Receiving a bachelor's degree in exercise science can set you up for career opportunities in coaching, sports management, fitness center management and personal training. You can also pursue more advanced training and certification to work in hospitals or universities as a researcher or therapist. Like any science-based education, a bachelor's in exercise science requires a solid foundation in math and science, but it also leaves room for activity-based fitness courses.
General Education Requirements
The first two-years of your four-year exercise science program will consist of general education requirements in math, hard science, history, English, foreign language, social science and communications. These requirements vary slightly from school-to-school, but most universities require roughly 60 general studies credit hours. Some of these classes may seem inapplicable to your goal, but they will pay off in the end. For instance, knowing how to write and communicate well will help you write letters or give presentations in your professional career. Math will help when you must run statistics on your clients or athletes.
Activity Courses
While most undergraduate students take one or two activity courses as the physical education component of their degree plan, exercise science students usually have to take at least four or five additional activity courses. Because many exercise science students go into teaching, coaching or personal training, these classes will teach you how to perform new activities and how to teach those skills to others. Class offerings will vary widely from school-to-school, but you can expect to find courses on basketball, soccer, gym games, gymnastics, volleyball, weight training and aerobics.
Exercise Science Requirements
The last two years of your degree plan will be packed with upper level exercise science courses. Every school has slightly different requirements, but you can expect to take classes in exercise physiology, kinesiology, testing and measurement, nutrition, athletic injury prevention and care, anatomy and physiology, exercise and sport psychology, sport management and teaching methods courses. You may have some flexibility in choosing upper level courses, with the ability to tailor classes to meet your career goals. For instance, if you want to teach elementary physical education, you can choose teaching methods classes geared to elementary aged students. Similarly, if you want to go into sport management, you can choose business-related courses such as sport economics or sports law.
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