Sports and Exercise Studies Program

The program is designed to prepare students for careers with school and university athletic programs, community sports organizations, private and public fitness and recreation programs, and multipurpose facilities. The Sports and Exercise Studies curriculum will provide students with an opportunity to study Sports and Physical Fitness without seeking teacher certification. This major will allow students to pursue career goals related to fitness center operations or in the marketing of sport/exercise products.  The capstone activity for Sport and Exercise Studies majors is a 100 hour internship that requires the student to perform as an entry level employee in either a fitness center or a retail marketing placement.

OPPORTUNITY FOR CERTIFICATION – The demand for qualified and knowledgeable fitness professionals is and will continue to be on the rise due to an aging population and rising obesity rates. Our students have an opportunity to graduate with a certification whereas most other programs require the student to seek certification on their own after graduation.  This allows our students to enter the job market immediately once certification is obtained. 

      For students who are looking to continue on to a graduate program securing a certification will help to build a resume and allow opportunity to obtain professional work experience.

HANDS-ON WORK EXPERIENCE – Students who work with the Rio Grande Risk Reduction Program are able to put the knowledge, skills and abilities that have been learned in the classroom into practice with “real-life” clients and gain valuable experience in working with individuals of the general population that they will likely encounter in the job market.

SMALL-CLASS SIZE – This allows students to get a lot of individual instruction and experience working with the equipment used in laboratory activities.

PROGRAM ALIGNMENT – The SES curriculum aligns with the Multi-Age PE program which allows students the opportunity to easily migrate from one program to the other.  This helps meet the needs of our students.

 Student is able to:

Analyze human movement skills, diagnose errors, and then prescribe modifications that will enhance the effectiveness of movement skill performance.

Student is able to:

Describe the manner in which humans learn and control the performance of movement skills.

Student is able to:

Plan and evaluate the STATUS of athletes or clients in the cognitive and sychomotor domains by SELECTING suitable test, ADMINISTRATING the tests, SCORING the tests, and USING THE RESULTS to assess the client's current status.

Undergraduate Study

As a Sports and Exercise student, you will receive extensive training in physiology anatomy, and the biomechanics of movement. You will study movement and sport, learn how the physical self is tied to the emotional/psychological self, and see how the state-of-mind can effect the physical being.

 Undergraduate Majors:

• Sport and Exercise Studies
• Multi Age Physical Education
• Multi Age Health Education

The Multi-Age Licensure area has specific General Education requirements.  Also required are Professional Education and Curriculum Content areas.  Students electing to pursue the Multi-Age Licensure program may select one program from three program offerings: Music, Physical Education, and Visual Arts.

For more information about the undergraduate programs residing in the exercise science and sport studies department, contact Jeff Lanham at (740)245-7485 or the Admissions Office at (740)245-7218 or 1-800-282-7201.

Graduate Majors:

• Athletic Coaching Leadership

Description of the Program: The primary goal of the Athletic Coaching Leadership (ACL) concentration is to provide well-qualified coaches for all levels of sports programs. The ACL strives to address the diverse needs of the coaching profession and respond to the changing needs of prospective and practicing coaches. The ACL will not be sport specific. It will continue to develop appropriate sport and situation specific program content to ensure the enjoyment, safety and positive skills development of America’s coaches.

  For more information about the graduate programs residing in the exercise science and sport studies department, contact Dreama Hudson in the Graduate Studies Office (740)245-7167 or dhudson@rio.edu.