Doctor of Philosophy in Health, Sport, and Exercise Science
Health, Sport, and Exercise Sciences
Programs in the Department of Health, Sport, and Exercise Sciences (HSES) offer undergraduate and graduate degrees preparing students to work in health, sport, and exercise-related fields. HSES graduates apply their knowledge to serve as teachers, researchers, clinicians, managers, administrators and other professionals in academic, private, and public settings.
Doctoral students may pursue the Ph.D. degree with a major in Heath, Sport and Exercise Science in the following specialization areas:
· Exercise Physiology
· Health Education & Psychology of Physical Activity
· Sport Management
Graduate Admission to the School of Education and Human Sciences
Graduate programs in education are open to students with acceptable baccalaureate and graduate degrees whose academic records indicate that they can do successful work at the graduate level. Applicants must provide evidence of ability to work successfully at the graduate level, including experience in and commitment to the profession.
Each department in the School of Education and Human Sciences sets its own application deadlines and admission criteria. Prospective graduate students should contact the appropriate department for more information.
See Admission in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog for more information.
Admission Requirements for the Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences
Students applying for Ph.D. programs must contact a faculty member in their specialization area for a required interview.
- A completed online graduate application.
- 1 official transcript of all previous undergraduate and graduate credit.
- Personal statement
- 3 letters of recommendation
- A vitae or resume.
Minimum Admission Requirements (Ph.D.)
- Earned masters degree
- GPA requirement for regular admission - 3.5 GPA in your masters degree.
- Contact your desired advisor regarding the GRE requirements.
Please note: Supporting documents to upload to your application: Meeting minimum admission standards does not guarantee admission to the program.
All application materials should be submitted online with the graduate application. If there are application materials that cannot be uploaded with the online application, they may be emailed or mailed to the department.
International Applicants
International applicants can visit Graduate Admissions website to learn more about the University's requirements.
- Official transcripts from an international university (must include an English translation of all documents in addition to the official transcript in the original language, or documentation that the University’s mode of instruction is English.)
- Graduate applicants who are non-native speakers of English must meet English Proficiency Requirements for Admission to Graduate Study.
Contact the department for application deadlines.
Questions: krigordon@ku.edu
HSES Graduate Admissions
1301 Sunnyside Ave., Room 161
Lawrence, KS 66045
Ph.D. Degree Programs
The Doctor of Philosophy degree is offered with emphases in exercise physiology, health education and psychology of physical activity, and sport management. Students must interview with a faculty advisor in the intended emphasis before admission.
Pre-aspirant status requires the prospective doctoral student to earn a grade-point average of at least 3.5 in the first 12 credit hours.
With the advisor, each student develops a plan of study consistent with the student’s needs and the faculty’s expertise. This includes:
- A minimum of 36 hours of major courses is required, excluding credits used to fulfill Research Skills and the Dissertation requirements. The HSES Core may be included as part of the major if it is consistent with the student's area of study and if doing so is supported by the student's department and doctoral committee. 50% of the student's major 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 or the HSES Core.
-A minimum of 12 hours of research skills is required. At least 9 of the 12 credit hours must be 800-level or above. The 12 credit hours cannot include EPSY 715 or it's program equivalent. Up to 6 hours of the required 12 may be waived by research coursework completed as part of a prior master's degree. If not taken as a part of the student's master's degree, EPSY 715 must be taken during the student's first enrollment in doctoral study. This course does not count toward any doctoral requirement. Students must have completed all research skills courses before they are allowed to take the comprehensive examination.
-HSES Core Course - This requirement is met by students taking HSES 990, Doctoral Seminar.
-Responsible Conduct of Research - Student will work with their advisor to fulfill this 3 credit hour requirement.
-College Teaching Experience - Documentation of supervised college teaching experience (completed during the student's doctoral program) is required Programs may require that a student enroll in HSES 996, but these credits may not be used to fulfill credit hour requirements in the student's major.
-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.
-Dissertation - A minimum of 18 credit hours of dissertation is needed for the doctoral degree. These credits cannot be applied to the student's major.
Students should obtain specific instructions and guidelines for graduate degrees from the department and also from the School of Education graduate regulations section of the catalog.