Exercise Physiology

• Role: Work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, or outpatient clinics to develop exercise programs for patients with chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pulmonary conditions).
• Duties: Assess patients' physical abilities, monitor their progress, and design exercise plans to improve their health and recovery.
• Certification: May require certification through organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). A Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist® (ACSM-CEP®) holds a bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification in exercise science with 1,200 hours of hands-on experience or a master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology and 600 hours of clinical experience. ACSM-CEPs use prescribed exercise and basic health behavior interventions to assist clients with chronic diseases or conditions. 

• Role: Work with athletes and sports teams to optimize physical performance through exercise testing, conditioning programs, and injury prevention strategies.
• Duties: Monitor athletic performance, test athletes’ fitness levels, and develop training programs to improve speed, endurance, and strength.
• Setting: Professional, collegiate, or amateur sports organizations, as well as sports medicine clinics.
• Certification: Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists® (CSCS®) are professionals who apply scientific knowledge to train athletes with the primary goal of improving athletic performance at professional, college, high school, and private performance facilities.

• Role: Design and implement health and fitness programs for employees within corporations to promote wellness, improve productivity, and reduce healthcare costs.
• Duties: Create fitness challenges, manage wellness programs, provide fitness counseling, and sometimes coordinate with healthcare providers.
• Settings: Corporate? Industry? Health clubs?
• Certifications: NSCA-Certified Personal Trainers (NSCA-CPT®) and ACSM Certified Personal Trainers® (ACSM-CPT®) are health/fitness professionals who, using an individualized approach, assess, motivate, educate, and train clients regarding their personal health and fitness needs.  

• Role: Help patients recovering from heart surgery, heart attacks, or other cardiovascular conditions by prescribing safe, supervised exercise regimens.
• Duties: Monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels during exercise and educate patients on maintaining heart health through physical activity.
• Setting: Hospitals, outpatient clinics, or rehabilitation centers.
• Certifications: The Certified Cardiac Rehabilitation Professional (CCRP), exclusively for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) professionals, is the only certification aligned with the published CR competencies. 

• Role: Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in exercise physiology, kinesiology, or related fields while conducting original research.
• Duties: Develop research projects, publish findings in peer-reviewed journals, secure grants, mentor graduate students, and present research at conferences.
• Setting: Universities or colleges.

• Role: Conduct clinical research on the impact of exercise and physical activity on chronic diseases, rehabilitation, or aging.
• Duties: Collaborate with clinicians, develop research protocols, and work on integrating exercise into therapeutic interventions for diseases like heart disease, diabetes, or cancer.
• Setting: Hospitals, rehabilitation centers, or medical schools.

• Role: Provide research-backed guidance to improve athletic performance, recovery, and injury prevention. Work with elite athletes or sports organizations to analyze and enhance training programs.
• Duties: Conduct performance assessments and apply biomechanics, physiology, and nutrition to optimize athletic performance.
• Setting: Professional sports teams, Olympic training centers, sports academies, or private athletic performance labs.
• Certification: A Certified Performance and Sport Scientist® (CPSS®) specializes in the application of scientific processes to improve individual and team athletic performance and decrease injury risk at professional, college, high school, and private performance facilities. 

TWU uniquely emphasizes women’s health and wellness, which are integrated into the exercise physiology programs. Students interested in women’s health issues, particularly related to exercise and physical activity, will benefit from this distinctive focus.

 As a School with a student-centered approach, TWU’s School of Health Promotion and Kinesiology provides a nurturing environment where women in STEM thrive. Our faculty are dedicated to mentoring, offering personalized guidance to help women achieve their academic and professional goals.

TWU offers a research-rich environment, particularly at the doctoral level. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories and are encouraged to engage in original research, often contributing to advancements in exercise science, sports performance, and disease prevention.

TWU emphasizes practical application, offering internships, lab work, and collaborative projects that allow students to apply their theoretical knowledge in real-world settings. This experience helps graduates stand out in the job market.

As a smaller, public university with a student-centered approach, TWU provides graduate students with a supportive and nurturing environment. Faculty are dedicated to mentoring and guiding students, offering personalized attention that larger programs may not provide.

Program Contact

Jason Torres
940-898-2864
jtorres9@twu.edu

Application Deadlines

Fall and Summer - March 1
Spring - July 1

Admission Requirements

Unconditional admission indicates an applicant meets all requirements for admission. However, meeting minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission.

1. Hold a baccalaureate degree in health promotion, public health, kinesiology, or a related field from a U.S. college or university accredited by a regional or general accrediting agency, or an equivalent degree from a foreign college or university.
2. Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last 60 semester credit hours of bachelor's degree coursework, as evidenced by official transcripts. 
3. For those seeking the M.S. in Kinesiology with Biomechanics emphasis, submission of GRE scores is highly recommended. 
4. For international students, a test of English proficiency or exception. Please consult the School of Health Promotion and Kinesiology Graduate Advisor and the Office of International Education prior to applying.

