Notice: Course will not be offered in Fall 2023. Please check back soon for our next class offering.
Campus Recreation Personal Training offers a certification course for individuals interested in working as personal trainers in various fitness environments. Partnered with the American Council on Exercise (ACE), we provide quality education and training using the ACE curriculum to prepare students for the CPT exam and become certified professionals in the fast-growing fitness industry.
This hybrid-format course is offered every semester and contains online* lectures and content and in-person practical sessions. All students from various majors are welcome to enroll.
*Online lectures and content will be provided on iLearn.
Course Information
Course Dates: Coming Soon
Practical Session Dates and Times: Coming Soon
Practical Session Location: Coming Soon
Cost Breakdown***:
- Course Total = $179
- Course = $79
- Textbook (with student discount**) = $99.95
- TOTAL = $179
- *Price does not include exam voucher.
- **Textbook will be purchased separately on ACE website but will be required in order to proceed with the course (or risk being dropped w/o refund)
- ***Price and availability subject to change.
NOTE: The exam voucher can be purchased on your own time on the ACE website. The voucher price is $499 ($399 with student pricing) and allows you to register for the online or in-person exam modalities. The exam voucher is NOT required to register for the ACE course, but it’s highly recommended to purchase your exam voucher to keep you on track to obtain your personal training certification.
How to sign up:
- Purchase the ACE Course ($79) on the Campus Rec Member Portal. You will have access to the iLearn course within 1-2 business days of purchase.
- Create a MyACE Account (https://www.acefitness.org/myace/createaccount.aspx). This account will be used to purchase textbooks, study materials, and exam vouchers.
- Purchase the ACE Personal Trainer Textbook ($99.95 with student pricing – originally $150)
- Access the student pricing here: https://www.acefitness.org/student/
- Textbooks are available in three modalities: hardcover, audiobook, and e-book.
- Show proof of textbook purchase by Feb. 27th to avoid being unenrolled from the course.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can! The course is designed to teach students from different educational fields about exercise science and the fitness industry. Although it is advantageous to be a Kinesiology/Exercise Science major, anyone regardless of major is welcome to enroll.
The course covers 8 weeks of online lecture material, activities, and quizzes, as well as 4 in-person, practical session dates.
The course is 8 weeks long, with an additional week for review, if necessary. We will cover usually 2-3 chapters a week, however some weeks may be 1 chapter due to the amount of content. We recommend studying 5-6 hours/week, spread across 5-6 days/week.
We understand that this is a lengthy commitment, however in order to fully grasp the content, a consistent studying schedule is necessary to pass the exam. Please take your current school schedule into consideration when signing up for the course. Although the course has a pre-determined schedule of materials, you may study at your own pace. The online portion will be available to you for 6 months after the start of the course, so if you need additional time to study the material, feel free to continue studying after the completion of the course.
Practical sessions are class meetings where we discuss and engage in activities to develop skills to become competent fitness professionals. Although the CPT exam is written (multiple-choice), information and activities may appear on the exam (i.e., how to conduct a muscular strength assessment). Practical sessions help reinforce and apply the course material in a hands-on setting.
Yes. The course material covers the major points of each chapter, but the textbook covers topics in more depth than the lectures and practical sessions. It would be difficult to pass the exam solely on online material alone, without the supplementary information covered in the textbook.
You must meet all requirements below in order to be eligible for the ACE CPT exam:
- High school diploma/GED (or equivalent)
- At least 18 years or older at the time of registration
- Current CPR/AED certification (with skills check*)
- Current government-issued photo ID
*Please contact an ACE representative if you’re unsure if your CPR certification contains a skills check.
Campus Recreation offers Infant, Pediatric, and Adult First Aid/CPR/AED classes at an affordable cost! For more detailed information or for class dates, visit https://campusrec.sfsu.edu/FirstAid or contact the Risk Student Managers at crdrisk@mail.sfsu.edu.
Great! First, make sure you meet the requirements to sit for the exam (see listed requirements above). Once you have the requirements, log on to the ACE website with your login and register for the exam. For student pricing, visit https://www.acefitness.org/student/.
You have 2 options for exam delivery modality: online or at a testing site. The online format allows you to take the exam at home with remote proctoring, while the in-person format requires you to visit an ACE testing location to take the exam. For more information about scheduling your exam, visit the ACE website.
Congratulations! You are ready to begin your career as a fitness professional! With your certification, you have a wide range of career opportunities you can explore as an ACE-certified personal trainer.
If you are interested in working at Campus Recreation as a personal trainer, please email your resume and cover letter to the Personal Training Student Managers at mwcpt@sfsu.edu.
Please contact the Personal Training Student Managers at mwcpt@sfsu.edu for more information regarding the ACE course, getting certified, or career opportunities.