Prospective Graduate Students! The Department of HHP is looking for new MS (thesis) and PhD students for research positions [click here for more information]

The MS in HHP with thesis is designed to academically prepare students with a Bachelor's degree for doctoral programs in the broad areas of health promotion and human physiology. Because this curriculum is designed to prepare students for a doctoral program it will be offered only as MS with thesis.

Health promotion is distinguished by its focus on physiological and behavioral processes as they interact with social and cultural forces to impact health. Scholarship in this area advances the current understanding of physical activity behavior and health outcomes associated with this behavior through the evaluation of theories that predict behavior, the modeling of physical activity patterns associated with health outcomes, and the testing of interventions that promote physical activity and improve quality of life. Students with a special interest in the area of health promotion may elect to focus on acquiring the analytical and research skills necessary to go on to doctoral programs.

Human physiology is the study of how the human body responds to external and internal stimuli, including physical exercise and stress, environmental conditions, aging, and disease. Scholarship in this area requires in-depth knowledge in the natural sciences, including biology, chemistry, biochemistry, biomechanics, mathematics and statistics, physics, anatomy, biomechanics, neuroscience, and physiology. Students with a special interest in the area of human physiology will acquire knowledge of the integrative functions of human organ systems and gain hands-on skills in experimental techniques in the areas of biomechanics and/or cardiovascular, skeletal muscle, pulmonary, sensorimotor and/or neurological physiology, and/or exercise physiology using human subjects, experimental animals, isolated tissues, or cell culture systems.

Required Materials and Apply Online  

Prerequisite Coursework: Students entering the MS in HHP with thesis must hold a BS/BA degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Basic knowledge in the areas of anatomy, physiology, and statistics are required. Therefore, courses in anatomy and physiology with laboratory sections as well as coursework in statistics are prerequisites for the MS in HHP with thesis. Typically, these prerequisites are met by a total of 8 SH of anatomy and physiology (3-SH lecture and 1-SH laboratory component for anatomy and physiology, respectively) and a 3-SH introductory statistics course.

Total Semester Hour Requirements: 30 semester hours of graduate coursework which includes a maximum of 4 semester hours of Thesis MS (HHP:7500).

CURRICULUM

One Introductory Statistics course such as:

• BIOS:4120     Introduction to Biostatistics 3 s.h.
• PCOL:5204   Basic Biostatistics & Experimental Design 1 s.h. 
• STAT:3510    Biostatistics 3 s.h.
• STAT:4143     Introduction to Statistical Methods 3 s.h.
• PSQF:6242   Selected Applications of Statistics 3 s.h.

One Advanced Statistics course such as:

• BIOS:5120    Regression & ANOVA in Health Sciences  3 s.h.                         
• STAT:6513    Intermediate Statistical Methods 4 s.h.                 

One Research Methods course:

• HHP:6020    Advanced Research Methods and Ethics  3 s.h.

Graduate Seminar Courses (2 enrollments at 1 s.h. each):

• HHP:6400    Integrative Physiology Seminar   1 s.h.
• HHP:6300    Seminar in Motor Control   1 s.h.
• HHP:6500    Seminar in Health Promotion  1 s.h.

Thesis Research Hours (maximum of 4 s.h.)

• HHP:7500    Thesis MS   2-4 s.h.

Elective Options:Elective courses serve the purpose to broaden the student’s knowledge in the general area of HHP and to enhancing the student’s knowledge in the special area of interest. Elective courses will be selected with guidance from the advisor/mentor. Examples of elective courses include:

• HHP:3050            Obesity: Causes/Conseq/Prevent/Treatment    3 s.h.    
• HHP:3430            Health Management and Administration  3 s.h.  
• HHP:4010            Behavioral & Clinical Health Assessment    3 s.h.  
• HHP:4020            Health Coaching  3 s.h.    
• HHP:4310            Sport and Exercise Nutrition    3 s.h.     
• HHP:4320            Nutrition Interventions    3 s.h.  
• HHP:4420            Planning/Evaluating Health Interventions     3 s.h.  
• HHP:5200            Physical Activity Epidemiology    3 s.h.   
• HHP:6260            Advanced Respiratory Pathophysiology    3 s.h.  
• HHP:6130            Advanced Skeletal Muscle Physiology    3 s.h.    
• HHP:6150            Advanced Clinical Exercise Physiology    3 s.h.   
• HHP:6200            Advanced Metabolic Exercise Testing and Prescription    3 s.h.
• HHP:6410            Advanced Exercise Physiology      3 s.h. 
• HHP:6460            Advanced Cardiovascular Physiology   3 s.h.    
• HHP:6470            Advanced Physiology of Aging    3 s.h.       
• PCOL:3101          Pharmacology I: Drug’s Fantastic Journey    3 s.h.  
• PCOL:3102          Pharmacology II: Mechanisms of Drug Action      3 s.h.    
• PCOL:4130          Drug Mechanisms and Action    3 s.h.     
• HHP:6510            Advanced Energy Metabolism in Health and Disease    3 s.h.   
• ACB:5203            Gross Human Anatomy for Graduate Student    5 s.h.
• MPB:5153            Graduate Physiology    4 s.h. 
• BIOC:3110            Biochemistry   3 s.h.  
• PTRS:7812           Biomedical Instrumentation & Measurement    3 s.h.    
• PTRS:7875           Analysis of Activity Based Plasticity    3 s.h.  
• EPID:6350            Nutrition Epidemiology    2 s.h.  

Research and Practicum experiences are also available for SH credit. 

• HHP:4365            Internship in Health Coaching   3 s.h.
• HHP:5000            Problems   arranged
• HHP:6000            Research    arranged