Exercise Science B.S.

The mission of the faculty of the Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science is to professionally prepare students to contribute positively to the health and well-being of members of society as advocates for a physically active lifestyle and preventative health methods. Specifically, the purpose of the degree is to provide students with learning opportunities, which professionally prepare them to guide others toward acquiring and achieving goals for optimal physical health, fitness, and sport performance. The Exercise Science degree path will prepare individuals to enter directly into careers such as personal fitness training, strength and conditioning coaching, and lifestyle coaching. This degree also prepares students to enter into graduate programs and professional schools in order to pursue careers in biomechanics, exercise physiology, nutrition, and allied health science fields such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, orthotics and prosthetics, and chiropractic.

At its core, Exercise Science is a multifaceted field of study in which the acute and chronic responses of movement and physical activity are the intellectual focus. The Exercise Science degree is designed for students interested in physical health, fitness, sport performance and health-related fields. The Exercise Science degree path has two concentrations: Movement Science and Rehabilitation Science. The selection of the concentration depends on the educational and career goals of the student. Both concentrations will prepare the student for graduate study in Exercise Science or Kinesiology.

• The Movement Science concentration is intended for students wishing to pursue careers in personal fitness training, strength and conditioning coaching, and lifestyle coaching. This concentration prepares students by focusing their course of study on information directly related to understanding all of the mechanisms behind healthy human movement.
• The Rehabilitation Science concentration is intended for students wishing to pursue graduate education in clinical allied health professions, such as physical therapy or occupational therapy. This concentration prepares students with all of the pre-requisite courses needed to successfully apply to most of the physical therapy or occupational therapy graduate programs in California. While the two tracks are specifically designed for students interested in pursuing graduate studies in physical or occupational therapy, students may also choose the general Rehab Science concentration where they take at least 24 units of any of the Rehab Science concentration electives.