About the school
Kinesiology, broadly defined, is the study of human movement. The School of Kinesiology focuses on the biological, developmental, social, and behavioral bases of physical activity, recreation, sport and human performance through its programs in Kinesiology, Sport Management, and Recreation, Park, and Leisure Studies. Our academic degree programs prepare students for a variety of professional opportunities in both public and private sectors that include teaching, research, health promotion, rehabilitation, medicine, coaching, sport administration, and services related to physical activity and fitness. Positions are found in settings that include schools, colleges and universities, public and private agencies, clinical environments, government, business, and the military.
Kinesiology faculty conduct research across a wide range of topics, including:
- metabolic syndrome and obesity
- childhood and adolescent obesity
- bone health in children and adolescents
- posture stability and motion sickness in virtual environments
- motor learning after brain injury
- exercise, health and disease
- psychological and social development of youth through sport participation
- youth sport
- sport management ethics and policy
- sport consumer psychology
- media representations of females in sport
The school is home to an internationally recognized program in exercise science and health enhancement in the Laboratory of Physiological Health and Exercise Science (LPHES) and to the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, the only center in the world dedicated specifically to issues related to girls and women in sport and physical activity. The Tucker Center is supported by an endowment from U of M alumna Dr. Dorothy McNeill Tucker.
In 2005, the School of Kinesiology’s doctoral program was one of 32 institutions ranked by the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education (AAKPE). The school’s program was ranked fourth among nine of the Big 10 universities participating, ahead of programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Michigan, and Michigan State University.