graduate studies in exercise and human performance

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• master of science

lynette austin, dean, college of health sciences
matthew d. ruiz, chair, department of kinesiology
laurel littlefield, director, graduate studies in exercise and human performance

core faculty

zachary droll, assistant professor of kinesiology
kent d. johnson, professor of kinesiology
laurel littlefield, associate professor of kinesiology
andrew mauldin, assistant professor of kinesiology
matthew d. ruiz, professor of kinesiology

the master of science degree in exercise and human performance is a 36-credit hour program investigating advanced studies in kinesiology, including strength and conditioning, exercise physiology, health coaching, and sports nutrition. students with a background in kinesiology, nutrition, or other allied health or science areas will have advanced educational opportunities with either a performance (working with healthy and/or athletic individuals) or clinical emphasis. students choose a thesis or portfolio option as their capstone experience. for more information, visit //www.fellaworld.com/academics/programs/exercise-and-human-performance . 

key strengths

• program flexibility - a 15-credit “core”, a 6-credit capstone, and 15-credits worth of electives designed to help students focus on meeting professional and educational goals
• opportunities for publishing and presenting research
• networking with local, regional, national, and international organizations for practical and professional experience
• certification opportunities through acsm, nsca, issn, or other professional organizations
   

career opportunities

• strength & conditioning
• health/wellness coaching
• clinical opportunities in exercise physiology including cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation
• sport nutrition coaching/consulting
• continued education in doctorate-level programs
• exercise and fitness practitioner
• wellness/fitness/health care facility manager or administrator
• community health departments and agencies

admission policies and procedures

applicants must submit the following:

1. application with $50 nonrefundable fee ( https://grad.lipscomb.edu/apply/ .)
2. bachelor’s degree, including prerequisites of 12 or more credit hours from anatomy & physiology, biology, chemistry, and/or biochemistry
3. official transcript(s): an official transcript, showing degree conferral when appropriate, from all schools attended.
4. undergraduate gpa: 2.75 cumulative grade point average on all undergraduate work  (the average gpa of accepted students is 3.60). a higher science gpa is desirable.
5. resume: a resume detailing the applicant’s work and academic experience.
6. references: three recommendations, including at least one academic and one professional reference.
7. essay: an essay (no more than 750 words) including reflections on 1) personal philosophy of exercise/human performance, 2) career aspirations, and 3) purpose, passion, faith, etc.
8. interview: finalists will complete an in-person (or virtual, as needed) interview before the final admission decision.

admitted students must submit the following:

1. health form: submit a completed health form signed by a healthcare provider. visit www.fellaworld.com/healthcenter/forms .
2. ferpa: the family educational rights and privacy act affords students certain rights of access to educational records; even if you are independent of your parents, you must submit this form before enrollment.
3. toefl: the test of english as a foreign language is required for international students. (see section titled international students  for more information.)

all application items should be submitted no later than 15 days before the beginning of the semester or term in which the student plans to enroll. 

transfer of courses

although all graduate credit hours may be transferred from another accredited institution, a maximum of six hours will be counted toward the m.s. in exercise and human performance degree. the director or appropriate faculty member of the graduate program will evaluate the course(s) being proposed for transfer and make a determination of suitability. no course with a grade below a “b” will be considered for transfer.

documentation

students are required to provide satisfactory documentation of personal identification for off-site learning experiences required in many programs of graduate study at 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 . failure to provide proper credentials will result in failure to complete the desired course of study. for complete policy, see section entitled required documentation for off-site learning experiences  in the opening section of this catalog.

student classifications

students are admitted to graduate courses in one of five categories:

1. graduate student: one who has satisfied all admissions requirements. a student with an incomplete admission file will be accepted to the program at the discretion of the program director but will be placed on an academic hold which will prevent registration for the following semester. once the proper admissions documents have been received, the hold will be removed and the student will be allowed to register for the following semester.
2. conditionally admitted student: one who has been admitted conditionally, at the discretion of the program director, without satisfying all admission requirements. students admitted with the following criteria may be required to complete a minimum of nine hours of graduate work with a grade of “b” or above.
   1. from an unaccredited school or with a substandard gpa.
   2. a transfer student with a graduate gpa between 2.50 and 2.99. the transfer student must be in good standing at the previous institution attended.
   3. as a student who has not completed a bachelor’s degree program. the transfer student must be in good standing at the previous institution attended.
3. non-degree student: one who has been admitted to graduate studies and has met all admission requirements except gpa. the student may take up to nine semester hours for graduate credit. those hours may be applied toward a master’s degree if the student makes a grade of “b” or better in the courses taken for credit and if all admission requirements are met and the student is formally admitted to a graduate program as a degree-seeking student.
4. visiting student: one who is currently enrolled as a student in good standing at the post-bachelor’s level at another graduate school, wishes to take courses at lipscomb and desires to have transcript evidence of coursework done at lipscomb provided for the school of primary enrollment.
5. probationary student: one who has been readmitted to a graduate program following academic suspension from the program.

