Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Exercise Science (B.S.)
If you’re passionate about health, movement, and helping others live better lives, CCU’s Kinesiology and Exercise Science program is your opportunity to turn that passion into purpose.
You’ll discover how the body moves, heals, and performs at its best. You’ll dive into exercise science, nutrition, and disease prevention while gaining the knowledge and practical skills to make a real impact in people’s lives. Whether you’re interested in physical therapy, nutrition, strength and conditioning, or another health-focused career, you’ll be equipped to take the next step with confidence.
You won’t just learn in the classroom. Through hands-on experiences, you’ll apply what you’re learning in real-world settings, building the skills and experience that set you apart. At CCU, your education is rooted in a Christ-centered perspective, preparing you to care for others with both excellence and compassion.
This is more than a degree. It’s your chance to pursue a meaningful career in a growing field, continue on to graduate or professional school, and become someone who helps others move, heal, and thrive.
Program FAQs
What is a Kinesiology and Exercise Science major?
A Kinesiology and Exercise Science major is a degree program that studies human movement and how your body responds to physical activity. Kinesiology is the broader science of movement, covering biomechanics, motor control, and neuromuscular function. Exercise Science focuses on the applied side: how exercise, conditioning, and physical activity affect health, performance, and recovery. Together, they prepare you for careers in health and fitness, sports medicine, rehabilitation, and clinical exercise settings.
At Colorado Christian University, the Kinesiology and Exercise Science major is offered through the School of Science and Engineering and requires 120 credits, including a 58-credit core. Compared to most exercise science degree programs in Colorado, the exercise science program at CCU pairs rigorous coursework with hands-on practice. The exercise science degree prepares you for the growing health and fitness field, admission to professional and graduate degree programs, and a range of industry certifications. If you're drawn to careers as a strength and conditioning coach, kinesiologist, or health care professional, this exercise science major builds the scientific and practical foundation you need.
What's the difference between Kinesiology and Exercise Science?
Kinesiology and Exercise Science overlap heavily, but they ask slightly different questions. Kinesiology is the broader study of human movement itself. It draws on biomechanics, motor learning, anatomy, and neuroscience to understand how and why the body moves. Exercise Science narrows the lens to physical activity and exercise specifically: how training affects the cardiovascular system, how programs are designed to improve fitness, and how exercise can prevent or treat disease in clinical exercise settings.
Think of Kinesiology as the science of movement and Exercise Science as the science of training the body. CCU's exercise science program combines both because most careers in the field require both perspectives. As a strength and conditioning coach, for example, you'll need Exercise Science to build a program and Kinesiology to understand why a movement pattern is breaking down. As a future physical therapist or physician assistant, you'll use Exercise Science to prescribe rehab and Kinesiology to analyze how a patient walks, lifts, or recovers range of motion.
What careers can you pursue with a Kinesiology and Exercise Science degree?
An exercise science degree opens careers across health and fitness, clinical exercise, sports performance, and movement science. Common roles include strength and conditioning coach, exercise physiologist, cardiac rehabilitation specialist, fitness manager, wellness programs director, kinesiologist, and corporate ergonomics specialist. You might work with athletic teams, hospitals, allied health clinics, or community wellness programs, helping clients improve performance, recover from injury, or prevent chronic disease through physical activity. Cardiac rehabilitation and clinical exercise roles in hospital systems are some of the fastest-growing exercise science career paths.
The exercise science degree is also a strong on-ramp to graduate degree programs in allied health fields like physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, and physician assistant programs. You can also continue into kinesiology research, biomechanics, motor behavior, or sport psychology. Demand for exercise science professionals, kinesiologists, and physician assistant graduates continues to grow as health care shifts toward prevention, which means strong earning potential across many of these paths.
What courses will you take as a Kinesiology and Exercise Science major?
The exercise science program builds your working knowledge of the human body, how it moves, and how it responds to exercise. Core courses cover exercise physiology, human anatomy, biomechanics, motor control and learning, sports medicine, nutrition, therapeutic exercise and rehabilitation, exercise testing, and biometrics. You'll learn to test, prescribe, and design programs the way exercise science professionals do in clinical exercise and performance settings, and you'll learn to analyze movement the way kinesiologists do in research and rehab.
CCU's exercise science degree also includes electives so you can focus on the areas best matched to your career goals, whether that's strength and conditioning, sports medicine, exercise physiology, or preparation for graduate study. Hands-on labs and experiential learning give you practical reps with exercise testing tools and conditioning techniques, so you graduate with both the science background and the applied skills employers and graduate degree programs look for.
Is Kinesiology and Exercise Science a good major for graduate school?
Yes. It's a common undergraduate path into physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant programs, and athletic training. The biomechanics, anatomy, exercise physiology, and biological science coursework lines up directly with the prerequisites these professional degree programs require, and the research and lab components give you experience working with assessment data.
If you want to stay in the movement sciences, you can also pursue a master's or doctoral program in Kinesiology, Biomechanics, Motor Behavior, Exercise Physiology, or Sport and Performance Psychology. CCU faculty will help you identify allied health degree programs aligned with your goals, prepare a competitive physician assistant or physical therapy application, and line up the research, internship, and certification experience graduate admissions committees look for.
What makes CCU's Kinesiology and Exercise Science program unique?
CCU's exercise science program is grounded in the belief that human beings are created in the image of God and called to steward their bodies as both body and soul. That Christ-centered foundation shapes how you'll learn to serve others through physical healing, fitness, and movement science. The exercise science major builds technical skill alongside ethical leadership, so you graduate ready to serve clients, patients, and athletes with both competence and character.
The School of Science and Engineering keeps classes small, so professors know you personally and can guide you through coursework, labs, internships, and graduate degree program applications. You'll get hands-on reps in exercise testing, biomechanical assessment, sports medicine, and wellness programs. Faculty work one-on-one with you to plan certifications, choose a career path, or prepare for graduate study, depending on where you're headed.
What certifications can you pursue as a Kinesiology and Exercise Science graduate?
You can pursue a wide range of certifications that match your career direction. Common ones for exercise science graduates include the Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist (ACSM), Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA), Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM, NSCA, NASM, or ACE), and Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM). If you're aiming for clinical exercise or cardiac rehabilitation roles, exercise physiology credentials make sense. If you're headed into performance work, strength and conditioning certifications tend to stack well.
The exercise science degree provides the academic foundation these certification exams require, and CCU faculty will help you choose credentials that line up with your goals. Many graduates earn one or two certifications during or just after the exercise science program, then add more as their careers develop. Whether your path is sports medicine, clinical exercise, kinesiology consulting, or a graduate program, there's a credential set that supports it.
Is a Kinesiology and Exercise Science major right for you?
The exercise science major is a strong fit if you're curious about how the human body moves and how physical activity changes health and performance. If you enjoy science, like working directly with people, and are drawn to careers in fitness, rehab, sports medicine, or movement research, you'll feel at home in this exercise science program. If you've ever broken down an athlete's form, helped a friend recover from an injury, or wondered why one training program works better than another, you're already thinking like a kinesiology and exercise science major.
The exercise science degree asks for real effort in anatomy, exercise physiology, biomechanics, and the biological sciences, so be ready for rigorous coursework. It's built for you if you want both the science of movement and the practical skills to help people of all ages and abilities live healthier, stronger lives. If you want that combination inside a faith-centered education that treats physical stewardship as part of honoring God, CCU's Kinesiology and Exercise Science program is built for you.
