What can you realistically do with a KINESIOLOGY degree??

Youngin' wrote:

Thank you very much Da Bears........but, with what you said, don't Med Schools have pretty strict entrance guidelines? Like "you must have taken this class, and this class, and such". It seems to me that pretty much any degree not related to biology or biochemistry or something would not allow you to gain entrance into Med School.

check some stats. for example, 32 of 86 first year med students at stanford (a top school) majored in something other than a science.

if you're good enough at the MCAT, your GPA is high enough, and you fulfill all course requirements, you could major in just about anything and be considered/admitted to med school. in fact, some schools, in the profile they provided to princeton reviews admissions guide, ASK for well-rounded students and encourage applicants from all majors.

Oh cool, thanks man.

What are the typical "course requirements". It seems to me like it would be a lot of physics and math along with bio stuff. Am i right here? Just trying to get a good idea about it. Thanks for you help, i appreciate it.

for exact requirements for each school, visit their website. or consult princeton review's Medical School Admissions Guide; nearly every school's reqs are listed there.

in general, they are as follows:

1 year calculus or equivalent

1 year chem or equiv

1 year organic chem

1 year biology

1 year physics

nearly every school demands the associated lab for chem, orgo, phys, and bio.

some also require 1 year english.

a few recommend/highly recommend/suggest: genetics, biochemistry, statistics, maybe others.

but the main ones are: chem, orgo, bio, physics, math.

i have some of the reqs for specific schools; email me with a list of schools, and i'll send you the ones i have.

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as far as kines as a major goes, i would highly recommend against it if you are interested in medical school. i got my master's in kines at UT-austin; while there, i TAed a number of courses...they're a waste of time, they're watered down, and you'd be better off majoring in spanish and taking all the sciences as your electives (i know people who do this; dated a history major who did a 125page thesis on the american cancer society which helped her get in med school...well-rounded counts!). spanish is marketable to hospitals/schools.

at least at UT and the few other kines undergrad programs i know of (UGA as well), they're just not worth your time for medical school, because to take the MCAT, you want to learn the concepts you'll be tested on, and kines departments don't usually cover that.

that being said, kines grad programs are typically VERY demanding, so much so that they often (i was told this as i was recruited) avoid kines undergrads and go for science majors. the disparity is disheartening, as a former instructor.

good luck, email if you have questions.

greg

It seems that most people have replied about med school or the physical parts of kin. However, you did ask about science jobs, so I can give a little input. I am finishing my masters in ex. phys. with a heavy emphasis on biochemistry (undergrad degree was sports med/kin.). I will be going on to do my Ph.D. with more focus in the biochem area. My goal is to get into research dealing with muscle damage and supplementation among other things. You can certainly go this way after you get your Bachelor's. Ex. phys. would allow you to be something other than a personal trainer or equipment salesman. If you are really interested in the lab/science part of it, this is what I would suggest. The people who do the research for companies such as Gatorade are all ex. physiologists. The great thing about it is you can study stuff that is highly connected to athletics, or not at all. It all depends on your interest.

I just graduated with a degree in exercise science. Its not the same as kinesiology, but they seem to be fairly similar. For comparison- Ex. Sci focuses on human anatomy, physiology, and biomechanics. It examines how the human body works as a systm while examining its components (ie systems and individual movements.) With my degree I am going to Physical Therapy school in the fall. I look forward to working with people to help them reach their physical goals of well being. There is a interesting article in the newest runners world about an ultramarathoner/physical therapist. The article only supports my notion that PT and running will go together well. I'd really look into Physical Therapy after undergrad.

Get an advanced degree and work for the USOC, AIS or go for the Ph.D. and teach and do research.

The simple answer to your question is to go back to school and get an advanced degree in Kinesiology. With a BS, you can become a lab assistant for the MS & PhDs in the field, or compete with people that have a more well-rounded physiology degree. When I was considering Kenisiology as a career, Dr. Gordon Valiant from Nike advised me to plan to be in school 8-10 years to get a job like his, or get used to the idea of never having the really cool jobs.

When I was working as an Exercise Physiologist for a major health network, I was able to consult with some of our area's top CEO-types as a part of our corporate health program (keep the CEOs alive so they can continue to make money). What I realized from that is that my standard of living wasn't where I wanted it. I asked all of those guys what they did to reach the top of their field. If they didn't invent something, they went to business school. So I went to business school and got an MBA. Two years after that I was completely out of the fitness industry and working in media and advertising. I've been doing that ever since, and its a blast!

