<p>my son is a junior in high school. He is the Track & Field team in the school and feels very passionate about his hobby. He has good grades (4.2 as of last semester). When asked what he wants to major in in college, the answer was swift: exercise physiology. We both feel that he should not stop at BS and should eventually go to graduate school doing research.
But I also feel that he should have a well rounded set of courses in BS and specialize in graduate school. We both have picked out the following schools so far
UCONN
UMASS
Penn State
UMD, college park
Univ Texas, Austin
Univ Michigan
Univ Illinois Urbana, champaign</p>
<p>Every one of these colleges have a major in kinesiology. Should we apply for this or something else? Looking at some of the course requirements I didn't see courses like Biochemistry, Molecular Biology included for kinesiology major - that bothers me. Are there colleges that offer Human biology/physiology with kinesiology as minor (or specialization)? (he is not very keen studying animal/plant biology that comes as part of general biology). </p>
<p>Searching further I stumbled onto BU's Human Physiology program that seems to offer exactly that. But it is designed as a pre-med program. My son doesn't want to do medicine (as of now) Still I think we should pursue this program. Are there other colleges that offer Human biology/physiology as major?</p>
<p>Or should he choose one of the above universities' kinesiology major and get on the pre-med track (that hopefully will have a well rounded set of courses)?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Read more: college</a> major choice for my son</p>
<p>UVa has a Kinesiology major that offers exercise physiology as a sub-discipline. You might want to check out their program and see if their offerings line up with what your son is looking for.</p>
<p>Some other names of majors that may be worth searching for:</p>
<p>Athletic training
Exercise biology
Exercise science
Physical education (academics, as opposed to activities)</p>
<p>Also, such a major may be “hidden” inside a larger department. For example, Berkeley had an academic Physical Education Department, but it was merged, along with several other biology departments, into the Integrative Biology Department. The course work exists under course numbers [Integrative</a> Biology 123-129](<a href=“http://general-catalog.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_list_crse_req?p_dept_name=Integrative+Biology&p_dept_cd=INTEGBI]Integrative”>http://general-catalog.berkeley.edu/catalog/gcc_list_crse_req?p_dept_name=Integrative+Biology&p_dept_cd=INTEGBI).</p>
<p>It may be worth looking into other schools of interest to see if their biology departments have similar courses.</p>
<p>UCLA Dept. of Integrative Biology & Physiology
[UCLA</a> Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology Undergraduate – major requirements](<a href=“http://www.ibp.ucla.edu/ugrad_major_reqs.php]UCLA”>http://www.ibp.ucla.edu/ugrad_major_reqs.php)</p>
<p>He could always major in kinesiology and take those classes on the side. My sister is an exercise science major with an eye towards physical therapy and she’s taking the science classes she needs (chem, physics, a&p) as electives. He doesn’t have to be on any track; if he wants to take the science classes, he can. Or if you really want him to be on a track, he could minor in biology or chemistry. UMass, for example, has a minor in biochemistry & molecular biology. That might be perfect for him.</p>
<p>Why does it bother you that there aren’t those courses? Maybe he doesn’t need them for kinesiology. It’s the study of human movement, and you don’t necessarily need to know molecular biology and biochemistry for that. I’m assuming that professors with advanced degrees in the field are familiar with what a bachelor’s student needs to know to be successful in the field, and they’re the ones who design the major. If he’s interested in that nonetheless, he can always pick up the courses.</p>