For applicants who submit all required application materials but do not meet the minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the master’s degree program, provisional admission will be considered, dependent upon the relative strength of the application materials. When provisional admission is granted, the admission letter from the Graduate School will specify the prerequisites and/or provisions a student must satisfy to advance to unconditional admission status. It is the student’s responsibility to satisfy all requirements to remove the provisional admission status. Once the provisional requirements are complete, the student must inform and provide evidence of requirement completion to the advisor.

Students who do not plan to work toward a graduate degree but who wish to enroll in coursework for personal or professional purposes may, with the permission of the School, apply as “non-degree seeking students.’’ Please refer to the Graduate Catalog for more information.

How to Apply

1. Apply for admission to the TWU Graduate School. In the application, specify degree and emphasis area.
2. Collect and submit the following documents as separate PDF files in ONE email to jtorres9@twu.edu with the subject line (YOUR LAST NAME)-(YOUR FIRST NAME)-Degree Sought. Please attach all items as PDFs.
   • Personal Statement Letter. The Personal Statement Letter, evidencing the ability to express concepts and ideas in writing, should indicate whether the applicant is interested in conducting a thesis. If an applicant is interested in conducting a thesis, the applicant should also identify a preferred faculty mentor and discuss how their research interests align with the identified faculty mentor’s research agenda.
   • Professional resume/curriculum vita evidencing appropriate academic background and relevant experience for graduate study.
3. Two letters of recommendation submitted by faculty members and/or employers as PDFs on institutional or organization letterhead to jtorres9@twu.edu. Recommenders should include student name and degree sought (e.g. "M.S. in Kinesiology") in the subject line.

Program Contact

Jason Torres
940-898-2864
jtorres9@twu.edu

Application Deadlines

Fall and Summer - March 1
Spring - July 1

Admission Requirements

Unconditional admission indicates an applicant meets all requirements for admission. However, meeting minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission.

1. As the Ph.D. is a research degree, interested applicants must identify and contact a potential graduate faculty advisor (with whom research interests and goals align) before applying.
2. A baccalaureate and master’s degree. The baccalaureate or master’s degree must be in health promotion, public health, kinesiology, or a related field from a U.S. college or university accredited by a regional or general accrediting agency, or an equivalent degree from a foreign college or university.
3. Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher for the last 60 semester credit hours of bachelor's degree coursework as evidenced by official transcripts and master’s GPA of 3.5 or higher as evidenced by official transcripts.
4. For Biomechanics specialization – Submission of GRE scores is highly recommended. For Exercise Physiology specialization - Submission of GRE scores is required. 
5. For international students, a test of English proficiency or exception. Please consult the School of Health Promotion & Kinesiology Graduate Advisor and the International Education Office prior to applying.

For applicants who submit all required application materials but do not meet the minimum requirements for unconditional admission to the doctoral program (including not having a master's degree), provisional admission may be considered dependent upon the composite strength of the application materials. When provisional admission is granted, the admission letter from the Graduate School will specify the prerequisites and/or provisions a student must satisfy to advance to unconditional admission status. It is the student’s responsibility to satisfy all requirements to remove the provisional admission status. Once the provisional requirements are complete, the student must inform and provide evidence of requirement completion to the Associate Director for graduate programs and initiate a status change to unconditional admission. All provisional requirements must be satisfied before a student is permitted to proceed to the comprehensive exam.

How to Apply

1. Apply for admission to the TWU Graduate School. In the application, specify degree and emphasis area.
2. If required, take the GRE General Test and submit your GRE scores to TWU. 
3. Collect and submit the following documents as separate PDF files in ONE email to jtorres9@twu.edu with the subject line (YOUR LAST NAME)-(YOUR FIRST NAME)-Degree Sought. Please attach all items as PDFs.
   • Personal Statement Letter which describes the applicant’s academic and professional background, research goals, personal growth and development, future goals, and reasons for applying to the doctoral program; identifies a preferred faculty mentor; and discusses how their research interests align with the identified faculty mentor’s research agenda.
   • Professional resume/curriculum vitae evidencing appropriate academic background and relevant experience for graduate study.
   • One original 500-word integrated summary of three primary research articles relevant to the applicant’s research interest with the article PDFs attached.
4. Three letters of recommendation addressing the applicant's ability to successfully complete a doctoral degree submitted by faculty members and/or employers as PDFs on institutional or organization letterhead to jtorres9@twu.edu. Recommenders should include student name and Degree Name (e.g. "Ph.D. in Health Studies") in the subject line.
5. The School of Health Promotion & Kinesiology personnel will review all application materials to select applicants for an interview.

Final admission decisions will be determined upon review of all application materials, successful interview completion, program capacity, and availability of graduate faculty mentorship.