Sport and Exercise Science is a young and exciting major at DeSales University. It brings together a scientific knowledge of the human person with a growing understanding of physical activity and lifestyle as essential not only for the athlete but for every healthy life. Graduates are prepared to enter the rapidly growing market for training and rehabilitation specialists in private, corporate and government fitness centers, in hospitals, and in private practice.

The program is based in the Natural ScienceDepartment, providing students with a broad range of post-graduate options. These options include entering the job market immediately upon graduation. Students are prepared for certification in several professional programs, in particular the certification administered by the American College of Sports Medicine. Students gain hands-on experience in a supervised setting through a variety of internship opportunities. Every student spends time with both clinical and healthy athlete populations in their internship experience. This provides graduates with a broad understanding of how the classroom principles are applied in work with real clients.  Students planning on entering a professional career with the Bachelor of Science degree are encouraged to take elective courses in business, marketing, and management which will broaden their career opportunities in the rapidly expanding field of fitness and wellness.

Other options include post-graduate education in related professional and academic programs.  Students who elect to prepare for professional schools may enter graduate programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training and even medical school with this degree.  Students with an interest in research and teaching are prepared for academic graduate programs in fields like exercise physiology, biomechanics and movement science.   These students will take the additional courses in mathematics and physics necessary for admission to graduate programs.  

Sport and Exercise Science Students also receive a wide range of experience with assessment and research tools in the Human Performance Laboratory located in the new Priscilla Payne Hurd Science Center on DeSales' campus. In laboratory and practicum experience, students become proficient in the use of current testing methods - skills they will use in their careers.   Students learn to perform graded stress tests using the Marquette CASE-15 stress EKG systems.   They learn how to assess and interpret measures of aerobic and anerobic capacity using the Medgraphics CPX/D and Sensormedics 2900 metabolic measurement systems.   They learn to assess joint and muscle function on the Kin-Com 125E dynamic muscle testing system.   They learn to utilize treadmill, bicycle, cycloid and exercise modalities both in testing and in training programs.   They learn to assess body composition in several ways including skinfold, bio-impedance analysis, and by underwater weighing.  The most recent addition to our laboratory has been the installation of the only research-grade underwater weighing facility inthe Lehigh Valley -- the widely recognized "Gold Standard" for assessment of body composition.

The laboratory also boasts instruments for measuring lactic acid, glucose, electrolytes, and gas concentrations in tiny samples of blood.   And we have a Computrainer system used by the U.S. cycling team for controlled testing and training.  It allows competitive cyclists to bring their own bikes into the lab for computer-controlled exercise testing.  
For more information on the Sport and Exercise Science program, please contact Fr. Doug Burns, o.s.f.s. by e-mail or by telephone at (610) 282-1100, ext 1295.

• What Can I Do With This Major?

If you are considering a career in the field of Sport and Exercise Science, you can find out more about career opportunities at http://www.acsm.org/, the web site for the American College of Sports Medicine.    They have several very helpful pages of information about current career opportunities in the profession as well as recent trends in job prospects among the various professional options.