Master of Science - Exercise Science

The Master's of Science in Exercise Science offers a comprehensive educational experience including lectures and laboratories on theory and application of advanced exercise physiology concepts. Specific tracks of study serve to advantageously position graduates and career professionals in an ever-changing health care environment. The program is designed to enhance students' marketability, by combining exercise physiology with three well-established and popular areas of study: sports nutrition, athletic performance, and fitness for people with disabilities.

Although there are three distinct areas of study, the program also offers academic flexibility with several elective courses. In addition, an active research laboratory allows students the opportunity to pursue their own data collection or get involved as volunteer or graduate assistant.

The M.S. curriculum has an overall credit requirement of 36 credits. The intention is to provide students with an education that is inspiring, satisfying, and valuable to ensure students are competitive across the current academic and career landscapes.

Students may choose from one of the following tracks:

Exercise Physiology and Sports Nutrition – Prepares students for advanced study in exercise physiology and for careers incorporate fitness, hospitals, rehabilitation, athletics, research, and wellness programs. The track emphasizes the role of exercise in health and disease prevention, fitness testing and programming, physical activity intervention as well as hands-on, laboratory-based, clinically-based, and research-based internship experiences.

Strength, Conditioning, and Sports Nutrition – Designed for individuals seeking to improve their knowledge and skills in the area of strength and conditioning of athletes. The program focuses on the science and practical application of current knowledge in the field. Students have the opportunity to earn national certification through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Fitness for People with Disabilities – Offers students a unique opportunity to combine advanced courses in exercise science, exercise prescription, and applied behavior analysis to design fitness and sports programs for individuals with cognitive, emotional, and physical disabilities. Students develop specialized competencies in exercise testing, program design, and evaluation. This innovative approach leads to a variety of career options in the health-fitness, education, and clinical fields.