Which Illinois kinesiology and exercise science program has the lowest debt?

UIC reports the lowest median federal debt, $16,750, with first-year pay of $28,874.

How much do kinesiology and exercise science graduates earn in Illinois?

The median across 19 Illinois kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs is $30,051 in the first year after graduating and $51,690 five years after.

Kinesiology and Exercise Science (Bachelor's) Programs in Illinois, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs are in Illinois?

19 Illinois programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 19 of them also report federal debt.

19 programs report first-year pay
19 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Illinois kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's program pays its graduates $30,051 in their first year, $435 less than the national median. Aurora University reports the highest first-year pay ($37,256), and UIC the lowest median debt ($16,750).

Median first-year pay$30,051National $30,486

Median pay after 5 years$51,690National $52,393

Median federal debt$26,000National $25,954

Debt-to-earnings81%National 80%

All 19 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Aurora UniversityAurora · private nonprofit	$37,256	Not reported	$27,000	72%
2	Benedictine UniversityLisle · private nonprofit	$36,344	Not reported	$26,000	72%
3	North Central CollegeNaperville · private nonprofit	$34,609	$50,987	$27,000	78%
4	Eastern Illinois UniversityCharleston · public	$34,511	$50,730	$25,000	72%
5	Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb · public	$32,158	$51,319	$27,418	85%
6	Elmhurst UniversityElmhurst · private nonprofit	$31,538	$63,657	$23,375	74%
7	McKendree UniversityLebanon · private nonprofit	$31,259	Not reported	$27,000	86%
8	UIUCChampaign · public	$31,187	$74,221	$21,425	69%
9	North Park UniversityChicago · private nonprofit	$30,165	$52,061	$25,495	85%
10	Illinois StateNormal · public	$30,051	$66,257	$21,250	71%
11	Southern Illinois University-CarbondaleCarbondale · public	$29,258	$42,513	$22,750	78%
12	Concordia University-ChicagoRiver Forest · private nonprofit	$29,231	$50,705	$26,166	90%
13	Monmouth CollegeMonmouth · private nonprofit	$29,027	$37,152	$25,757	89%
14	Olivet Nazarene UniversityBourbonnais · private nonprofit	$28,990	Not reported	$27,000	93%
15	UICChicago · public	$28,874	$62,018	$16,750	58%
16	Lewis UniversityRomeoville · private nonprofit	$28,856	$61,464	$26,000	90%
17	Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleEdwardsville · public	$28,795	$55,851	$23,237	81%
18	Western Illinois UniversityMacomb · public	$28,315	$59,683	$31,000	109%
19	Millikin UniversityDecatur · private nonprofit	$26,065	$42,885	$27,000	104%

2 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois kinesiology and exercise science program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 19 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

UIC$16,750
Illinois State$21,250
UIUC$21,425
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale$22,750
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville$23,237

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to kinesiology and exercise science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

$46,800

Median pay in Illinois. 19,830 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 68,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $31,210Top 10%: $92,780

Coaches and Scouts

$49,120

Median pay in Illinois. 8,840 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 36,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $31,200Top 10%: $122,720

Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling

$77,310

Median pay in Illinois. 3,260 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $45,450Top 10%: $121,720

Athletic Trainers

$64,750

Median pay in Illinois. 850 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,240Top 10%: $93,020

Common questions

Aurora University in Aurora reports the highest median first-year pay, $37,256. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Kinesiology and Exercise Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked524 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Illinois rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024