Nursing and Health Professions
Experience Exercise Science at Immaculata University
Within this major, you will gain hands-on experience through coursework and internships in the area’s finest hospitals and training and fitness centers to prepare you for employment in the exercise science field. As people become increasingly aware of the benefits of good health and fitness habits, the demand for trained practitioners in the field of exercise science will continue to expand.
The Exercise Science major at Immaculata offers four tracks so that you can specialize in a path that interests you and your career goals. Learn more about each track offered below.
Movement Science
This interdisciplinary track will help you pursue a career in fitness and wellness, personal training, or strength and conditioning. This program will prepare you for graduate work in exercise physiology, biomechanics and related disciplines. This curriculum will prepare you to assess a patient or client’s fitness/wellness status and create exercise programming. The flexible curriculum allows you to choose courses to meet your career goals or prepare for certifications in exercise physiology and strength and conditioning.
Pre-Athletic Training
Athletic trainers are an integral component of the health care continuum and provide preventative, emergency and rehabilitative care to the physically active population. Athletic trainers work closely with other medical professionals and can be found in all areas of athletics or in one of the many emerging settings (performing arts, public safety, occupational health, armed forces, etc.).
4-year Pre-Athletic Training
In this curriculum you will learn foundational knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, psychology and exercise science to prepare you for graduate studies in athletic training or related disciplines. Students may apply to Immaculata University’s Master of Athletic Training program to continue their education.
3+2 Accelerated BS/MAT
Students with a strong passion for athletic training and an outstanding academic record should consider applying to this rigorous accelerated five-year program in athletic training. Please see our 3+2 Athletic Training page for more information and highlights about this program. (Note: Students pay comprehensive tuition for the first three years and graduate tuition for the final two years.)
Pre-Occupational/Pre-Physical Therapy
Occupational and Physical therapists are in high demand to help the aging population, to support people with special needs or disabilities, and to assist people as they recover from illnesses or injuries. Immaculata’s pre-occupational/pre-physical therapy curriculum provides students with a solid foundation in anatomy and physiology, chemistry, kinesiology, genetics, biomechanics, nutrition, and physics to prepare for graduate studies. You will learn how to assess patients, create exercise programming, prevent and care for athletic injuries.
Pre-Physician Assistant
Immaculata’s Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science with the pre-physician assistant track will give you a strong foundation in human movement science while also allowing you to pursue a career as a physician assistant or a related medical profession. This interdisciplinary program includes math and science courses that will give you the foundational knowledge you need for applying to graduate physician assistant programs. We encourage you to meet with IU’s advisory committee for the medical professions, made up of faculty who will provide information, advisement, and services to help you with your graduate school and professional plans. Students studying in the Pre-PA track must begin observational hours by their sophomore year in order to complete the observational hours requirements for most graduate programs.
Program Spotlight
Adults with disabilities love Immaculata’s GetFIT@IU program, where student trainers and exercise science faculty guide them in customized workouts. Read more.
Exercise Science Lab
In the exercise science laboratory, you can practice and refine hands-on medical skills during class and open lab times.
- Use simulation models to listen to heart and lung sounds, insert adjunct airways and read electrocardiograms.
- Administer CPR on advanced manikins that assess the depth of compressions and rate of breaths.
- Take practical exams in an evaluation room equipped with video technology to record your work and allow you to review and reflect.
Internships
At Immaculata, you can get an internship within a specialized area, providing you with invaluable training. With our close proximity to Philadelphia’s hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and fitness and recreation centers, you will have excellent learning opportunities.
Our students have completed internships at the following organizations:
- National Institutes of Health
- NovaCare Rehabilitation
- Endurance Physical Therapy
- Lightning Fast Training Systems
- United Sports Training Center
- Future Stars Camps
- Ed Snyder Youth Hockey Foundation
- YSC Academy
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
The exercise science program gave me the head-start I needed to feel prepared for the rigorous coursework in physical therapy school. I was able to achieve plenty of hands-on practice through our classwork, practicums and programs such as GetFIT, where we worked with clients directly. The exercise science program gave me the skills and confidence I needed to be successful in PT school.
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