admission to a program does not imply admission to candidacy for the master’s degree. only those students who meet the requirements for “graduate student” described above are eligible for candidacy.

academic policies

course load

a student enrolled for six hours is considered a full-time student. a student enrolled for less than six hours is considered a part-time student. no student will be permitted to enroll for more than 12 hours per semester without special approval from the director of the graduate program.

academic standing

see graduate academic standing policy.

degree completion requirements

residency

no period of formal residency is required for a degree in a master’s program.

statute of limitations

all requirements for the m.s. in exercise and human performance degree must be completed within a five-year period from the time of initial matriculation.

candidacy

admission to a program does not imply admission to candidacy for the master’s degree. during the course of pursuing the m.s. in exercise and human performance degree, the student must be admitted to “candidacy.” for admission to candidacy the student must satisfy the following:

1. complete all required undergraduate deficiencies if admitted on condition.
2. complete at least 12 hours of graduate work.
3. maintain a 3.00 gpa on all courses taken toward the requirements for the degree with no incomplete grades.
4. file a degree plan with the director of the exhp program. the degree plan must be filed during the second semester of graduate work in the program.

after admission to candidacy and approval of the degree plan, any changes in the degree plan must be approved by the director of the graduate program. 

minimum credits

the m.s. in exercise and human performance requires 36 semester hours. this requirement does not include hours accumulated to satisfy academic deficiencies.

minimum gpa

the minimum cumulative grade-point average for all graduate education programs is 3.00 for all graduate courses taken for graduate credit while pursuing the degree. no grade below a “c” is acceptable. such grades will not apply toward degree completion.

graduation

students who do not file their intent to graduate form in the registrar’s office by the announced application deadline may be delayed in graduating. to be eligible to graduate, all coursework required for the degree must be completed prior to the degree conferral date.

graduate students receiving degrees are hooded during the may and december commencement exercises.

appeals

any exceptions to the above stated requirements would require approval by the associate provost for research and graduate studies in collaboration with the dean of the college and the program director.

capstone experience

all exhp students take comprehensive exams (kin 6900) during their final semester as part of the capstone experience. additionally, students choose one of two capstone experiences: thesis or portfolio. see below for details. 

comprehensive examinations

all exhp students are required to register for kin 6900  during the semester in which they intend to graduate. a successfully completed comprehensive examination over the material covered is required of all candidates for the m.s. in exercise and human performance by the first week in november for december graduation, the first week in april for may graduation, and the last week of july for august graduation. the purpose of the examination is to assess each student’s ability to apply principles covered in the exhp program and to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information related to the content of the program.

thesis

students who choose the thesis option must register for kin 6973 - thesis i (3) f, s, su  and kin 6983 - thesis ii (3) f, s, su . thesis i is taken after the completion of 18 hours of coursework (typically during the third semester of attendance); thesis ii is taken the semester following successful completion of thesis i (typically the final semester in the program).

thesis students, in coordination with the kin 6973/kin 6983 instructor, assemble a committee of faculty members to mentor and assist in the research process. this committee must consist of a minimum of three faculty members who hold terminal degrees, one of whom serves as the “thesis committee chair”/”thesis advisor” and acts as the lead faculty member of the committee and primary mentor for the thesis student. 

thesis students are required to orally present both a thesis proposal (typically ending thesis i) and thesis defense (typically ending thesis ii). final publication of the thesis research project is not required for graduation and typically occurs after the completion of thesis ii. 

portfolio

students who choose the portfolio option are required to register for kin 6953 portfolio i  and  kin 6963 portfolio ii  . portfolio i is taken after completion of 18 hours of coursework (typically during the third semester of attendance); portfolio ii is taken the semester following successful completion of portfolio i (typically the final semester in the program). portfolio students are required to complete the projects in each section at a level appropriate for graduate students. 

portfolio candidates are required to successfully present/defend portions of their portfolio projects as the culmination of portfolio ii. 

financial information

tuition and fees for 2024-25

*program trip fee (see program information for details)*

program of study requirements

• exercise and human performance, m.s.

return to: all graduate programs