Health and Human Kinetics, Exercise Science Concentration, Major

Professors Hawes, Martin
Associate Professor Fink, Assistant Professor Busch

The Health & Human Kinetics Department has two majors – an HHK major and a Nutrition major. The HHK major can be completed with a general focus, or students can select one of three concentrations. . The Nutrition Major does not have any concentrations. The HHK department provides innovative theoretical and applied knowledge and experiences across the health, nutrition, fitness, and sport spectrum. At the heart of the program is the opportunity to develop progressively strong theoretical content knowledge with multiple opportunities to test that knowledge in the field. Students in the program can prepare for advanced study or careers in nutrition, exercise science, sport management, health promotion, and public health, or in allied health professions such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, and nursing.

Students may not double-major in HHK and Nutrition, nor can students major in HHK or Nutrition and minor in Exercise Science or Coaching. Students may, however, major in HHK or Nutrition, and minor in Food Studies.

Students preparing for careers or graduate school programs related to health and human kinetics may adopt the Health and Human Kinetics (HHK) Major. Students can also choose to specialize in a concentration as defined below. General HHK majors, as well as those with concentrations in Exercise Science or Health Promotion, must be certified in First Aid and Adult and Pediatric CPR through an approved organization before they complete HHK 260 , and students must maintain certification in Adult and Pediatric CPR and First Aid through graduation. Several American Red Cross classes are offered on campus each year. Recertification opportunities are also offered on a regular basis.

Students majoring in HHK have an altered general OWU distribution requirement – HHK majors are required to take 2 courses from Categories I, II, and III, and 1 course from category IV. Students majoring in Nutrition follow the standard OWU distribution requirements, which can be found in the catalog section on Distribution Requirements.

This area of concentration prepares the student for advanced study in the fields of health and fitness training, exercise physiology, athletic training, biomechanics, sport psychology, and allied health professions like physical therapy, occupational therapy, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.

Learning Objectives

Students in HHK will demonstrate increased competency in the following areas as they progress across the departmental curriculum.

1. Students will demonstrate a competency in current, evidence-based content in the field.

2. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply this content to their own health, movement, nutrition, and/or sport practices.

3. Students will effectively use content and theoretical foundations to predict and plan experiences for a range of populations in health, movement, nutrition, and/or sport.

4. Students will effectively integrate theoretical foundations and applied experiences in health, movement, nutrition, and/or sport to take a critical stand on pertinent issues in the field.

5. Students will demonstrate an ability to apply content, theory, and experiences in a complex and varying environment, to assess outcomes, and then reflect on and improve their practices in these environments.

6. Students will use their growth in the field in leadership positions where they connect with and serve a range of communities.

7. Students will demonstrate an ability to critically reflect on their growth across the HHK curriculum.

Required Courses

Students interested in completing this concentration must have a combined GPA of 2.67 or better in HHK 114 or HHK 100 2 , HHK 260 , BIOL 120 , and ZOOL 251 (C- minus or better) and obtain department approval before proceeding.

A minimum of 15.75 total course units are required for this concentration. Please note that some courses may have prerequisites that are not indicated below.

Note(s):

* General HHK majors, as well as those with concentrations in Exercise Science or Health Promotion, must be certified in First Aid and Adult and Pediatric CPR through an approved organization before they complete HHK 260 , and students must maintain certification in Adult and Pediatric CPR and First Aid through graduation. Several American Red Cross classes are offered on campus each year. Recertification opportunities are also offered on a regular basis.

Choose 3 of the Following 4

Additional Requirements

In addition, students are required to take at least 2 more units from the options shown below:

Two upper-level HHK courses (among those not shown in the required course list), or
CHEM 110 & CHEM 111 , or
PHYS 115 & PHYS 116 , or
Two upper-level ZOOL/BOMI courses (among those not shown in the required course list)