The Division of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER) within the College of Nursing, Health, and Sciences at Delta State offers a B.S. degree with 3 concentrations. Designed to help turn your passion for fitness and sports into fulfilling careers, HPER also inspires students to develop healthy lifestyles and behaviors. There is a need for trained professionals to work in community wellness and fitness centers, YMCA, and community sport programs. Our program will equip you with the skills and knowledge to enter this industry with confidence.
The bachelor’s program in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation offers extensive practical skill development and hands-on experiences, allowing you to smoothly transition into most graduate programs within the field, such as the Master of Science in Sport and Human Performance at Delta State. Additionally, during your senior year, you can take up to 6 hours of graduate classes with division approval.
Divisional Faculty-Student Ratio
Concentrations
Available
Years of Combined Faculty Experience
Why Choose Health, Physical Education,
and Recreation at DSU?
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The B.S. degree in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation program prepares students aspiring to be teachers of health and physical education, recreation specialists, and health specialists with a strong foundation in principles and practices in their respective fields. It is a 4-year program that provides real-world work experience through lab classes, internships in Exercise Science and Sports Management, and practicums in Sport and Movement Studies.
You can look forward to small class sizes, hands-on learning, and knowledgeable, experienced, approachable, and passionate instructors. Faculty specialize in areas such as recreation, physical education, exercise physiology, and sport coaching, and students have opportunities to work with faculty on research projects. Additionally, the Allied-Health minor allows students interested in professional schools related to our discipline to take courses that fulfill prerequisite requirements.
- Applications accepted year-round
- Flexible and part-time course scheduling
- Online student advisement available
- Exercise science lab
- Outdoor recreation lab
- Internship or practicum requirement
- Built in business minor
- Sports management to MBA pathway
- Hands on learning
- HPER majors club
- Research opportunities
- Networking opportunities
Concentrations in HPER
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Exercise Science
The Exercise Science concentration provides students with knowledge in biomechanics, sports nutrition, sport psychology, motor control/development, and exercise physiology. The program equips students to evaluate healthy behaviors and risk factors, conduct fitness assessments, prescribe exercise, and motivate healthy lifestyles. Required courses include exercise physiology, kinesiology, exercise prescription, exercise testing, clinical experience, exercise for special populations, and motor learning and development. The curriculum includes math and basic sciences, and students aiming for professional school must take additional courses in chemistry, physics, and upper-level biology. An optional Allied Health minor allows students to complete these additional science courses without delaying their progression through the program. An internship is also required to provide practical experience.
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Sports and Movement Studies
The Sports and Movement Studies concentration provides students with knowledge of the human body, coaching and sport-specific techniques and philosophies, and how physical activity, healthy eating, and maintaining a healthy body weight can reduce chronic disease and disability. The program includes a practicum requirement and courses such as fundamentals of movement physiology, kinesiology, exercise testing, motor learning and development, sports coaching classes, methods of coaching, health courses, and physical education courses. Additionally, a coaching minor is built into this concentration to further enhance students’ coaching skills and knowledge.
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Sports Management
The Sports Management concentration provides students with fundamental knowledge and skills in finance, management, marketing, and law related to sports organizations. The coursework prepares students for careers with amateur, collegiate, and professional sports organizations, enabling them to pursue various sports-related opportunities after graduation. An internship is required to gain practical experience, and students take multiple business courses, with a business minor built into the program. Additionally, students can elect to take two extra business courses (ACC 320 and ECO 210 or 211) to meet the prerequisites for entering the MBA program. This program benefits both undergraduate and graduate students, and many established business professionals choose to pursue sports management to transition successfully into the sports industry.
What Can I Do with a Bachelor’s Degree in
Health, Physical Education, and Recreation?
With a B.S. in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, you can pursue a variety of careers within the booming sports industry, which generates over $200 billion annually in America. Common occupations for exercise science professionals offer median salaries ranging from $45K to $97K as of 2022. The employment of entertainment and sports occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2022 to 2032, with about 106,800 openings projected each year on average due to employment growth and the need to replace workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Athletic therapist
- Activity specialist
- Cardiac rehabilitation specialist
- Exercise physiologist
- Wellness and sports manager
- Fitness specialist
- Coach
- Personal trainer
- Sport facilities manager
- Athletic director
- Exercise physiologist
- Occupational therapist
- Fitness instructor
- Athletic trainer
- Physical therapist
- Massage therapist
HPER Scholarships
Delta State’s HPER programs are more affordable than many programs offering similar opportunities. At DSU, we automatically consider you for scholarships. Some scholarships you may be considered for include opportunities for full-time students majoring in HPER, participants in HPER leadership activities, and outstanding students who participate in HPER campus activities. Students may also be eligible for non-program specific scholarship opportunities.
Program Goals
Some of the many goals of the HPER Division are to educate, motivate, and prepare our students. From the time they enter one of our many educational paths, we do our best to get them ready for their professional career. Not everything can be learned from a textbook, our faculty have years of direct knowledge they pass down to students. We give our students hands-on experiences so they may see how practical what they are learning can be.