Honours BSc Human Kinetics - Applied Studies in Kinesiology

Students will acquire knowledge and have opportunities to apply what they learn in the various capacities of a kinesiologist. Kinesiology involves the application of principles from biomechanics, physiology, and motor behaviour to improve peoples’ functional movement, motor performance, and to manage and prevent injury and disease. Students will be offered courses oriented towards the core competencies required by the College of Kinesiologists of Ontario to pursue a professional career as a Registered Kinesiologist (R Kin). Students will gain theoretical and practical training, and will acquire skills to critically examine literature in the biophysical sciences of human movement.

Students will acquire knowledge, competencies and techniques for assessing and promoting performance and functional capacity, and for preventing and managing injury and chronic disease. They will obtain practical skills in exercise prescription to enhance performance and health, and for the treatment of individuals with compromised function. Students will have opportunities to gain training in how to use exercise in the management of injury, chronic disease, and in rehabilitation. They will have opportunities to gain training in ergonomics to critically assess and design equipment and workplaces to optimize performance and minimize musculoskeletal injury risk. They will gain applied counselling skills in principles of behaviour change to help individuals become more physically active and to help them enhance their health and well-being. Students will acquire knowledge in class settings and in laboratory-based and field practicum. In these rich practical experiences, they will learn to interact with different populations, from either different age groups (preschoolers, youth, young adults, the aged) or from groups of varying functional levels (e.g., athletes, sedentary people, persons with chronic disease, people in rehabilitation). Our students will gain practical experiences that better prepare them to pursue a career as a kinesiologist.

Our graduates are eligible to challenge the professional licensing examination for the College of Kinesiologists of Ontario, the external regulatory body for the profession of kinesiology and the R Kin designation. Applied Studies in Kinesiology enable graduates to pursue various career-paths in different occupational roles. For example, our graduates can become strength and conditioning coaches in high-performance training facilities and professional sport organizations. They can work among allied health professionals in community health centres and outpatient hospital programs, prescribing exercise treatments to help people manage chronic conditions. Our graduates can also find roles in rehabilitation clinics prescribing exercise and mobility protocol to facilitate injured persons’ return to work. They can work for occupational health and safety companies, conducting ergonomic assessments and re-designing spaces to enhance how people move in the workplace. They can become physical activity counsellors in family health teams or community health centres. Our graduates can initiate start-up enterprises in private kinesiology services. They can also work toward employment as certified ergonomists and pursue post-graduate certification in advanced ergonomics studies. Many of our graduates receive certification as Certified Exercise Physiologists from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP-CEP) and others pursue accredited membership with La Fédération des Kinésiologues du Québec. Our graduates can also pursue advanced degrees in allied health and rehabilitation fields (e.g., physiotherapy, occupational therapy).