Kinesiology, MS

Admission Requirements

In addition to the general admission requirements from the Graduate School, application and admission to the graduate program in the Kinesiology requires:

1. Successful completion of necessary course pre-requisites.
2. A personal interview - a candidate may be invited for a personal, skype, or phone interviews with graduate faculty representatives.

Individual criteria for graduate school admission are not absolutes. The review process is dynamic in that all of the criteria are considered collectively as a portfolio. Other criteria considered for admission may include: publications, research experience, unique and relevant professional experiences, certifications and licensures, communication skills both written and spoken and teaching experience in areas of need for graduate assistant applicants.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science Degree in Kinesiology is intended to prepare researchers and practitioners; therefore, the 36 hour program provides both thesis and non-thesis tracks.

Thesis Track:

• 12 hours of graduate core courses
• 9 hours in the cognate area
• 9 hours of guided electives
• 6 hours of thesis

Non-Thesis Track:

• 12 hours of graduate core courses
• 9 hours in the cognate area
• 9 hours of guided electives
• 6hours of research-related Special Projects (i.e., KNES 597  or KNES 598 ; 3 hours), and an Internship (i.e., KNES 600 ; 3-6 hours).

The electives will be selected in consultation with the student’s advisor from a list of courses in Kinesiology. If a student has a specialized interest area in one of several support fields (i.e., dietetics, biology, psychology, health information management, business, etc.), electives in these areas must be approved by the advisor.

In addition to required coursework, the MS degree program in Kinesiology requires that each student demonstrate a general, comprehensive knowledge of the field of study by completion of either a capstone project (KNES 600: Internship in Kinesiology) or a thesis (KNES 599: Thesis Research and Thesis) and defense of thesis. Each student, along with their committee, will decide on a thesis or capstone project at the time of application to candidacy. If the student is completing a capstone project, an agreement describing the capstone project requirements will be written by each student and approved by the committee chair; the student and all committee members will sign the agreement. At the conclusion of KNES 600, each committee member will review the completed capstone project and the original agreement. A capstone project or thesis is officially accepted as satisfactory upon unanimous vote of the committee. For capstone projects, the committee must unanimously vote that the student fulfilled all the requirements for the capstone project as outlined in the agreement. If the student is unable to receive a unanimous vote for the fulfilment of the capstone project or the thesis requirements prior to the published deadline for submission of the thesis to the Graduate School for the current semester, the student will be required to register for an additional semester and continue until all requirements have been satisfied.

Required Courses

To earn the M.S. degree in Kinesiology, students must choose a concentration and complete the coursework as described below.