With an Exercise Sciences Degree, You’ll Gain More Career Choices

Communications Staff

Focusing on a career direction that excites you should open lots of career options. So, when fitness, nutrition, constructive exercise, and evaluating the possibilities of human performance excites you, go with the B.S. in Exercise Science degree. Exercise science programs provide foundational knowledge that gives you a head start in many different fitness-directed careers.

The World Needs (And Wants) What E.S. Graduates Know

Few people know about the FITT principle. FITT stands for frequency, intensity, and type as they relate to effective exercise. While beneficial for healthy individuals, one research study found the FITT principle is useful by researchers and healthcare professionals in creating the proper exercise regimen for those who had suffered a stroke.

Other career applications depend on a student’s interests – documenting the link between nutrition and optimal body biomechanics. Or perhaps new approaches involving diet, appetite regulation, overall health, and functional performance.

Think of an exercise science degree as a pathway to

• Learning how – and why – cells and systems of the human body respond to physiological stress
• Seeing how exercise can prevent and treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis
• Exploring optimal physical function for the increasing number of senior adults who want to stay active and live as independently as possible
• Developing nutritional plans for populations facing ongoing deficiencies
• Improving physical preparation and performance standards for physically intense occupations.
• Exploring exercise biomechanics to help athletes minimize the risks of injury and improve their performance.

Guidelines and competencies in the exercise science field are set by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Exercise science programs also use ACSM standards to ensure high-quality classes, labs, and experiences.

Where Your Exercise Science Degree Can Take You

• Pre-health professional education (chiropractic, pre-physical therapy, or pre-physician assistant)
• Designing/managing community or corporate health and wellness programs
• Medical-related roles, such as cardiac rehabilitation
• Research into best practices of human performance and conditioning
• Post-graduate study, such as the M.S. in exercise physiology.

Eric C., for example, leveraged his exercise science degree, together with additional certifications, to become president of a sports performance business.

As he says, “Any given day might have me working with a seven-foot NBA-bound center and an untrained five-foot female…with everything from exercise endocrinology to phlebotomy, to research methods, to understanding environmental stressors.”

Why Exercise Science Graduates are Needed Now

There’s no shortage of research indicating the benefits of constructive exercise, yet less than 25% of the U.S. population gets enough exercise. Meanwhile, 73.7% of adults in the U.S. are executing an exercise plan, although many don’t reach their goals because what they’re doing isn’t right for them.

In other words, they’re doing the exercise part but not getting the benefits of the science part.

Taking the guesswork out of exercise activities is an ongoing movement, and companies are taking notice. More than 84% of companies with 200 or more workers now offer a workplace wellness program, incentives for healthy behaviors, or both. Those statistics tell you that occupations discovering new and better ways to stay fit are good ones to investigate.

How to do your part in shaping a healthier world? Start by looking into a B.S. in Exercise Science. It’s a degree choice that can take you where you want to go.

B.S. in Exercise Science Degree at Cleveland University-Kansas City

Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit, healthcare-focused university. Our College of Health Sciences offers a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Exercise Science degree that students can earn in as little as three years.

Students receive hands-on instruction and gain practical experience through campus lab experiences, in class, and the field through a nine-hour internship based on a student’s area of interest.

Having flexible career options is one of the desirable benefits of the CUKC exercise science degree. This degree provides excellent preparation for students interested in dual credentials in the many areas:

• Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.)
• Physician Assistant (P.A.)
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation
• Fitness/Nutrition research
• Community/corporate health and fitness-related professions.

To get started, connect with a CUKC admissions adviser here. Plus, when you need answers about financial aid opportunities, get this free eBook today: Your Comprehensive Guide to College Financial Aid.