Find out what you can expect with the M.S.K. with a public health graduate certificate.
Study plan for the M.S.K. and a public health graduate certificate
Required classes (18 credits)
Utilization of behavioral techniques to motivate exercise adherence in fitness and clinical programs. Hands-on application of goal setting, problem-solving, social support, and other motivational techniques. Modification of exercise programs for cardiac, pulmonary, and metabolic diseases.
PHYS-P 215 or equivalent. A study of physiological changes that occur with exercise. Emphasis on cardiorespiratory, muscular, and biochemical adaptations to training, and how these adaptations affect human performance. Physiological principles are applied to athletic training, adult fitness, weight regulation, and physical therapy.
Provides an overview of the role of physical activity in the prevention of disease and disability. Explores the health-related consequences of inactivity and discusses interventions designed to increase physical activity within populations. The course will focus on obesity and its health-related consequences.
An overview of preventive and rehabilitative exercise programs, include: 1) types of programs; 2) scope and philosophies of programs; 3) program offerings. An introduction to 1) health/fitness evaluation, 2) exercise prescription, and 3) exercise leadership.
Health fitness laboratory evaluation for exercise prescription for apparently healthy adults. Modification of prescription for metabolic and immune diseases. Topics include disease etiology, pathophysiology, exercise intervention, clinical management and exercise prescription for hyperlipidemia, obesity, diabetes, stage renal disease, cancer, AIDS, and organ transplantation.
The course objectives are:
- to introduce graduate students to the use of research as the basis for generating knowledge in areas related to health, kinesiology and recreation
- to introduce students to the importance of research and to give students practice with tools and tasks of research
- to introduce students to quantitative and qualitative research methodologies
- to assist students in the development of skills in reading, conducting and understanding research
- to assist students in the development of an understanding of the conceptual foundations of research from which they will be able to:
- critically review and evaluate research
- pursue greater understanding of more technical aspects of research through advanced course work in research methodology and statistics
Directed kinesiology electives (3 credits)
Addresses theoretical and empirical aspects of topics including exercise and mental health, anxiety and sport performance, “personology” and sport, overtraining, exercise adherence, and perceived exertion.
An integrative analysis of the physiological, psychological and biomechanical principles, mechanisms and phenomena underlying the acquisition of the capacities and abilities required for high-level physical performance.
A study of problems as they relate to philosophy, procedures, and practices in adapted physical education.
Physiology, assessment techniques and interpretation of basic cardiac rhythm, 12-lead EKG, and adjunctive imaging techniques in clinical exercise testing. Introduction to basic cardiac pharmacology.
Theory of measurement in physical education, selection and administration of appropriate tests, and interpretation of results by statistical procedures. Project required to apply theory taught.
In this course there will be an in-depth study of physiological principles applied to clinical exercise physiology; exercise testing and training. Basic areas include cardiovascular, pulmonary, gait, electromyography, posture, and body composition.
Graduate certificate in public health (15 hrs)*
The graduate certificate in public health is a 15-credit-hour program of study. Courses for the certificate program are offered in the fall, spring, and summer and are available in class or online.
In order to receive the certificate, students must complete 15 credit hours of approved public health coursework with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Transfer credit or course waivers are not allowed as substitution for any courses in the certificate program.
*Students must meet admission requirements for the School of Public Health & Human Sciences.
This course will introduce students to basic epidemiologic concepts including determinants of health and patterns of disease in populations, population health descriptive techniques, use of health indicators and secondary data sources. Students will gain an understanding of the role of epidemiology in developing prevention strategies and policy. Among the topics to be covered are measures of mortality and morbidity, design and analysis of observational studies, community health assessment, and program evaluation.
The course focuses on environmental health which is the branch of public health that protects against the effects of environmental hazards that can adversely affect health or the ecological balances essential to human health and environmental quality. The environment influences many aspects of human health and well-being. Many diseases are initiated, promoted, sustained, or stimulated by environmental factors. For these reasons, the interactions people have with their environment are an important component of public health.
This course is designed to introduce students to the philosophies and principles that provide the foundation for health promotion and disease prevention with an emphasis on population-based public health approaches. Students will explore topics that promote a broader and better understanding of determinants of health; the multiple factors contributing to health and illness behaviors; fundamentals, theories and principles that shed light on health and illness behaviors; and philosophies, principles and strategies that facilitate improvements in population health and the elimination of health disparities. Students will be introduced to the important complementary relationships between and comingled effects of the determinants of health with an emphasis on the social determinants of health. Students will be presented with new approaches to improve, by not only focusing on individual capacities and capabilities to address their diseases and/or ailments, but also, most importantly perhaps, focus on the conditions and contexts in which individuals have the liberty and limits to make choices that influence health and illness behaviors in many different ways.
This course explores the U.S. health care system, policy development, and ethical challenges. It examines the structure, components, organization and financing of the U.S. health care system. The policy process at national, state, and local levels will be analyzed using legislation and related activities.
One semester of undergraduate mathematics. This course introduces the basic principles and methods of data analysis in public health biostatistics. Emphasis is placed on public health examples as they relate to concepts such as sampling, study design, descriptive statistics, probability, statistical distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, chi-square tests, t-tests, analysis of variance, linear regression and correlation. An introduction to SAS statistical software is now a part of this course.
NOTE: Students who have been awarded a graduate certificate in public health have two years to apply their credits toward the kinesiology master’s degree. Graduates of the certificate program who do not apply to the kinesiology program within two years after completing the requirements of the certificate will not be allowed to apply the 15 credits from the certificate program toward the degree.
Important clarification: A student who uses some or all of the certificate credits toward the master’s in public health (MPH) cannot use the same credits toward the M.S. in kinesiology degree.
Admission to or successful completion of the public health certificate does not guarantee subsequent admission into the M.S.K. or MPH graduate programs.