Sport and Exercise Physiology, Bachelor's , Minor
Overview
Want to pursue a career working with others through physical activity? Look no further than the DeSales Sport and Exercise Physiology program.
It's a growing major in an expanding field that can lead to many exciting careers. As a Sport and Exercise Physiology major, you will study interesting coursework, have opportunities to complete multiple internships, and be well-prepared for graduate school or a career when you graduate.
The undergraduate degree in Sport & Exercise Physiology is flexible, so you can tailor the program to be exactly what you need for your desired career path. Our graduates work in a number of settings including exercise testing and prescription, cardiac rehabilitation, or strength and conditioning.
This major is also an excellent avenue to a career in sports coaching.
What can I do with this major?
With so many options, most graduates will use the degree in one of three categories.
- Pre-professional studies: Many students choose to go on to graduate study in physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic, medical school or athletic training.
- Health, fitness, and exercise professions: This category includes jobs such as cardiac rehabilitation, clinical exercise physiology, nutritionists, or professional scientists in exercise physiology for one of the other areas within exercise science.
- Sports performance and strength and conditioning: Professionals in this field work primarily with athletes. It includes sport coaching, strength and conditioning coaching, and performance research.
Admissions Requirements
At DeSales, we not only look at your past academic achievement but also your potential for future growth to determine your admission.
We find that students who have demonstrated significant achievement within a demanding curriculum are best suited for academic life at DeSales. Quality of academic performance plays a critical role in the admissions decision making process. This helps indicate a student's potential for academic growth going forward. DeSales University welcomes applications from all qualified students regardless of race, religion, sex, national, or ethnic origin.
Application Checklist
- Application Fee: None
- Transcripts: Official High School Transcript
- Standardized Tests: This program is SAT optional.
- Recommendations: Completed Guidance Counselor Form and Teacher Recommendation Form
All materials can be mailed to:
DeSales University Admissions Office
2755 Station Ave.
Center Valley, PA
Additional recommendations
High School Academics - Remember, there is no single preferred high school academic program, but a college preparatory course of study is highly recommended. Here's an example:
- Four years of English
- Three or four years of college preparatory mathematics
- A minimum of two years of modern, foreign, or classical language
- At least two laboratory science courses
Visiting DeSales - A personal, on-campus interview is strongly recommended, but is not required. We encourage you to visit so that you'll have a chance to learn more about DeSales, and we'll have the opportunity to learn more about you, too.
Learn more about Undergraduate Admissions & Aid
When to Apply
We encourage you to apply early in your senior year. We use a rolling admissions system, which means you will be notified promptly about your admissions status—usually within four weeks of our receipt of your completed application.
Priority deadline for scholarship consideration is December 1 of your senior year.
Curriculum
Our curriculum provides you with broad exposure within the rapidly changing field of sport and exercise physiology.
Coursework in this major is tailored to your interests, so you'll be prepared to move in any direction that career opportunities present. You can specialize in strength and conditioning, sport coaching, clinical exercise physiology, and pre-physical therapy, among other options.
Rigorous coursework in the sciences means that you'll stand out as unusually well-prepared compared to graduates of other programs. Since we are science-based, our graduates have a competitive advantage when compared to students from physical education-based programs.
Academic Catalog
Graduation Requirements
View the graduation requirements and example schedule for this programFaculty
Facilities
Human Performance Laboratory
Located in the Priscilla Payne Hurd Science Center, the human performance lab provides hands-on, state-of-the-art technology. The lab boasts instruments for measuring lactic acid, glucose, electrolytes, and gas concentrations in tiny samples of blood. Our Computrainer system is the same equipment used by the U.S. cycling team for controlled testing and training. It allows competitive cyclists to bring their own bikes into the lab for computer-controlled exercise testing.
In laboratory and practicum experience, you'll become proficient in the use of current testing methods like:
- graded stress tests using the Marquette CASE-15 stress EKG systems
- assess and interpret measures of aerobic and anaerobic capacity using the Medgraphics CPX/D and Sensormedics 2900 metabolic measurement systems
- assess joint and muscle function on the Kin-Com 125E dynamic muscle testing system
- treadmill, bicycle, cycloid and exercise modalities both in testing and in training programs
- assess body composition in several ways including skinfold, bio-impedance analysis, and by underwater weighing — the widely recognized "Gold Standard" for assessment of body composition.
In addition to the Human Performance Lab, the DeSales Sport Exercise & Physiology program also has a dedicated lab in Dooling Hall where students get hands on learning experience.
Careers & Internships
Students are required to complete at least two internships with the option for more.
We are located in an area that offers a wide-range of excellent opportunities — from clinical experiences at St. Luke's and Lehigh Valley Health Network, to strength and conditioning opportunities at Velocity, Lehigh University and Lafayette College — you'll gain practical, real world experience and network with established and highly-respected professionals in the field.
Every student may attend the regional meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine held in Hershey, PA, every fall.
This is an opportunity to meet professionals and students from industry, the clinical world, and other universities to exchange ideas, learn about research, and network for post-graduate opportunities. You may also have the opportunity to present your own research at national level professional meetings.
