The Department of Health, Sport, and Exercise Sciences (HSES) prepares aspiring students to work in health, sport management, and exercise science-related fields. The Ph.D. program prepares individuals for faculty, instructor, and research positions at the university level.
Doctoral students may pursue the Ph.D. degree in health, sport, and exercise science in the following concentration areas below:
Concentration in Exercise Physiology: This degree prepares individuals for faculty, instructor, and research positions at the university level. Research interests for students in this program may include sport performance, exercise interventions on performance, immune function, muscle physiology, exercise nutrition, strength and conditioning, resistance exercise training, athletic health, concussion in contact sports, biomechanical analysis, muscle fatigue, and the relationship between training load, stress, and recovery. Students enrolled full-time in the Ph.D. program with an exercise physiology concentration typically complete the degree in four years. The program also welcomes professionals in the field to enroll part-time and complete the degree on an extended timeline but still must follow residency requirements. See residency policy. Graduate students are able to participate in active research being conducted in one of the many labs linked below.
Applied Physiology Lab
Neuromechanics Lab
Jayhawk Athletic Performance Lab
Biomechanics Lab
Concentration in Health Education: This degree prepares individuals for faculty, instructor, and research positions at the university level. Research interests for students in this program may include public health pedagogy, health equity, behavior modification in health and exercise, and stress management. Students enrolled full-time in the Ph.D. program with a health education concentration typically complete the degree in three years. The program also welcomes professionals in the field to enroll part-time and complete the degree on an extended timeline but still must follow residency requirements. See residency policy.
Concentration in Sport Management: This degree prepares individuals for faculty, instructor, and research positions at the university level. Research interests for students in this program may include sport marketing, consumer behavior, sport law, organizational behavior & theory, the role of intercollegiate athletics within higher education, and amateur sport. Students enrolled full-time in the Ph.D. program with a sport management concentration typically complete the degree in three years. The program also welcomes professionals in the field to enroll part-time and complete the degree on an extended timeline but still must follow residency requirements. See residency policy. Doctoral students are able to participate in active research being conducted in the Amateur Sport Research Center.
Graduate Admissions Requirements
Applicants must meet both the University and departmental admission requirements to be considered for the program.
Doctor of Philosophy in Health, Sport and Exercise Science Application Requirements:
Students applying for the PhD program MUST contact a faculty member in their concentration area for a required interview.
- A completed graduate application.
- Application fee.
- Official transcripts of all degree-granting post-secondary institutions you have attended and an official transcript for each degree earned.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- Personal statement declaring your interest in the program and its relationship to your graduate course or study and/or career objectives.
- Current resume or CV.
- Writing sample
- Minimum of a 3.5 GPA
- Please note: It is possible that multiple interviews will be required before a decision is made. Students must have a faculty advisor that is able to work with them.
- These are the admission requirements in place at the time this catalog content was published.
Prerequisite Requirements
Concentration in Exercise Physiology
Applicants are required to have completed credits from the following KU courses, or transfer credit from equivalent non-KU courses: BIOL 240 (Human Anatomy); BIOL 246 (Principles of Human Physiology); HSES 369 (Kinesiology) OR HSES 470 (Biomechanics); HSES 372 (Exercise Physiology).
Students who have not completed coursework in these areas may be admitted to the program after a successful interview(s) and advisor approval but will be required to complete the necessary preparatory training. These courses do not count towards the fulfillment of required hours for the Exercise Physiology degree.
Ph.D. Degree Programs
The Doctor of Philosophy degree is offered with concentrations in exercise physiology, health education, and sport management. Students must interview with a faculty advisor in the intended emphasis before admission.
With the advisor, each student develops a plan of study consistent with the student’s needs and the faculty’s expertise. Students are required to take the following coursework to earn their degree:
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| 1 | 36 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | |
| HSES 990 | Doctoral Seminar | 3 |
| HSES 996 | College Teaching Experience in: _____ | 3 |
| HSES 999 | Doctoral Dissertation (See Post-Comprehensive Exam Enrollment section below for more information on required dissertation hours) | 18 |
| Total Hours | 72 |
Research Skills & Responsible Scholarship All doctoral students must meet the research skills requirement before proceeding to comprehensive exams and are required to have training in responsible scholarship and skills pertinent to the doctoral level of research in their field. See Research Skills & Responsible Scholarship Policy.
Comprehensive Exam - In HSES doctoral programs, students do an alternative comprehensive exam. In this format, the student completes a research manuscript that is suitable for a mid-tier journal in their chosen field. Additionally, they complete a dissertation length literature review of the topic of interest. An oral defense is conducted after these two documents are deemed to be of a passing quality. Comprehensive examination information and requirements can be found at: https://policy.ku.edu/graduate-studies/doctoral-oral-exams
Post-Comprehensive Exam Enrollment- Doctoral candidates are required, after passing the comprehensive oral examination, to be continuously enrolled each fall and spring semester in one (1) or more hours of dissertation coursework that moves the student towards degree completion. During this time, until all requirements are completed or until 18 post-comprehensive hours have been completed, the candidate must enroll for a minimum of 6 hours a semester. If after the 18 hours of post-comprehensive enrollment the degree is not completed, the candidate must continue to enroll each semester until all degree requirements have been met. See the Doctoral Candidacy Policy for more information. NOTE: Students in the HSES Ph.D. are required to enroll in a minimum of 18 hours of HSES 999 Dissertation Hours to meet program-specific minimum degree requirements and be approved to graduate.
Dissertation Proposal - After successfully completing the comprehensive exam, students are required to complete a dissertation proposal. The dissertation proposal must be read and approved by a minimum of 3 dissertation committee members. One copy of the approved dissertation proposal title sheet, signed by these members of the dissertation committee, along with an electronic copy of the proposal must be submitted to the School of Education and Human Sciences Graduate Division office.
-Dissertation - The HSES Ph.D. requires a minimum of 18 credit hours of dissertation. These credits cannot be applied to the student's major. See the Doctoral Dissertation Policy for more information about the nature of the dissertation.
Exercise Physiology Concentration
With the advisor, each student develops a plan of study consistent with the student’s needs and the faculty’s expertise.
Students are required to have a minimum of 36 hours of major coursework chosen in consultation of their faculty advisor in their concentration area. 50% of the student's major courses must be at the 800-level or above. The program must include at least 6 credit hours outside of the student's home department - not including courses required to fulfill the student's research component.
Health Education Concentration
With the advisor, each student develops a plan of study consistent with the student’s needs and the faculty’s expertise.
Students are required to have a minimum of 36 hours of major coursework chosen in consultation of their faculty advisor in their concentration area. 50% of the student's major courses must be at the 800-level or above. The program must include at least 6 credit hours outside of the student's home department - not including courses required to fulfill the student's research component.
Sport Management Concentration
With the advisor, each student develops a plan of study consistent with the student’s needs and the faculty’s expertise.
Students are required to have a minimum of 36 hours of major coursework chosen in consultation of their faculty advisor in their concentration area. 50% of the student's major courses must be at the 800-level or above. The program must include at least 6 credit hours outside of the student's home department - not including courses required to fulfill the student's research component.
At the completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Develop deep knowledge of nomological networks, theories, and related research in an area of expertise
- Critically examine important questions in health, sport, & exercise physiology using rigorous research methodologies and methods
- Construct theoretical models based on sound empirical research to guide practice and policy
- Conduct autonomous or collaborative research using high-level analytical skills
- Contribute to the body of knowledge specific to a discipline within the field
