Bachelor's · Bakersfield, California

Is Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness at California State University-Bakersfield worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $33,483; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $57,522; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $10,360; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $17k (likely $17k – $23k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $18k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.2 years (likely 2.4–4.3); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$34k (likely −$104k – $28k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $199k (likely $57k – $343k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 48%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in: not reported / ≤ 20%; NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20

Change income, residency or loans Compare Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness at other schools

🏃 Getting ready in high school

Students heading toward sports, fitness & wellness majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.

AP classes

AP Biology
AP Psychology
AP Statistics

IB Higher Level

Sports, Exercise and Health Science HL
Biology HL

Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.

Other majors at California State University-Bakersfield

Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$120,351
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's)$102,298
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's)$97,998
Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$93,797
Education, General (Master's)$92,010
Engineering Science (Bachelor's)$88,948
Social Work (Master's)$86,527
Public Administration (Master's)$85,123
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy (Bachelor's)$82,315
Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's)$82,248
Computer Science (Bachelor's)$80,432
Economics (Bachelor's)$78,029

Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness at other schools in California

Sonoma State University$67,351
Saint Mary's College of California$66,265
Pepperdine University$65,100
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$64,579
National University$62,748
California State University-San Marcos$61,252
California Baptist University$60,816
San Diego State University$59,914
California Lutheran University$59,820
Concordia University-Irvine$59,648