Exercise Science
The exercise science degree prepares students to work with individuals and groups to assess fitness and recommend exercises for overall health, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and sport performance.
Consider this degree if you…
Want to learn the science of human performance
Enjoy working with and helping people
Have a passion for wellness & fitness
Coursework
Years 1 & 2
The core curriculum in exercise science will familiarize you with principles of motor learning, functions of the human musculoskeletal system, and the field of exercise science and its professional applications.
Years 3
In upper division classes, you’ll explore physiological and psychological responses to physical activity, changes in motor behavior across the lifespan, and how to adapt exercise for different age groups and abilities.
Year 4
Your coursework will culminate in an exercise science internship so you can bridge the gap between theory and practice. If you’re in the pre-education track, you’ll take advanced courses in best teaching practices for physical education.
See what real WOU Exercise Science students are learning…
Students teaching 6th grade physical education at the local middle school
Students in class practicing motivational interviewing techniques
Last day with the 6th grade students, reviewing what they learned
Students in class practicing motivational interviewing techniques
Student practice administering a VO2 Max test
Students in class practicing motivational interviewing techniques
Student practice administering a VO2 Max test
Adventure-Based Learning activity with 6th graders
Student practice taking blood pressure while administering a Wingate anaerobic power bike test
Student practice taking blood pressure while administering a Wingate anaerobic power bike test
Conducting research on walking with a backpack across a force plate
Brief lecture on hydration and the Principle of Overload and Overtraining
Conducting research on walking with a backpack across a force plate
Student practice administering body composition test in the BodPod
Student practice administering a VO2 Max test
Warm-up with all the 6th graders; led by WOU students
Where this degree can take you
Pre-Clinical Track & Fitness and Human Performance Track
The exercise science pre-clinical track and fitness & human performance track will prepare you for entry-level positions in health care support areas such as hospital cardiac rehabilitation and physical therapy assistance, in corporate fitness centers, in athletic and health focused fitness clubs, and with organizations that provide fitness and activity programming such as YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs.
These tracks will prepare you to apply to graduate school in medical fields such as occupational and physical therapy, dentistry, medicine, chiropractic, as well as for Master’s degree programs in related human movement sciences.
Our Faculty
Dr. Emily Vala-Haynes
Professor and Program Coordinator, Public Health + Co-Chair, Health & Exercise Science
Dr. Laura Ellingson-Sayen
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator, Exercise Science + Co-Chair, Health and Exercise Science
Dr. Brandon Claggett
Instructional Faculty, Health & Exercise Science
Kendra Hamlin
Adjunct Instructor, Exercise Science
hamlink@wou.edu
Zach Hammerle
Adjunct Instructor, Physical Education
hammerlez@wou.edu
Amy McDonnell
Adjunct Instructor, Physical Education
mcdonnella@wou.edu
Jon Montero
Adjunct Instructor, Exercise Science
monteroj@wou.edu
