Why the Exercise Science Degree Offers so Many Career Choices

Focusing on a career direction that excites you should open many career options. So, if fitness, nutrition, and exploring the mysteries of human performance excites you, choose the B.S. in Exercise Science degree.

Within an exercise science (ES) degree curriculum, students study exercise physiology (the body’s responses to physical activity as well as how the body adapts to physical activity over time), kinetic anatomy (learning structural anatomy and how it affects movement in the human body), and fitness nutrition (how the body sustains performance through foods, dietary supplements, and beverages).

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

Think of your 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 risk 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.

See Where Your Exercise Science Degree Can Take You

The best part of the E.S. degree is how graduates apply this comprehensive knowledge to design and prescribe exercise programs for people of all ages and under varying conditions.

Imagine yourself in healthcare or fitness-related role, contributing to a better community in various ways:

• Your knowledge of movement and exercise supports health, improves performance, and prevents disease.
• Using the science behind movement and physiology to perform assessments in a human performance lab.
• Developing fitness and exercise programs designed to correct posture, enhance performance, and assist with recovery from injury or surgery.

Options With an Exercise Science Degree

The wide and deep knowledge about the human body, its processes, and its systems makes the E.S. degree extremely valuable. You have many options:

• Entry into a pre-health professional education (chiropractic, pre-physical therapy, or pre-physician assistant)
• Designing/managing community or corporate health and wellness programs
• Medical-related occupational 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., interviewed about his exercise science degree, tells how he used his E.S. knowledge to become president of a sports performance business and how it gave him career and personal satisfaction.

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

Why Exercise Science Graduates are Needed Now

Nearly everyone agrees that constructive exercise is beneficial, but what that exercise should be is different for everyone. It’s the same for rehabilitative efforts – to be effective, rehabilitation must be personalized.

Taking the guesswork out of exercise and educating about “getting fit” 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.

How to do your part in helping create a healthier world? One way is to look into earning a B.S. in Exercise Science…a degree choice that can take you where you want to go.

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

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

Students receive hands-on instruction and gain practical experience through campus lab activities, classroom learning, and in 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 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, request more information here. If choosing an exercise science degree fits where you want to go in life, you can take the next step: learning how to be wise about financial aid opportunities and options. That’s why you’ll want this free eBook: Your Comprehensive Guide to College Financial Aid.