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.

The World Health Organization defines Health Promotion as “… the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health.” Therefore, courses in this concentration are organized around key content areas in HHK, Psychology, Human Physiology, and Marketing / Communication, as these are core areas for developing Health Promotion outcomes. The Health Promotion concentration prepares students for advanced study and work in areas such as public health, health program planning, health policy, wellness programs, community health, and dietetics, among others.