Master of Science in Kinesiology with a Concentration in Exercise Physiology
America's notable interest in sports and the continued growth of our older and our obese populations create a robust job market for professionals with expertise in exercise physiology. If you would like to work in higher education as a fitness instructor, wellness educator, researcher, or coach, secure a leadership position in a fitness facility, or pursue doctoral studies, consider earning your Master of Science with an exercise physiology concentration.
Admissions Requirements
Program admission requirements include undergraduate or graduate biology, chemistry, human anatomy, and human physiology courses, an overall GPA of 2.75 or higher, an official transcript, and three letters of recommendation. International applicants must also submit official TOEFL or IELTS scores to the Graduate School.
Complete and submit online ‘degree-seeking application’ using the Graduate School online system. Go to https://www.uab.edu/graduate. You must submit this application before the deadline for your anticipated term of enrollment:
Summer Term Admission - May 1
Spring Term Admission - December 1
Fall Term Admission - August 1
No GRE or other test score required
GPA requirement
An undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution must be awarded prior to starting the program. Minimum overall GPA of 2.75 (A = 4.0) from a bachelor’s (or graduate) awarded degree.
Pre-requisite
Undergraduate or graduate level, biology, chemistry, human anatomy, and human physiology courses with a grade of 'C' or higher. A human anatomy and physiology course is acceptable.
Three letters of recommendation
Contact three individuals for providing a recommendation, inform them that they will be receiving a recommendation form by email from the UAB Graduate School, and ask them if they could kindly complete this form online and return it in a timely manner. Include their names and emails on your degree -seeking application. When you submit your degree-seeking application, an electronic recommendation form will automatically be sent to your referees. If your referees prefer to mail a recommendation letter, they should mail it to the following address: UAB School of Education, Office of Student Services – Exercise Physiology, 1720 2nd Avenue South, EB 232, Birmingham, AL 35294.
Essay
Write a 1-2 page summary of your academic interests, career goals, and relevant background experience.
Official transcript
Request that one (1) official transcript be sent by each previously attended institution to the UAB Graduate School: UAB Graduate School, 1720 2nd Avenue South, LHL G03, Birmingham, AL 35294-0013. You MUST request an official transcript from each college/university that you attended, even if you took only one course at that institution, even if you attended that institution concurrently with high school, and even if your grade from that institution is not on the transcript from the institution where you graduated. The transcripts received by The Graduate School will be used for admission purposes.
NOTE: If you attended UAB, you do not need to request a transcript from UAB as this can be accessed.
For International Applicants Only
Submit official TOEFL test score to UAB: Institution code: 1856
Mail Financial Affidavit of Support to: UAB Graduate School, 1720 2nd Avenue South, LHL G03, Birmingham, AL 35294
Meet all requirements in UAB’s booklet for international students. Call 205-934-8227 for additional information.
If you have attended a university or college outside of the United States, you must have a course-by-course transcript evaluation done by WES (World Education Services) or ECE (Education Credential Evaluators) and have it mailed to the UAB Graduate School: UAB Graduate School, 1720 2nd Avenue South, LHL G03, Birmingham, AL 35294-0013.
Contact Information
For additional information:
Kathy Lowe Tubbs
Phone: (205) 934-3380
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For inquiries about the application process:
Ms. Sha’niethia Johnson Wright – Office of Student
Services Advisor E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Office: EB 232
Students take required courses such as Exercise Physiology I and II and Research Methods and choose among a range of elective courses including Human Nutrition Through the Lifecycle, Motor Development, and Body Composition and Energy Metabolism. Building on existing skills in exercise testing and prescription, students learn advanced research methods and can either write a thesis or sit for a comprehensive examination in partial fulfillment of the degree.
Prerequisite Override Policy for EPR 609
EPR 609 has a prerequisite of EPR 607/608 or equivalent (the equivalent must have been completed within 2 years of enrolling in EPR 609 and the student must have earned a grade of C or better); OR, a student may take a by-pass exam and earn a score of 70 or above. Please contact Dr. Jenna LaChenaye if you have any questions regarding this EPR policy.
Students who do not opt to write a thesis may sit for their Comprehensive Examination no earlier than the semester prior to graduation on the 7 or 8th Friday in the SPring and 9th Friday of the Summer and Famm emesters. For information regarding the registration requirements, please access the registration link provided below.
About
The Comprehensive Examination Questions are in essay format. The exam is held from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on the 9th Friday of the Fall/Summer semesters for the 14-week Summer Semester and the 7th or 8th Friday of the Spring Semester.
The Comprehensive Exam may be taken no earlier than the semester prior to graduation. Students must submit their completed Registration Form (see below) for approval to Kathy Lowe Tubbs no later than the Friday of the week before the last day of classes for the semester before your Comprehensive Exam Semester.
Students must pass three out of the four Comprehensive questions. Failure to pass three Comprehensive Exam questions will require the student to retake the exam the following semester. The Comprehensive questions will come from four classes that are pre-approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator. Students will receive notification of their results within 4-6 weeks after taking the exam.
Students will be tested on coursework from the following classes:
EPR 594
KIN 637 or KIN 638
Two additional classes approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator
Registration Process
Step 1: Download and complete the Registration Form. The course instructor is the Examiner.
Step 2: Email Completed form to Kathy Lowe Tubbs. The form is a fillable PDF, so you can fill it out on your computer rather than printing it out. Once you have filled it out, save a copy to the desktop of your computer and then send that PDF as an attachment on an email to Kathy Lowe Tubbs. When you save the completed PDF file to your computer, please add your name to the filename so that when you send it as an attachment, your name will be part of the filename of the PDF. (You should keep a copy of the completed PDF file on your computer as well.)
Step 3: Set up an appointment with the Graduate Program Coordinator at least one week after you have completed your registration form. During this meeting, we will review the registration form and sign it.
Step 4: After meeting with the Graduate Program Coordinator, the signed registration form is given to Kathy Lowe Tubbs. After receiving your registration form, she will email you to confirm your registration and send you the details with the time and location of the exam.
Tentative Schedule
Semester comps will be given
Deadline to register
Date of exam
Fall 2023
July 28, 2023
October 20, 2023
Spring 2024
November 17, 2023
March 1, 2024
Summer 2024
April 12, 2024
July 12, 2024
Fall 2024
July 26, 2024
October 18, 2024
Spring 2025
November 15, 2024
March 7, 2025
*Please note that this schedule is subject to change.
For More Information
Please contact Kathy Lowe Tubbs if you have any questions or concerns about the Comps procedure.
Our graduates find employment working with healthy clients (non-clinical) and clients with chronic diseases or other medical concerns (clinical). Listed below are well-known organizations that focus on fitness and clinical exercise physiology. In addition to producing publications and convening meetings that report on pertinent research and industry trends, many of these associations also provide job listing services and certifications.