Tuition & Fees
DeSales can help make your college expenses affordable through a combination of grants, loans, student employment, and scholarship resources.
View a comprehensive list of financial aid forms and undergraduate program information sheets
Cost of attendance for undergrads for 2024-2025
Resident Students
Direct Costs
Tuition - $45,000
Room and Board - $13,800
Mandatory Fees - $1,800
One-time Orientation Fee for First-Year students and Transfers - $200
Total = $60,800 (including first-year/transfer fees)
Estimated Indirect Costs
Books/Supplies - $1,711
Personal Expenses - $4,605
Total cost for resident students: $67,116
Commuter Students
Direct Costs
Tuition - $45,000
Mandatory Fees - $1,400
One-time Orientation Fee for First-Year students and Transfers - $200
Total = $46,600 (including first-year/transfer fees)
Estimated Indirect Costs
Books/Supplies - $1,711
Personal Expenses - $4,605
Transportation Costs - $1,908
Living Expenses - $2,298
Total cost for commuter students: $57,122
Off-Campus*
Direct Costs
Tuition - $45,000
Mandatory Fees - $1,400
One-time Orientation Fee for First-Year students and Transfers - $200
Total = $46,600 (including first-year/transfer fees)
Estimated Indirect Costs
Books/Supplies - $1,711
Personal Expenses - $4,605
Transportation Costs - $1,908
Living Expenses - $9,192
Total cost for off-campus students: $64,016
*First-year students are required to reside on campus or commute from home.
Parking Fee - $100
View a comprehensive list of financial aid forms and undergraduate program information sheets
Dual Degree Undergraduate-to-Graduate Programs
If you are enrolled in an undergraduate-to-graduate degree program — for example a 5-year, 3+2, 3+3, program — the undergraduate tuition and fees apply only to the undergraduate portion of the program. As you progress into the graduate phase of your program, graduate tuition and fees apply. Please see your respective graduate program for more information.
The financial aid process may appear overwhelming at first glance, but don't worry, we'll help you through it.
Accepted students are automatically considered for scholarships upon receipt of a completed application and are awarded regardless of financial need. Funds for scholarships are limited, so we do encourage students to apply early.
Our comprehensive financial aid packages carefully explain the types and amounts of assistance —including federal, state, and institutional — that you may be eligible for to help cover education related expenses.
Total cost of attendance includes estimates for tuition, fees, room, board, books, and personal, transportation, and living expenses.
You can estimate your total cost of attendance with our Net Price Calculator
Why Choose SPX?
We'd love to talk to you and answer any questions you might have. Until then, here's seven of the top reasons you should consider joining us:
1. Customize classes to meet YOUR career goal
You can specialize in strength and conditioning, sport coaching, clinical exercise physiology, pre-physical therapy, and many more options. Many students come to the major with one game plan but soon discover new interests. Because our program is so flexible, most can still graduate in four years.
2. Stand-out among graduates from other schools
Rigorous course work in the sciences means that our graduates stand out as unusually well-prepared compared to graduates of other programs. Since we are science-based, our graduates have a competitive advantage when compared to students from physical education-based programs.
3. Graduate with a strong résumé
Students are required to complete at least two internships with the option for more. We are located in an area that offers a wide-range of excellent opportunities — from clinical experiences at St. Lukes and Lehigh Valley Health Network, to strength and conditioning opportunities at Velocity, Lehigh University and Lafayette College — you'll gain practical, real world experience and network with established and highly-respected professionals in the field.
4. Conduct your own research
Students have an opportunity to participate in, to design, conduct, and report on independent research in the field. This is huge advantage when applying to graduate schools and in the job market.
5. Study abroad
All students have the option to study abroad, especially at St. Mary’s University College in London, UK. The program there offers many unique courses and opportunities, with no extra tuition cost, and most students still graduate in four years.
6. Network with industry professionals
Every student has an opportunity to attend the regional meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine held in Hershey, PA each fall. This is a chance to meet professionals and students from industry, the clinical world, and other universities to exchange ideas, learn about research, and network for post-graduate opportunities. Students may also have the opportunity to present their own research at national level professional meetings.
7. Experiment, study and relax in newly updated facilities
DeSales boasts some of the best technology around. We have dedicated Human Movement Lab, Exercise Physiology Lab, a Body Composition Lab, a study lounge and gathering area for our students. Laboratory and research opportunities include things like video motion analysis, EMG analysis, EKG stress tests, metabolic testing, and athletic performance testing such as Wingate and VO2max tests
It's an exciting time to be an Sport & Exercise major at DeSales. It's a growing major in an expanding field that can lead to many wonderful careers. Our students balance their studies with a robust social life, and many are student athletes.
We take a lot of pride in providing a very broad experience so that all students can take advantage of this rapidly-changing field and move in any direction that career opportunities present. Seniors in our Advanced Exercise Practice course are coached through the processes of moving from being an undergraduate into the next phases of their professional lives.
An NSCA Education Recognition Program
The Education Recognition Program (ERP) recognizes and distinguishes programs with approved and standardized strength and conditioning curricula designed to prepare students for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist® (CSCS®) certifications.
