Kinesiology (KNES)

Abstract

A vital part of the School of Public Health, the Department of Kinesiology offers programs leading to the Master of Arts (thesis and non-thesis options) and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Research emphases within the three broadly defined areas of exercise physiology, cognitive motor neuroscience, and physical cultural studies are offered. Within each of these cognate areas, students develop specialized programs with faculty guidance and consistent with faculty expertise. Details of faculty research interests and additional information can be found at the department website http://www.sph.umd.edu/KNES/

Admissions Information

Students may qualify for admission with a 3.0 GPA for M.A. or 3.5 GPA for Ph.D. programs, satisfactory GREs, and a focused letter detailing academic and research goals as well as previous research experiences. In addition, each applicant should submit a minimum of three strong recommendations from people knowledgeable about the applicant's prior academic achievements and research potential. Appropriate background course work closely aligned with the intended research specialization is expected. Graduate faculty sponsorship is also necessary for admission; each faculty member has only a limited number of openings and only the most highly qualified applicants are selected. Faculty review of applications does not occur until all required parts of the application are received. This review is done in early January; therefore applicants are encouraged to have all their application materials submitted by January 1 for best consideration for admission and financial support.

Application Deadlines

Fall

Spring

Domestic Applicants:
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

Domestic Applicant Deadlines

Applications must be received by March 15 (December 15 preferred) .

Applications must be received by October 1 (August 1 preferred) .

International Applicants:
Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials

IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.

Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas

February 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1

June 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants

May 1
If Domestic Deadline is after May 1

October 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials

May 15
If Domestic Deadline is after May 15

October 31
If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Application Requirements

GRE General
Three Letters of Recommendation (Research/Academic)
Statement of Goals, Research Experiences and Interests

	Fall	Spring
Domestic Applicants: U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
Domestic Applicant Deadlines	Applications must be received by March 15 (December 15 preferred) .	Applications must be received by October 1 (August 1 preferred) .

International Applicants: Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.
Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas	February 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1	June 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants	May 1 If Domestic Deadline is after May 1	October 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials	May 15 If Domestic Deadline is after May 15	October 31 If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts (M.A.)
Completion of the master's degree with thesis requires a minimum of 24 semester hours and six thesis credits. The M.A. non-thesis option requires a minimum of 27 semester hours, a three-credit project based on an independent scholarly investigation, and a final comprehensive examination. Students in both options work under the direction of a graduate faculty advisor and must complete, as a minimum, six semester hours in a cognate area, six semester hours in research processes, and twelve semester hours in supporting courses either in or outside of the department. If internships are selected as part of the individual program, the total credits will exceed the minimum 30 credits.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
The doctoral program is designed to prepare outstanding scholars in a research domain in Kinesiology. To complete the program, a student must provide substantial evidence of his or her ability to frame and complete original research.

A Ph.D. student's program is tailored to meet his or her academic goals, but all students will produce and follow a research plan and complete a minimum of 90 credit hours relevant to Kinesiology (including dissertation) beyond the bachelor's degree. The program of study includes research experiences, as well as courses in the cognate area, other supportive courses outside of the department that broaden or deepen one's knowledge, and courses in research and analytic processes. Students also are expected to engage in the culture of Kinesiology through active participation in seminars and other departmental activities and to develop teaching expertise in the subdiscipline. All Ph.D. students are expected to complete a dissertation, which is the culminating research experience and contributes to knowledge in kinesiology.

