The Department of Exercise and Health Sciences offers one undergraduate degree: a Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Health Sciences. Our curriculum includes a solid foundation based on the principles of exercise physiology and physical activity promotion while offering the flexibility for students to pursue prerequisite courses for graduate programs in many health professions including Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Public Health, Medicine, Chiropractic Medicine, Nursing, Sports Medicine, and Health care Administration.
All undergraduates who earn a BS in Exercise and Health Sciences are eligible to sit for the American College of Sports Medicine's Certified Exercise Physiologist exam. This certification is a valuable distinction for EHS professionals in the workforce.
Faculty
Our faculty have broad expertise in many areas of exercise and health sciences including:
- Interaction of diet and exercise on cardiovascular function.
- Effects of age, race, and exercise training on neurovascular responses to exercise.
- Skeletal muscle metabolism in relation to obesity, diabetes, cancer and exercise.
- Body composition assessment and exercise interventions throughout the lifespan.
- Effects of mind-body exercise on physical and cognitive functions.
- Strength and conditioning for sport performance.
- Fitness assessment and exercise program design for special populations.
- Designing health behavior interventions.
- Digital health interventions for diet and physical activity.
- Physical activity promotion in children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
- Interventions to increase physical activity and prevent obesity among Latinos.
- Fitness assessment and exercise program design for special populations.
- Influence of the environmental determinants on physical activity.
- Cardiovascular and infectious diseases epidemiology.
- Child health and nutrition, childhood obesity prevention in community-based research.
Internship
The Exercise and Health Science Undergraduate Internship is 400 hours of experiential learning aligned with an academic course for a total of 12 credits. Students complete their internship in their preferred field which provides real world experience under the mentorship of a professional. Students have a broad area of interests to choose. Students hold supporting roles to assist professionals in health care, health promotion and disease prevention, research, athletics, and fitness and wellness across the life span. Common sites our students are placed include Massachusetts General Hospital, Spaulding Rehabilitation, Harvard Athletics, Northeastern University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, South Shore Hospital, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Greater Boston YMCAs, Healthworks, Bay State Physical Therapy, Elliot Physical Therapy, Hebrew Rehabilitation and many more.
Student Learning Outcomes and Objectives
Upon graduation, student in the Exercise and Health Sciences program will possess the knowledge and ability to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of core and concentration specific EHS courses:
- Identify chronic health conditions and disparities associated with physical inactivity and poor nutrition;
- Convey the most current recommendations for physical activity and nutrition;
- Demonstrate knowledge of the physiological response to physical activity and associated health benefits;
- Understand the correlates of physical activity behavior.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply scientific theory to practice in humans:
- Design and implement a health behavior intervention, based on scientific theory, to improve health and fitness;
- Demonstrate the ability to perform assessment of health related fitness;
- Apply the scientific method though the completion of a group research project using objective measures;
- Design individualized exercise programs for low and moderate risk populations.
- Demonstrate ability to evaluate literature related to exercise and health sciences:
- Gather and analyze relevant peer-reviewed literature;
- Draw conclusions through synthesis of the literature;
- Convey knowledge of literature related to the exercise and health sciences in oral and in written format.