Even though I'm not in the fitness field any more, I can now pursue my own fitness in a way I couldn't before due to a lack of resources and time.

I'm a medical jounal editor and a good number of papers that I've published come from people working in kinesiology labs at some very good universities, ie. University of Calgary, University of Montreal. A lot of the authors have PhDs, however, so your BS in kinesiology is a means to an end. But the research these folk do is fascinating, looking at human performance labs and issue, gait laboratories, and so on.

This is pretty much what i think i'd like to do, the research aspect of it. I'm going to be in the Kinesiology major, but they have different "focus" areas, and the one i'm going to be focusing on is the more science-based stuff, like physiology and such.

And, yes, i plan on getting some sort of advanced degree. I've pretty much resolved myself to the fact that i'll need at least a Masters to get a decent job, probably.

a

Sounds like you are on the right track. Go do your undergrad. By the time you graduate you will have a good idea of what you want to concentrate on for your graduate degrees.

Youngin'- I recently completed my PhD in ex phys and am now working as a post-doc. I highly recommend getting your undergrad degree in a biochem related area as any science discipline can lead you to ex phys, however a BS and worse, MS in ex phys pigeon holes you into getting a PhD OR working a less than fulfilling job. If you are genuinely interested in science then study 'real' science and apply that to sport/running. However, if you have delusions that you are going to be a scientist and study running then allow me to impress upon you how difficult that will be. There is no money in it and american athletes are resistant to science. If that's your passion, get in early, contact Jack Daniels or the Nike group and intern and let them groom you. Good luck.

First of all if you take kinesiology you will then have an option to get into physiotherapy.

First of all if you get your kinesiology degree you will then have the option to go into physiotherapy. But you are a loser.

Fuck that.

If you want to go to Med School, then major in something totally unrelated to biology. Take only the core courses you need to take to get into Med School.

Why?

Because then what do you do when you when you're a bio major, you study for months for the MCAT and you end up f***ing it up royally only to have no Med School what-so-ever consider you? You're screwed. At least this way if you major in something like accounting or management, you'll have some other experience under your belt. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.

The Doctor wrote:

Fuck that.

If you want to go to Med School, then major in something totally unrelated to biology. Take only the core courses you need to take to get into Med School.

Why?

Because then what do you do when you when you're a bio major, you study for months for the MCAT and you end up f***ing it up royally only to have no Med School what-so-ever consider you? You're screwed. At least this way if you major in something like accounting or management, you'll have some other experience under your belt. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.

Yeah...just what we need...another doctor who doesn't care enough to GET A BACKGROUND in the field before they go to med school....Then they get their curved B's (nobody fails med school once they get in), and we have another doctor that know far less than they should about what they are doing. I'm in the field, I see this all the time.

If you really want to be a doctor, those core classes aren't enough. Take the bio major, suck it up, and study your brains out for the MCAT. If you don't think you can get a high enough score, maybe you're in the wrong field???

Wintermix wrote:

you dolt.

Hey thanks for being a stupid f***, you stupid f***. I asked for civil replies, not namecalling and hostile posts. Honestly, some of the people on these boards are the most idiotic people i've ever come in contact with. A bunch of whiny anony-pussies. I commend you for posting your email addres, but you're no better than the rest of them. I was hoping there would be some decent, normal people here who would be willing to help out someone who needed it, and i see that some people have, but it's people like you who make me glad i'm not people like you.

Youngin' wrote:

Hey thanks for being a stupid f***, you stupid f***. I asked for civil replies, not namecalling and hostile posts. Honestly, some of the people on these boards are the most idiotic people i've ever come in contact with. A bunch of whiny anony-pussies. I commend you for posting your email addres, but you're no better than the rest of them. I was hoping there would be some decent, normal people here who would be willing to help out someone who needed it, and i see that some people have, but it's people like you who make me glad i'm not people like you.

has there ever been 1 topic on this board that led to a completely normal discussion without people attacking others?(

Definitly a youngin', a LetsRun.com virgin. No offense, you are exactly right. Everything on here seems to eventually (if not immediately) turn into a f*cked-up discussion. You're posts made me laugh because they are so true

I actually just graduated from college with with a Kinesiology degree. SO to answer your question most people either a. get a job that has nothing to do with Kinesiology or b.go to some kind of professional school like PT school, Chiropractic school, nursing school, medical school, become an athletic trainer... etc. I hope that helps!