COURSE CURRICULUM

The Health and Physical Activity Promotion major focuses on preparing students to promote lifelong health, wellness, and physical activity in non-clinical, educational, and community-based settings by combining knowledge of human development, movement science, behavior change, and health education. The curriculum is structured to help students understand how people grow, learn, and develop physically and socially across the lifespan, while also building practical skills for designing and leading physical activity and wellness programs. Core courses such as Introduction to Health & Physical Activity Promotion (HPE 500), Human Development (HDFS 525), Foundations of Lifetime Physical Activity (HPE 601), and Motor Development and Learning Across the Lifespan (HPE 675) provide a foundation in how movement, learning, and behavior change interact in children, adolescents, adults, and older populations. Students also gain strong applied experience in physical education and activity leadership through courses like Movement and Gymnastics Exploration (HPE 600), Team Sports and Activity Leadership (HPE 603), Teaching Young Children Through Movement (HPE 610), and Introduction to Adapted Physical Education (HPE 781), which prepare them to work with diverse populations including individuals with varying physical and developmental abilities. Health-focused coursework such as Health Behavior Change (HPE 648), Health Content and Youth Risk Behavior (HPE 702), Human Sexuality (HDFS 746), Nutrition (NUTR 400), and Biology of Aging (EXSC 607) ensures students understand both physical health and behavioral influences on wellness. Students also complete anatomy, physiology, exercise science, biomechanics, and statistics courses to support scientific understanding of the human body and movement. Practical experience is central to the program, with required practicum courses and a senior capstone in physical education that provide real-world teaching and leadership experience. The major maintains a moderate GPA requirement and emphasizes applied learning over clinical or research-heavy training. Overall, it prepares graduates for careers in schools, community wellness programs, recreation, youth development, fitness education, and health promotion, where the goal is to help individuals and communities adopt healthier, more active lifestyles.