Department of Kinesiology

Kinesiology is the study of human movement, especially in how it relates to health, athletic ability, fitness, and overall well being. Whether you are interested in athletic training, physical education, or exercise science, studying kinesiology can help you prepare for a career that focuses on helping people improve their health. Whether you work with athletes or students, in a lab or on the field, you will work to understand how the body interacts with and reacts to movement.

Overview

At Point Loma, the Department of Kinesiology offers three majors: athletic training, exercise science, and physical education.

The athletic training program at Point Loma is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. A testament to the major’s quality, the program has competitive admission. Upon completion of the baccalaureate degree in athletic training, students are eligible to apply for and take the NATA-BOC certification examination. When the student athletic trainer passes the national examination, he/she becomes a certified athletic trainer.

You may want to major in exercise science if you plan to pursue a professional career as a physical therapist, physician’s assistant, cardiac rehabilitation specialist, chiropractor, podiatrist, or exercise scientist. Graduate education is required for all of these professions so the exercise science program at Point Loma works on building the cognitive and experiential foundation necessary for you to thrive in graduate school and, ultimately, as a professional practitioner.

The physical education major is ideal for those who want to earn a teaching credential in physical education. If you want to teach P.E. to elementary or secondary school children and teens, this is the program for you. The physical education major will help you develop competencies in teaching motor skills, social skills, and fitness through games, sports, and movement experiences to primary school children. You will also learn about classroom management, the philosophical bases of physical education, instructional techniques and procedures, and the various elements involved in teaching at the secondary level. Students will gain understanding for teaching students with special needs as well as teaching issues regarding diversity, gender, and culture and inner-city.

In short, PLNU’s kinesiology program can provide you with the opportunity to aid in the development of physical efficiency, healthful living, social cooperation and individual activity. It introduces students to the potential benefits of a stimulating systematic exercise program and also prepares students for careers in teaching, coaching, therapeutic science, athletic training, and recreation oriented community service programs.

Special Features:

• Experienced and nationally recognized professors
• Dynamic, hands-on educational experience
• Practical laboratory and internship programs, observation and participation in hospitals and physical therapy centers, and observation of surgery
• Special lecture series with medical doctors and other medical experts
• Opportunities for research with faculty member

Career Opportunities:

If you major in a program in the Department of Kinesiology, you will be prepared for a variety of career opportunities. Many students go on to graduate schools in physical therapy, physical education, exercise physiology and medical school. Other students become teachers or coaches. Still others go on to work as program directors at hospitals, recreation or community centers, and sports clinics.

PLNU has had great success in assisting students in their preparation for graduate school. Our Exercise Science majors have been accepted at and/or attended the following universities: Stanford, Duke, Boston University, Northwestern, Columbia, USC, Mt. Saint Mary's, Regis, Michigan, Ohio State, Loma Linda, Wake Forest, Emory, Los Angeles Chiropractic College, Palmer College of Chiropractic-West, Southern California School of Optometry.