Exercise Science (B.S.)
Designed to prepare students for the wide range of careers in the growing field of wellness and fitness, exercise science at Bloomsburg is unique among Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities. This challenging and demanding program leads to careers in education, corporate wellness programs, health care and research environments, as well as in sports medicine and athletic training.
Emphasis is placed on the interpreted aspects of wellness and fitness, gerontology, nutrition, stress management, alternative medicine and therapies and cardiac rehabilitation in a rapidly evolving professional field. Major national corporations and graduate programs actively recruit Bloomsburg graduates. Many large companies, concerned with the health and productivity of employees, seek exercise science professionals to develop and manage corporate wellness facilities. Other graduates establish their own businesses in the personal training and fitness field or into sports medicine. A number of leading universities, including Bloomsburg, offer graduate study in exercise science and adult fitness including clinical and research internships to encompass the full spectrum of health, such as cardiac rehabilitation, physiological assessment and training for optimal performance.
Student factors that suggest a high probability of success include strong interpersonal skills, an intense desire to help others, versatility in individual skill and fitness abilities and strength in sciences, particularly those related to anatomy and physiology. This is a research-intensive department, affording students considerable opportunities at the undergraduate level to participate in cutting-edge investigations.
Program faculty offer advisement to assist individual students in tailoring a specific program of study to prepare them for career objectives.
As an exercise science major, you'll begin with foundation courses in exercise science, anatomy and physiology, and first aid, safety and automated external defibrillator (AED). You'll then study kinesiology, exercise physiology, nutrition, research methods, electrocardiogram interpretation and exercise testing, and exercise prescription and programming.
You'll take at least one course in mathematics, chemistry and physics, study sociology, psychology, the biology of aging, and have an internship in the field.
Working with your adviser, you'll choose from elective courses in health promotion, athletic injuries, outdoor activities, resistance training, aquatic fitness, mental health and the psychology of sports, coaching, women in sports, sports nutrition, adult health and development, cardiac rehabilitation, exercise prescriptions and programming for special populations and clinical exercise physiology.
Also available: Exercise Science and Adult Fitness (M.S.) with tracks in applied exercise physiology and clinical exercise physiology.