2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Exercise Science
For additional information about opportunities your college offers, please refer to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences section in this catalog.
Website: gvsu.edu/exercisescience
Exercise science is the study of physical activity and exercise and the associated short-term functional responses and long-term adaptations the human body experiences. The exercise science major will seek to serve the students of Grand Valley State University by providing theoretical foundations for exercise testing and prescription in apparently healthy and clinical populations. Students receive hands-on experience and skill preparation to work in a wide variety of health, fitness, and wellness careers. The exercise science degree, with emphasis areas in health/fitness instruction and clinical exercise science, is consistent with American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) standards. The major prepares students for opportunities in community health and fitness, corporate wellness, personal training, cardiac rehabilitation, performance enhancement, and future graduate study in related areas.
Mission
To prepare students for physical activity, exercise, health, and sport-related professions through academic, practical, and research experiences. Our students will have the knowledge and skills to promote and impact their health and that of society.
Vision
The exercise science program in the Movement Science Department at Grand Valley State University is committed to being nationally recognized for its excellence in teaching and scholarship. Through our excellence, we prepare future leaders in the areas of health, physical activity, exercise, and sport. We achieve excellence in teaching by using innovative teaching strategies that incorporate active student learning. We complement excellence in teaching with innovative scholarship addressing critical issues related to health, fitness, and sports performance across the life span.
Graduate School Opportunities
Students are well-prepared to enter graduate school. Examples of graduate programs are:
- Physical therapy
- Kinesiology
- Exercise science
- Exercise physiology
- Epidemiology and public health
- Health promotion
- Biomechanics
- Physician assistant studies
- Occupational therapy
- Medicine
- Sport and exercise psychology
- Nutrition
- Orthotics and prosthetics
Program Requirements
The following programs are available: