Kinesiology Mission and History

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It is the mission of the Department of Kinesiology to develop and deliver an educational program ensuring that each of its students acquires the knowledge and skills necessary for successful careers in the areas of teaching, fitness management, or in the allied health sciences. Additionally, the department prepares its students to make meaningful contributions to the body of knowledge informing their practice through basic and applied research dealing with the cultural, biomechanical, physiological, neuromotor, psychological, and educational principles of human behavior. Through effective teaching, quality research, and meaningful service the faculty of the department demonstrates its commitment to the advancement of health and physical activity for all people.

For the 1970-71 academic year, UTA's Department of Physical Education was organized within the College of Liberal Arts. Its primary functions were (1) to provide the required and elective physical education classes to students at the university and (2) to provide pedagogy classes for students seeking teacher certification in physical education. In the fall of 1989, the department was renamed the Department of Exercise, Sport, and Health Studies. Beginning in 1995, the department began granting a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Sports degree. The department was moved to the School of Education in the fall of 1999 and its name changed to the Department of Kinesiology to better reflect the breadth and scope of its academic endeavors in the fall of 2000.

The department currently offers students the opportunity to pursue the study and practice of exercise, sports, dance, and health. The department's programs of instruction, research, and service are conducted within the context of fitness, sports performance, dance, aquatics, preventative and rehabilitative activities, health promotion, and education. Degree and certification programs are offered that prepare students to be physical education and health teachers. In addition, there are degree programs for students interested in exercise science as a preparation for careers in fitness management, clinical exercise physiology, and pre-physical therapy. Other curricular options provide offerings for recreational leadership, coaching, sport-related business, dance and dance performance, health promotion, and athletic training. Through the department, students may pursue either a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Exercise and Sports Studies or a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Science.

Students selecting the degree track leading to the B.A. in Exercise and Sports Studies may specialize in exercise science, sport performance, sport health, dance, or recreation. Students may elect to take those courses needed to qualify for teacher certification in health education at the elementary or secondary levels and physical education at elementary, secondary, and all levels. Students in these certification programs receive instruction aimed at the acquisition of the knowledge and skills needed to pass the appropriate Teacher Certification Exams (TExES). Health education majors concentrate on the state-designated content domains that include personnel well-being, health-promoting interactions among individuals, and collective well-being. The program for physical education majors emphasizes the promotion of learners' physical development, promotion of learners' affective, social, and cognitive development, and implementation of physical education programs at the appropriate level. Many Exercise, Sport, and Health Studies program majors also seek their American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) certificates, passing rigorous examinations aimed at documenting competency in topics including functional anatomy and biomechanics, exercise physiology, human development and aging, pathophysiology and risk factors, human behavior and psychology, health appraisal and fitness testing, emergency procedures and safety, exercise programming, and nutrition and weight management.

All declared majors in the Department of Kinesiology are required to demonstrate oral language competencies and must demonstrate basic computer proficiency and an acceptable level of expertise in using computerized laboratory equipment to accurately input, analyze, interpret, and report data regarding human physical performance. Students are also expected to demonstrate the traits considered necessary for successful leadership, training, and management of programs and organizations seeking to enhance the quality of life for its membership, both on an individual basis as well as on the corporate level.