The Education School announced this week that it will offer a new four-year kinesiology major starting in fall 2012. High school seniors will now be able to apply directly into the program rather than having to wait until spring of their second year.
Kinesiology majors will enter an interdisciplinary program concentrated on the sciences of human movement, with specialty areas in sports medicine, exercise physiology, health and physical education, and adapted physical education.
Previously, students applied to this program in their second year and began to take classes in their third year.
Program Director of Kinesiology Luke Kelly said a two-year program limits students' ability to "explore and choose."
"Our goal now is to get the students as first years ... and expose them to the various careers they can pursue with this degree," he said.
With the new four-year program, kinesiology majors will learn the core of the major during their first two years. During their last two years, students can specialize in areas within the major.
"This gives students more time and flexibility to explore more options," Kelly said.
Kelly hopes the combination of first years and upperclassmen in the major will be beneficial for kinesiology majors. "We are going to use a mentoring system, so we can allow the upper-level students to more or less serve as a mentor for the incoming students," he said.
Fourth-year Education student Lauren Schmidt said she does not think the program will have too much of an effect on upperclassmen, but will be beneficial to first years.
"I think it's a great opportunity because spreading out what we had to do in two years into four really gives you the opportunity to get involved in other things, other majors and activities, or even a minor," she said.
She added that expanding the program will allow students to pursue requirements for post-professional fields.
"There are a lot of requirements you have to take for [post-professional fields] outside of the actual major, so giving them more time will make it easier," she said.
Current first-year students can apply to the kinesiology program this year. The deadline is Nov. 1, and admitted students will take EDHS 3500, "Introduction to Kinesiology," next semester.
Second-year students can apply next semester, by a Feb. 15 deadline.
Prospective students can apply directly into the kinesiology program through the general application for admission.
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