Physical education is a very important part of the student's overall development. The program includes a number of academic and activity courses aimed at increasing the understanding of lifetime fitness and skills as well as a variety of wellness-orientated activities. Students may earn a maximum of eight credit hours in physical education activity courses toward the 124 hours required for graduation.
The Sport and Exercise Studies program focuses on introducing students to a framework of knowledge in areas supporting sport and exercise. A broad intellectual base challenges our students to explore foundations of personal health and fitness, and sport administration, with multidimensional courses such as kinesiology, motor development, sport nutrition, sport management, and sport psychology. The integration of our classroom, laboratory, and field experiences with the college's general education program provides a well-rounded liberal arts education experience.
Sport and Exercise Studies graduates will be prepared for master's programs such as exercise science, health promotion, coaching, athletic training, sport management, sport psychology, and therapeutic recreation. Furthermore, our graduates will be well-equipped to enter directly into careers in community, clinical, and corporate sport and exercise settings. Senior capstone and internship components are significant aspects of the educational experiences. In culmination of the senior year, students will orally present a literature review paper of a topic of interest in sport and exercise studies. The required internship experience allows the students to gain first-hand experience in a discipline of choice related to sport and exercise professions.
Students are encouraged to supplement the Sport and Exercise Studies major with a minor that supports their area of interest. Minors in biology, business, dance, communication studies, psychology, or sociology provide additional opportunities to expand knowledge in areas supporting sport and exercise studies.
There is only one major in the Department: Sport and Exercise Studies. However, students are able to choose an emphasis to focus their coursework within the major in either health and fitness or coaching and sport performance. A student can only choose one of the following tracks. Either a major in Sport and Exercise Studies with a Health and Fitness track emphasis or a major in Sport and Exercise Studies with a Coaching and Sport Performance track emphasis. There are a number of core course requirements that all students within the major will complete, as these courses are essential to the content and understanding of the Sport and Exercise Studies field as a whole. The Sport and Exercise Studies faculty are committed to the encouragement of engaging specific student interests while also producing students who are capable of embarking in their live and future careers with a holistic and comprehensive approach to knowledge and application in their chosen path.