Kinesiology Department is changing its name!
The Kinesiology Department has evolved during the past decades into an academic unit which conducts first-rate research, is awarded significant grants from external sources, and educates its students in the health sciences. These changes are acknowledged by applying an appropriate new name to the department that reflects what we do and have been doing for some time.
Following are rationale for the requested name change:
A. As is the case with many academic departments at the College, our majors study under faculty whose training and research is diverse. Biomechanics, Anatomy, Physiology (Cardiovascular, Environmental, Muscle, and Cellular), Psychology, and Philosophy are areas in which Kinesiology faculty teach and conduct research. Based on the study of the human body, Kinesiology has expanded its involvement in research and teaching to focus almost entirely on the science of health and on how human movement affects health. Funded by numerous NIH, AHA, and NSF grants, our overall research agenda as well as our curriculum reflect this direction. Decades ago departments such as ours had names almost as diverse as our numerous areas of research. Many departments changed their name to Exercise Science, Movement Studies, Exercise and Sport Science, or Kinesiology. Contemporary thought has placed the moving human body at the center of being a healthy person. Many peer universities and large research university departments similar to ours have gravitated away from exercise and/or performance as a research interest and have become more aligned with health sciences. Clinical medicine, for example, recognizes the lack of adequate types and amounts of exercise as a major health issue. Programs such as Marquette University, The University of New Hampshire, and Georgetown University have Schools of “Health Sciences” that include departments such as ours. Stephen F. Austin, The University of Massachusetts, Texas Christian University, Rice University, Louisiana State University, California State University at Sacramento, and the University of Arkansas all have departments of Kinesiology and Health Sciences -- and this is a short list. Approximately one-fourth of all departments of Kinesiology reside in university Colleges of Health Science or Schools of Health Science. Nationally and internationally, the movement of our discipline is toward health sciences. In order to maintain a leadership role in this movement we have appropriately labeled our department as to what we do.
Academically, changing the name of the Department of Kinesiology to the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences makes sense because of the nature of our research and teaching. Also, it provides graduate and professional schools looking at our graduating senior transcripts with the assurance that these students have completed courses of necessary rigor and subject matter. Additionally, faculty who apply for health science oriented research grants have been at an initial disadvantage when using the name Kinesiology to describe their home department. It will be a great benefit to our faculty to now be able to apply for research support from a Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences. No doubt we will be even more successful in securing external research funding with the appropriate departmental name.
B. The name change better fits the mission of the College as well as the proposed Strategic Plan for Arts & Sciences Grand Challenge One: Establish William & Mary’s preeminence as a liberal arts university, and Grand Challenge Three: Create a more engaging educational environment. Regarding Grand Challenge One, the College’s Department of Kinesiology is highly regarded nationally and internationally within the discipline. Our faculty have conducted the cutting-edge research, published in the most highly regarded peer publications, and secured the external grant funding necessary to be a resource for our peer universities and international colleagues. To continue to be at the forefront of the evolution of our discipline and maintain our leadership status which enables us to recruit the best faculty, students, and grants, we need to be recognized as a department which is focused on teaching and research in the health sciences. Relative to Grand Challenge Three, several A&S departments conduct research and teach courses which are proposed electives for majors in Kinesiology & Health Science, it follows that our department would be a force in bringing faculty from different disciplines with common interests together to conduct research and modify curricula. In addition, our Williamsburg community is one of the most rapidly expanding aged populations in the United States and outreach programs such as those already established by the Department of Kinesiology with Williamsburg Landing will be strengthened and enhanced along with the name change to the Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences.
C. By changing the department name to a more appropriate title, we will now be recognized across campus as a resource for the health sciences. This is not to imply that others on our campus do not do health science research. Of course many do. What is unique about the Kinesiology & Health Sciences department relative to health science is that all of our full-time T/TE faculty engages in health science research and all of them teach courses that are included in our proposed curriculum organization leading to tracks in Kinesiology and Health Sciences with concentrations in Health, Health Sciences, or Pre-medical.
The Kinesiology and Health Sciences Premed Concentration:
While students preparing for admission to medical, dental, or veterinary schools may choose to major in any department, these professional schools in general do believe that the student should pursue a coherent program with some depth. With that in mind, the Kinesiology & Health Sciences department has developed, with the guidance of the academic advisor for pre-medical and pre-dental programs, Dr. Beverly Sher, a premedical track within the Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences much like that already existing in the Physics Department. This will provide students who are interested in entering medical, dental, or veterinary school a major in the Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences as well as a premed curriculum.
Kinesiology & Health Sciences Tracks
34 credit hours
Option I:
B.A. or B.S. in Kinesiology & Health Sciences under existing catalog requirements.
