Exercise Science Major

Taylor’s Kinesiology department not only gives students the opportunity to study the mechanics of the human body, but it also allows Kinesiology majors to pursue hands-on experiences and research in high-tech facilities. Every Kinesiology major at Taylor even has access to the advanced technology in our human-performance lab, giving students professional-level exposure during their undergraduate education.

With several career paths available, from the medical field to personalized training, our professional Christian faculty offer personal guidance to help students discover their passions. Any student interested in a health profession has access to Taylor’s Health Science Coordinator, who dedicates time to help students prepare for health science graduate programs.

Majors in Kinesiology gain hands-on experiences conducting research, prescribing exercise programs for real clients, and interacting with some of the top athletic directors and sport managers in the nation. Take a look at some of our Kinesiology opportunities:

• Hands-on patient interactions: Because of a unique partnership, Taylor receives several of IU Health’s cardiac rehabilitation patients who have progressed passed the need for hospital supervision but would still benefit from exercise supervision. Our students receive basic training—including assessment, exercise prescriptions, clinical progression, and emergency procedures training and policy review—and begin monitoring patients’ exercise programs on campus.
• Hospital practicums and internships: Students interested in medical school, clinical exercise physiology, or physician assistant graduate programs can volunteer at local hospitals. Kinesiology majors assist Cardiopulmonary teams at IU Health Blackford and Ball hospitals in a variety of cardiac rehabilitation opportunities—including cardiovascular surgery, echocardiograms, heart catheterization, nutrition and chronic disease coaching, and more.
• Real-life personal training: Through Fit into Health and LITE—two student-run adult fitness and strength training programs—you’ll make health assessments and design individualized training programs for real clients within the community.
• Professional conferences and presentations: Widen your professional horizons as you participate in interdisciplinary research and present your findings at professional conferences, such as the Experimental Biology annual conference and Midwestern American College of Sports Medicine regional conference.
• Study Abroad: Travel the world and promote health and wellness in countries like Ecuador and Belize. Spend a semester interning in a South American hospital or teach public health in schools, children’s homes, and senior living facilities.

• Eichling Aquatics Wing: The Eichling Aquatics Wing offers a two-lane lap pool, two changing rooms, a Human Performance Lab, six faculty offices, and two large classrooms. Students will be able to use the pool for athletic training, along with taking beginning swimming classes, lifeguard training, water aerobics, and water safety instructor courses. The pool is also used for rehabilitation purposes and is open for general student use.
• Human Performance Lab: The 900+ square foot Human Performance Laboratory was designed to integrate teaching and research. The laboratory is used for various classes and also serves as home to student and faculty research. The primary instrumentation and equipment in the laboratory include:
  • Resting and stress EKG systems
  • Exercise and resting metabolic assessment
  • Lactate analyzer
  • Pulmonary function testing equipment
  • Diagnostic ultrasound
  • Physical activity assessment equipment
  • Customized gravity independent inertial flywheel leg press machine
  • Customized knee extension machine with photogate for assessing quadriceps muscle strength and power
  • Wingate anaerobic testing cycle ergometer
  • Standard treadmill
  • Free weights
  • Agility equipment
  • Medicine balls
  • Timing gate for sprint work
  • Lode Corival electrically braked cycle ergometer
  • Hydrostatic weigh chair for body composition assessment in the adjacent pool
• The Well: Taylor’s fitness center, located in the KSAC, is open to all students, and allows Kinesiology majors a place to train clients or work out on their own.
• Fieldhouse & Indoor Track: The Fieldhouse contains four regulation-size basketball courts. Surrounding the courts is a 200-meter track, compliant with competitive intercollegiate regulations and containing regulation sprint lanes, pole vault capability, and a long jump pit.

Kinesiology majors have been accepted into some of the premier graduate schools in their respective fields. These include:

• Boston University (occupational therapy)
• Washington University, St. Louis (doctorate of physical therapy)
• Wake Forest University (clinical exercise physiology)
• University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (athletic training)
• University of Pittsburgh (nursing)
• Marquette University (physician assistant)
• James Madison University (exercise physiology)