Health and Exercise Science (BS)

Why Study Health and Exercise Science?

Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other rehabilitation sciences are among the fastest-growing sectors of patient care. The healthcare industry’s renewed focus on preventative medicine is creating a surge of interest in wellness programs from families, individuals, communities, and organizations. With this, there’s a growing demand for personal coaches, health educators, corporate wellness program managers, and other related roles.

A degree in health and exercise science gives you the foundation for these rewarding and exciting fields that help others achieve their personal best.

Why Saint Francis for Health and Exercise Science?

Beyond the science and skills. Rooted in the liberal arts and built on Catholic values, our program develops you into a reflective, ethical professional ready to provide compassionate care and service to others.

With activity- and project-based courses, you’ll see today’s best practices in action… and then practice them yourself. You’ll learn how to apply science-based evidence in real-world situations and hone valuable communication, coaching, and organizational skills.

Saint Francis’ strong reputation in the regional healthcare community gives our students access to quality internships, opens doors for health and wellness jobs with top employers, and provides meaningful service-learning opportunities.

Personalize Your Path: Expand Your Opportunities

Our breadth of programs in health sciences and beyond allows our students to combine majors, minors, and concentrations. Your faculty advisors can help you personalize your academic path within the academic program to meet your goal.

Kinesiology Degree Concentration

Concentrating in Kinesiology—the study of movement—prepares students to meet the prerequisites for graduate programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, chiropractic care, dietetics, physician studies, biomechanics, and many others.

Health Promotion Concentration

This concentration is an ideal choice if you want a career in fitness training and consulting, community health education, personal coaching, rehabilitation services, corporate wellness, or health-related marketing and management roles.

This concentration prepares you for national certification exams including: 

• Personal trainer, exercise specialist and health/fitness instructor (American College of Sports Medicine)
• Personal trainer (National Strength and Conditioning Association and National Academy of Sports Medicine) 

Strength and Conditioning Concentration

The Strength & Conditioning concentration prepares students for success as specialists working with athletes of all ages and abilities. The program includes required internships and practicums to build hands-on experience.

The University of Saint Francis is pursuing accreditation from the Council of Accreditation for Strength and Conditioning Education, which will qualify graduates to sit for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam with the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA). Students must complete an application process to be fully admitted into the Strength and Conditioning concentration. 

Two Degrees, Four Years

Students in our two-year physical therapist assistant associate degree program can simultaneously work towards a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science.

Double Major

Add a second major in a related or complementary field to boost your opportunities. Popular choices include biology and psychology. Other majors may give you a chance to earn an associate’s degree along the way, such as surgical or radiologic technology.

Minors

Gain more marketable skills when you complement your health and exercise degree with a minor like nutrition, athletic coaching, psychology, business, or marketing.

Transition to Teaching Pathway 

Begin working towards a teaching certificate through the early pathway in the Transition to Teaching program. Upon completion of a bachelor’s degree students can continue with graduate studies to complete a teaching certificate. 

Hands-On Learning: Active From the Start

At Saint Francis, you’ll start learning through hands-on experiences from day one. You’ll connect with peers in your degree program through collaborative courses and department seminars.

Your final year culminates with a 200-hour internship. Recent internship sites include:

• Catalyst Fitness 
• DeKalb Chiropractic 
• Fort Wayne Orthopedics Hospital 
• Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation 
• Fort Wayne Tin Caps 
• Goebel Chiropractic 
• Indiana Physical Therapy 
• Mad Apple CrossFit 
• Parkview Senior Club 
• Parkview Sports Medicine 
• Ruoff Mortgage Corporate Wellness 
• Turnstone 
• YMCA 

Your internships might even serve as a pathway to your first employment position after graduation.

On-campus experience with Saint Francis athletics, health services and related offices also provide valuable practical experience.

Faculty and Facilities

All of this hands-on learning happens in places like our cadaver lab and an exercise physiology lab stocked with state-of-the-art fitness testing and body composition equipment. You will learn from a faculty with a wealth of expertise and professional experience across the health and exercise science discipline.

Campus and Community

Saint Francis offers many opportunities for you to serve others through campus ministries, service-learning projects, and student groups.

KAN — the Kinesiology and Nutrition Club — is all about career development and networking events throughout the academic year. Depending on your career interest, you might also be interested in joining the Physical Therapy Assistants Club.

Plus, nine intramural teams give you options to stay active while enjoying a little friendly competition.

What You Can Do With a Health and Exercise Science or Kinesiology Degree

Health and wellness jobs abound in Indiana and beyond. You will join a network of Saint Francis graduates helping their communities stay healthy, get active and be well in roles such as:

• Personal trainers
• Athletic coaches
• Strength and conditioning coaches
• Community health educators
• Lifestyle coaches
• Health and fitness managers
• Graduate students pursuing advanced degrees 

Additionally, entrepreneurial health and exercise science graduates are known to start their own health, wellness, or fitness businesses.

Where You’ll Find Our Graduates

With plenty of real-world experience and a degree in health and exercise sciences in hand, our graduates start their careers at places like:

• Adams Physical Therapy Services Inc
• Anytime Fitness
• Athletes with Purpose
• ATI Physical Therapy
• Beacon Health System
• Catalyst Fitness
• DeKalb Health
• Fort Wayne Community Schools
• HealthSource Chiropractic
• Indiana Physical Therapy
• JAM Recreation Center
• Micropulse
• Parkview Sports Medicine 
• Parkview Health
• Purdue University Fort Wayne
• University of Saint Francis 
• YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne

Graduate and Professional School

Whether you’re looking to become a practitioner, professor or healthcare leader, Saint Francis will prepare you well for advanced studies, such as a graduate kinesiology degree. Our students have pursued master’s and doctoral programs in a variety of areas, including:

• Physical Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Athletic Training
• Sports Medicine
• Chiropractic Medicine
• Healthcare Administration
• Business
• Education
• Physician 

Accreditation Status 

The University of Saint Francis Health and Exercise Science program is seeking accreditation through the Council on Accredited of Strength and Conditioning Education (CASCE).

Program outcome data, such as student enrollment, graduation rates, NSCA-CSCS exam pass rates, employment rates, and graduate placement rates, will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.

The University of Saint Francis is seeking accreditation from the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education for the Bachelor of Health and Exercise Science Strength and Conditioning Concentration. 

The following data is shared to maintain external accreditation through the Council on Accreditation of Strength and Conditioning Education (CASCE). This process focuses on the overall program assessment plan as part of our assessment of our program’s success.