Exercise Science and Wellness

Exercise Science & Wellness is a four-year, Bachelor of Sciences Program that offers exciting and diverse career opportunities and prepares you for one of two certification exams:

The American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist®; and

The National Strength & Conditioning Association Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist®.

You are prepared for these certifications by selecting a Clinical, Nutrition Science or Human Performance track and completing the curriculum.

Under the Clinical Concentration, emphasis is placed upon kinesiology, biomechanics, human anatomy, exercise programming, and therapeutic approaches to exercise. In the Nutrition Science concentration students receive focused, specialized preparation for the field of nutrition and dietetics. Within the Human Performance Concentration, you'll focus on strength and conditioning, exercise leadership, performance testing, and fitness management. Our diverse curriculum places huge emphasis on hands-on, practical application. You'll have the opportunity to work in our human performance lab with clients and patients as well as participate in clubs, join a professional fraternity, travel to regional and national conferences, and contribute to faculty research projects.

Exercise Science & Wellness careers boast above-average growth and starting salaries as compared to all-occupation figures. * 

student running on treadmill while fellow students monitor her breathing

Our Human Performance Laboratory features a state-of-the-art Cosmed Quark Metabolic Cart to measure fitness level, caloric expenditure, and lung function. Our metabolic cart is also used for electrocardiograms (ECG).

Our lab utilizes Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to provide measures of body composition (body fat % and % fat-free mass) and bone density. The human performance lab utilizes additional instruments to measure vital signs, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness, and flexibility.

Interested in Visiting Our Human Performance Laboratory? Email Dr. Andrew Newton
Upon completing our program, here are just a few careers for which you'll be qualified:

Undergraduates

Position Average Salary*
Cardiac Rehabilitation Technician $52,070
Exercise Physiologist  $49,740
Strength & Conditioning Coach $42,123
Personal Trainer or Fitness Instructor $40,970

*(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017)

Graduates

Position Average Salary*
Physical Therapist      $85,790
Occupational Therapist                                                  $81,690
Sports Psychologist $71,803
Nutritionist  $59,300
Athletic Trainer $49,940


Additional Requirements

Advisor designed electives may be selected from a variety of offerings including, but not limited to, gerontology, psychology, nutrition, business, computer science, and technology. A six credit hour (400 clock hours) practicum is also required of all ESW majors. You are encouraged to select a setting (preventative or rehabilitative) for the practicum that is representative of the direction you want your career to move. A number of our students in the ESW program receive full-time employment at their practicum sites following graduation!

View the Plans of Study for the Human Performance and Clinical Concentrations

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