Option II:
B.A. track in Kinesiology & Health Sciences with a Concentration in Health
B.S. track in Kinesiology & Health Sciences with a Concentration in Health Sciences
The following KINE courses are required for B.A. degree in Kinesiology & Health Sciences with a Concentration in Health transcript designation:
| Course | Credits |
| KINE 204 Introduction to Kinesiology | 3 |
| KINE 394 Statistics (Biostatistics) | 3 |
| KINE 460-03 Epidemiology in Public Health | 3 |
| KINE 200 Introduction to the Human Body | 3 |
| KINE 393 Health Ethics | 3 |
| KINE 498 Internship in Health | 3 |
| Total | 18 |
At least 9 additional credits must be taken from the following Kinesiology and Health Sciences courses:
| Course |
Credits |
| KINE 303 Human Anatomy | 3-4 |
| KINE 304 Human Physiology | 3-4 |
| KINE 323 Issues in Health | 3 |
| KINE 350 Science of Nutrition | 3 |
| KINE 410 Exercise in Public Health | 3 |
| KINE 442 Exercise Physiology | 4 |
| KINE 460-01 Gender and Health | 3 |
The remaining credits for the 34 total required for the major, may be taken from the following list of courses (Note: courses may not be offered every semester):
| Course | Credits |
| SOCL 405 Sociology of Aging | 3 |
| ANTH 309 Medicine and Culture | 3 |
| ECON 456 Economics of Health Care (prerequisite: CON 303) | 3 |
| GOVT 350 Introduction to Public Policy | 3 |
The following KINE courses are required for B.S. degree in Kinesiology & Health Sciences with a Concentration in Health Sciences transcript designation:
| Course | Credits |
| KINE 200 Introduction to the Human Body | 3 |
| KINE 303 Human Anatomy | 3-4 |
| KINE 304 Human Physiology | 3-4 |
| KINE 394 Statistics/Biostatistics | 3 |
| KINE 442 Exercise Physiology | 4 |
| KINE 460-03 Epidemiology in Public Health | 3 |
| KINE 498 Internship in Health |
3 |
| Total | 22-24 |
At least 6 additional credits must be taken from the following Kinesiology and Health Sciences courses:
| Course | Credits |
| KINE 295 Scientific Principles of Exercise Prescription | 3 |
| KINE 323 Issues in Health | 3 |
| KINE 350 Science of Nutrition | 3 |
| KINE 360 Physiology of Aging | 3 |
| KINE 370 Exercise Psychology | 3 |
| KINE 380 Introduction to Clinical Practice | 3 |
| KINE 393 Health Ethics |
3 |
| KINE 410 Exercise in Public Health |
3 |
| KINE 455 Physiology of Obesity | 3 |
| KINE 460-01 Gender and Health | 3 |
The
remaining credits for the 34 total required for the major, may be taken
from the following list of courses (Note: courses may not be offered
every semester):
| Course |
Credits |
| BIOL 106 Disease Biomedicine | 3 |
| CHEM 103 General Chemistry I | 3 |
| SOCL 362 Medical Sociology | 3 |
| SOCL 405 Sociology of Aging | 3 |
Option III:
BS in Kinesiology & Health Sciences with a premed concentration.
The
following KINE courses are required for the B.S. degree in Kinesiology
& Health Sciences with a Premed Concentration transcript
designation:
| Course | Credits |
| KINE 303 Human Anatomy | 3 |
| KINE 304 Human Physiology | 3 |
| KINE 305 Human Physiology Laboratory | 1 |
| KINE 314 Dissection Human Anatomy Laboratory | 1 |
| KINE 320 Issues in Health | 3 |
| KINE 380 Introduction to Clinical Practice | 3 |
| KINE 393 Health Ethics |
3 |
| KINE 394 Statistics and Evaluation |
3 |
| Total | 20 |
At least 10 additional credits must be taken from the following Kinesiology and Health Sciences courses:
| Course | Credits |
| KINE 350 Science of Nutrition | 3 |
| KINE 360 Physiology of Aging | 3 |
| KINE 370 Exercise Psychology | 1 |
| KINE 410 Exercise in Public Health | 1 |
| KINE 442 Exercise Physiology | 3 |
| KINE 450 Cardiovascular Physiology | 3 |
| KINE 455 Physiology in Obesity |
3 |
| KINE 460 Epidemiology in Public Health |
3 |
| KINE 494 Environmental Human Physiology | 3 |
A minimum of 30 credits in Kinesiology & Health Sciences must be completed. In addition, the following courses are required for the Kinesiology and Health Sciences premed concentration: Biology 203 and Biology 204; Physics 102 or Physics 108; Chemistry 305 or Chemistry 335; and Chemistry 307. All Chemistry courses must be taken with labs. Many of these classes are required by medical schools, even though they will be above and beyond the 34 hours required for a major in Kinesiology and Health Sciences. Other specialties such as Dental, Veterinary, Physical Therapy, or Nutrition may require additional/different courses. It is essential for all students considering health professions to consult with Dr. Beverly Sher, Department of Biology (btsher@wm.edu) for academic guidance.