Facilities and Special Resources

The Department has three areas of specialization: Cognitive Motor Neuroscience, Exercise Physiology, and Physical Cultural Studies. Laboratories are maintained, which support original investigations in each of the three areas. Laboratories include equipment for measuring metabolic parameters, strength, body composition, postural sway, ground reaction forces, amount of physical activity in daily life, as well as muscle biopsies and movement analysis. The response of the human body to physical activity/exercise can be viewed through ECG, EEG, EMG and systematic behavior observation systems. Each of the three research areas has interfaced computer hardware and software to support data collection and analysis. Collaborations with the School of Medicine at the Baltimore campus and with NIH often result in the availability of other facilities and equipment. All graduate students have access to computers and other forms of technology. Details and pictures of current facilities and equipment are available at our website www.sph.umd.edu/KNES/ Cognitive Motor Neuroscience Lab - Various tools provide students with opportunities to measure, postural sway, ground reaction forces, multi-digit pressing and moments in 3-D, and movement analysis. These tools include: (1) A three wall rear-projected monoscopic CAVE display system with three XGA digital projectors. The system is designed for standing humans to be immersed in a visual world to test questions about how the nervous system processes visual information to maintain upright stance. (2) A hydraulically-controlled moveable force platform for recording center of pressure and ground reaction forces inside the CAVE. (3) An Optotrak motion analysis system, capable of tracking up to 24 LEDs simultaneously for whole body analysis. (4) A touch plate consisting of a miniature force plate capable of resolving .01 N of force in three directions. (5) A Logitech 6D ultrasonic tracking system consisting of a control unit, two triangular receivers and one triangular transmitter. Each receiver provides three components of translation (x, y, z) and three components of rotation (yaw, pitch, roll) with a resolution of .006 cm. (6) A 16 channel EMG Neuraxon system for recording muscle activity. Because responses of the human body can be viewed through Electrocardiographic (ECG), Electroencephalic (EEG), and Electromyographic (EMG), we collaborate with the University of Maryland, School of Medicine at Baltimore and the National Institutes of Health. This results in the availability of other facilities and equipment whereby students may join forces on projects involving neuroimaging and virtual reality environments. Exercise Physiology Lab The Exercise Physiology group has various laboratories capable of supporting a wide-range of exercise-related studies, including metabolic testing, muscular strength and power testing, and various clinical blood-based assays. Moreover, the group collaborates with various nearby facilities for high-quality measurement of body composition, including muscle size, bone density, and visceral adiposity. A 6,000 sq. ft. training facility is fully equipped with aerobic exercise training equipment and 20+ Keiser strength training machines for all major muscle groups. In addition to these general facilities, the group maintains other specialized laboratories. The Exercise Epidemiology Lab utilizes tools to broaden our understanding of the public health benefits of physical activity. With a special emphasis on community-based interventions, students examine the effect of levels of physical activity on health outcomes, predictors of physical activity levels, physical activity measurement and assessment issues, and the conduct of clinical and community trials. The Functional Genomics Lab studies the role of genetic variation in disease susceptibility and the responses and adaptations of different individuals to various exercise programs. The lab has state of the art equipment for genetic analysis, including extensive computer resources. The Molecular Biology Lab has extensive scientific resources for examining the effects of exercise and inactivity on muscle, adipose, and other cell types utilizing both in vivo and in vitro approaches. Physical Cultural Studies (PCS) advances the critically and theoretically-driven analysis of physical culture, in all its myriad forms. These include sport, exercise, health, dance, and movement related practices, which PCS research locates and analyzes within the broader social, political, economic, and technological contexts in which they are situated. More specifically, PCS is dedicated to the contextually based understanding of the corporeal practices, discourses, and subjectivities through which active bodies become organized, represented, and experienced in relation to the operations of social power. PCS thus identifies the role played by physical culture in reproducing, and sometimes challenging, particular class, ethnic, gender, ability, generational, national, racial, and/or sexual norms and differences.

Financial Assistance

Teaching and research graduate assistantships are offered each academic year. The Department also has an NIH-funded pre-doctoral training grant in exercise and aging. At the present time, over two-thirds of the graduate students are financially supported. Teaching assistants work as discussion leaders and laboratory assistants as well as instructors in physical activity classes. Many research assistants are supported by grants. The department is proactive in seeking University fellowships for its outstanding applicants; David H. Clarke Fellowships have been awarded recently to the top applicants. Sally J. Phillips Dissertation Fellowship is also awarded to support the dissertation research of doctoral students. Financial support for visits to campus may be provided to highly qualified applicants who met the December 15 deadline for fall admission. Currently the department provides partial financial support for all graduate students who are selected to present their research at scholarly meetings.

Contact Information

For additional information and an application, contact:

Graduate Coordinator
2351 SPH Building
School of Public Health Valley Drive
MD 20742-2611
Telephone: (301) 405-2453
Fax: (301) 405-5578
knesgrad@deans.umd.edu

http://www.sph.umd.edu/KNES/

Polly R. Sebastian, Coordinator Kinesiology Graduate Program
2351 SPH Building School of Public Health Valley Drive
College Park
MD 20740-2611
Telephone: (301)405-2453
Fax: (301) 405-5578
pollys@umd.edu

http://www.sph.umd.edu/KNES ">http://www.sph.umd.edu/KNES

Courses: KNES

Related Programs and Campus Units

Neuroscience and Cognitive Science
College of Health and Human Performance
Aging, Center on
Nutrition