In this section

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

  • How changes in activity affect muscle properties and function
  • How the body responds and adapts to exercise and diet
  • The importance of biomechanics from both a clinical and performance perspective

WHO YOU COULD BE

  • Exercise physiologist
  • Research scientist
  • Physician, physician's assistant
  • Certified athletic or personal trainer
  • Sport or clinical biomechanist
  • Physical or occupational therapist

OVERVIEW

How does the structure of the human body explain its function? How do physiological systems respond to exercise and environmental conditions? How does nutrition alter health and human performance? How do your muscles adapt to changes in activity, injury, and disease? How can individuals alter their movement patterns during both sporting and daily tasks to reduce their risk of injury? How can we use research—with both animal and human models—to better answer all of these questions?

Puget Sound’s exercise science department offers students training in exercise physiology, nutrition, neuromuscular adaptation, and biomechanics through a unique emphasis on the scientific approach and development of critical thinking skills. Students engage in the scientific process by learning to ask important questions, acquiring the skills necessary to investigate advanced topics, and gaining the confidence to articulate ideas. At the conclusion of the exercise science curriculum, students are prepared to immediately enter the workforce or to continue their studies toward various graduate degree programs.

 

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ALUMNI
Genevieve Cagigas ’19

"Lower-division classes gave me the foundation of knowledge, while upper-division classes really gave me an opportunity to apply the scientific method of inquiry."

 

SAMPLE COURSES

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

A sampling of ways our students learn through experience:

  • 2019 American College of Sport Medicine Northwest Chapter conference award winner Angus Lamont ’19, "Quantifying Passive Joint Stiffness at the Elbow Following Exercise-induced Muscle Damage of the Elbow Flexors"
  • Internships at UNC's Cancer Rehabilitation Institute and the Miami Project
  • Summer research grants, like Mimi Carrier-Berndt ’24, "The effects of MMP-2 on fiber type composition and fiber cross-sectional area of the plantaris muscle after functional overload in adult mouse" or Bennett Allen '25, "Lactate Threshold’s Effect on Lung Diffusing Capacity (DLCO) in the Heat"

JOBS

Where our graduates work:

  • Driveline Baseball (biomechanist)
  • Milwaukee Brewers (director, integrative sports performance)
  • American Medical Response (paramedic)
  • Multicare Good Samaritan Hospital (physical therapist)
  • Humboldt State University (assistant professor, kinesiology and recreation administration)

CONTINUE STUDYING

Where our students continue their studies:

  • University of Montana (environmental studies)
  • University of Puget Sound (M.S., occupational therapy)
  • University of Oregon (M.S., physiology)
  • University of Southern California (Doctor of Physical Therapy)
  • Bond University, Australia (physical therapy)

FACILITIES

Human physiology lab
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY LAB

In the human physiology lab students learn techniques to assess body composition, energy metabolism, cardiorespiratory function, and other aspects of physiology at rest and during exercise. An environmental chamber further allows for these measures during heat or cold stress.

Prof. McCall works with students on a human cadaver in the anatomy lab.
HUMAN ANATOMY LAB

Exercise science students are lucky to get the opportunity to work with human cadavers in this lab, an option often not available to undergraduates.

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BIOMECHANICS LAB

In the biomechanics lab, students develop an in-depth understanding of applied anatomy.  and learn about the physics of human motion from both athletic performance and clinical perspectives. They learn how to quantitatively analyze human movement using video and force plate analysis techniques.