year, plus the exam and registration with the CKO (College of Kinesiologists of Ontario) and a first aid and CPR ticket. The low end is a four year degree at an Ontario university, about $6,100 a year, with nothing extra added. The high end is a pricier university plus one or two optional certifications in areas like strength coaching or exercise physiology, and the first year of registration dues. Only Ontario requires registration, so elsewhere the exam and dues come off the total.
Total tuition around $24,000 to $44,000. Cheap for a health degree.
Depends entirely on the employer
Hospitals and insurers offer pensions and benefits. Clinics and gyms mostly do not.
Gym access at no cost
Common in fitness settings.
Daytime hours
Most rehab and workplace roles are weekdays.
Employer-paid courses
Many clinics pay for further certifications if you stay.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A 4-year degree, then registration in Ontario or voluntary certification elsewhere.
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Biology, chemistry, math, physical education. Minimum averages start around 65% to 75% at many schools, but the most competitive ask for the high 80s or more.
Bachelor of kinesiology
4 years
Four years: anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, exercise science, sport psychology, plus labs and placements. Offered at most Canadian universities.
Register in Ontario
A few months
If you practise in Ontario, write the CKO (College of Kinesiologists of Ontario) exam and register to use the title R.Kin (registered kinesiologist).
Certify elsewhere
A few months
Outside Ontario, employers look for CSEP (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology) certification or CKA (Canadian Kinesiology Alliance) membership.
Decide on the next step
Years 1 to 5
Within a few years most kinesiologists either specialize (ergonomics, cardiac rehab, strength coaching) or apply to physio, OT (occupational therapy), chiro or medicine.
Biology
Required almost everywhere.
Physical education
Grade 12 exercise science maps directly onto first year.
Chemistry
Math and physics
Biomechanics is physics.
Ontario is the only province that regulates kinesiology. Since 2013 the CKO (College of Kinesiologists of Ontario) protects the title kinesiologist there, and you must pass its exam and register. In every other province the degree is not licensed and anyone can use the title, so voluntary credentials from CSEP (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology) and the CKA (Canadian Kinesiology Alliance) carry the weight with employers and insurers.
Nearly every Canadian university offers kinesiology. A few examples:
Western, Waterloo, McMaster, Queen's, York, University of Toronto
Ontario
UBC (University of British Columbia), Simon Fraser, University of Victoria
British Columbia
University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, University of Manitoba
Prairies
McGill, Laval, Dalhousie, Memorial
Quebec and Atlantic Canada
In Quebec you enter a 3 year kinesiology degree after CEGEP (public college), and there is no professional order, so the provincial federation sets the standard.
Finish Secondary V
Age 16 or 17
With Secondary V math (Technical and Scientific, or Science option), chemistry and physics. These open the CEGEP (public college) science program, the usual way in.
Science DEC (Diploma of College Studies)
2 years
A 2 year CEGEP (public college) program. Laval also takes other DECs if you add biology, math and physics. McGill asks for CEGEP biology, chemistry, math and physics.
Bachelor's in kinesiology
3 years
3 years after CEGEP (public college). Laval's has two 180 hour placements and is in French. McGill's is in English. UQAC and UQAR (Université du Québec campuses in Chicoutimi and Rimouski) also offer one.
Pass the FKQ (Fédération des kinésiologues du Québec) exam
After graduating
The Quebec federation of kinesiologists. Pass its accreditation exam, pay the $30 plus tax file fee and get liability insurance to become an accredited member.
Keep your accreditation
Ongoing
The FKQ (Fédération des kinésiologues du Québec) asks for 30 credits of continuing education every 2 years.
Students coming from outside Quebec, without CEGEP (public college), usually take 4 years at McGill.
Things you don't need, but that help.
CSEP-CEP (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology certified exercise physiologist)
The most recognized credential for clinical and cardiac rehab work.
Ergonomics certification
For ergonomics work with employers and insurers.
Strength and conditioning (CSCS, certified strength and conditioning specialist)
Varsity and pro team roles; few jobs and a lot of competition.
Cardiac and pulmonary rehab
Hospital programs hire kinesiologists on union pay grids.
Coaching or personal training certification
Earn while you study.
Athletic experience
Clinic volunteer hours
Needed for physio and OT (occupational therapy) applications later anyway.
Comfort with statistics
Research methods are a big part of the degree.
Kinesiology is one of the most common undergrads for physiotherapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic and medical school applicants because the prerequisites line up. If that is your plan, protect your GPA from year one. Those programs look at marks first.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Rehab clinic: supervise exercise programs for 10 to 15 patients recovering from car accidents, surgeries or work injuries, adjusting each plan and documenting progress for the insurer. Workplace: an ergonomics assessment of an office or a factory line, then a report. Fitness: early morning and evening clients, quiet afternoons.
The good
The hard parts
Like the field but not this exact job?
Things people don't tell you.
In 1967 the University of Waterloo approved what it calls the world's first Department of Kinesiology. It opened on January 1, 1968.
Kinesiology became a regulated health profession in Ontario on April 1, 2013. Other provinces have kinesiology associations working toward the same, but none regulates it yet.
Job Bank rates the next 3 years as good for kinesiologists in Ontario and Saskatchewan, and limited in British Columbia. About 9,400 people worked in the group in 2023.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Therapy and rehab first, then the rest of the field. See every career in health.
Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.
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