Master of Science in Sports and Health Sciences-Practicum Option

THIS COURSE WILL REQUIRE A PROCTORED EXAM. This course will introduce the student to graphical presentation of data, histograms and confidence intervals for binomial probabilities. One-sample and two-sample t-test as well as regression and correlation with two variables will also be discussed. The student will learn the concept of hypothesis testing and confidence intervals, multivariate regression and correlation, partial correlation coefficients, analysis of variance and covariance and multiple comparison procedures. The analysis of research data will be emphasized in this course to provide the student with real-world examples in the field of Sports and Health Sciences.

Designed for learners involved in the fields of health and exercise science, this course surveys and critically evaluates the basic principles of human physiology with direct application to acute and chronic exercise. Particular attention is paid to lifestyle risk factors that can lead to heart disease.

An evaluation of the physical, physiological, and psychological factors that affect motor skill acquisition, performance, retention, and transfer. With a focus on voluntary movement, topics include nervous system control of movement, sensory and perceptual contributions to motor learning, information processing, optimal conditions for learning motor skills, preferred modes of feedback delivery during learning, and individual variability in motor skill acquisition. Students will apply the principles of motor learning to coaching, fitness, and rehabilitation settings. Additionally, they will analyze motor learning settings and determine adjustments to be made in those settings to foster motor skill acquisition for a variety of populations.

Nutrition plays an integral part of our daily lives. It becomes even more important for athletes, who push the physical limits of their body. Providing adequate fuel is essential and can make a difference between success and failure. Yet most athletes and coaches lack basic nutrition knowledge important for enhancing strength, speed and endurance. This class will focus on the nutritional needs and requirement of athletes. First, the student will recognize and establish sound nutrition principles and the nutrients that play a role in determining these principles. Nutrients and other food constituents are integrated into the human body. These affect the athlete's metabolism, health, and performance. The student will trace the metabolic fate of dietary components and recognize how each nutrient and/or food constituent affects metabolism, health and performance. Using this knowledge, the student will design several healthy diets that optimize performance.

This course is designed to introduce the student to theoretical and practical concepts of strength exercise assessment, strength exercise interpretation and strength exercise prescription. Current research on strength training and methods is incorporated into the classroom for analysis and application. The student will develop appropriate techniques and methods used to recommend strength exercise prescription and programming for healthy and unhealthy clients.

Sport Psychology is the scientific study of how individuals behave in sport and exercise, and the practical application of that knowledge to performance enhancement strategies. Students in this course will investigate human behavior patterns in sports and exercise settings. Human behavior is complex, dynamic, and social. There are no easy answers when you try to determine why people behave in a certain fashion. However, this course will focus on interpreting and applying fundamental behavioral tendencies related to biological and psychological models of personality structure, motivational orientations, psychological interventions, and social dynamics. In addition, students will create useful psychological interventions that demonstrate their ability to distinguish the need for normal sport enhancement strategies from serious psycho/physical behaviors that require other professionally trained experts. Psycho/social relationships to sport performance will be analyzed. Behavior management strategies, modeling, aggression, and group dynamic models will be critiqued as students design philosophies that guide training and intervention strategies.

This course is a study of theories and practices in sports and health sciences research. It focuses on theoretical and methodological approaches to the study and research of contemporary sports and health issues. The course teaches the student to design their own empirical research, and evaluate the research of others. It begins with an introduction to the field of sports and health science research. It then concentrates on teaching the details of health science research design. The course takes the student step-by-step through qualitative, comparative, and quantitative research design and analysis methods.

This course is designed to introduce the student to theoretical and practical concepts of exercise assessment, exercise interpretation and exercise prescription. The student will develop appropriate techniques used to recommend exercise prescription for healthy and unhealthy clients.

The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an understanding, appreciation, and ability to analyze human movement using a biomechanics approach. This course will expose the student to the laws and principles governing human motion. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of exercise and sport movements. Research with applications to a variety of sport, exercise, and clinical settings will also be included to provide the student with knowledge of current topics of interest in the field.

Contemporary research related to wide variety of areas related exercise science and human performance are discussed and explored in this course. Students discuss relevant issues facing society regarding exercise, fitness, athletic performance, kinematic movement, motor development, and biomechanical analysis. The course challenges students to analyze and synthesize current and relevant topics and offer solutions to benefit exercise science research and related industries.

This course is designed to provide an understanding of postural assessment and integrated performance profile as it relates to human performance. This course will focus on identifying and correcting musculoskeletal abnormalities and performing integrate performance assessments. The student will develop appropriate techniques used to recommend exercise prescription for individuals post assessments.

The Masters of Science in Sports and Health Sciences requires students to complete a cumulative hourly requirement of volunteering their services in a specific industry work environment. Students will be involved with the experiential learning process through volunteering and through completing an Integration process which describes concepts and skills developed through the experience. The ability to apply learning to practice is a key requirement for demonstrated success in learning. To achieve and demonstrate learning, a practicum and integration seminar is offered to students in this degree as an alternative to the comprehensive exam. This option can be undertaken by any student seriously interested in the integration and application of theory and practice.