Master of Fitness Promotion
Graduate students choosing the Master of Fitness Promotion (MFP) will focus on developing skills and attributes for designing, delivering and evaluating fitness and wellness programs designed to improve the quality of life of the program's participants.
To accomplish this mission, the graduate students in the Corporate Wellness Program will meet the following objectives:
Develop a knowledge base and be able to apply that knowledge to impact areas such as health-related and mental fitness as they relate to hypokinetic diseases and conditions.
Gain a basic understanding of the core disciplines including Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics, and Research Methodology.
Be able to apply exercise prescription for both the general population and for special populations, such as persons with diabetes, poor cholesterol profiles, heart disease, osteoporosis, and other debilitating diseases.
Be able to adjust the workplace environment to decrease the chance of repetitive injuries, which requires a basic knowledge of occupational ergonomics.
Gain an understanding of the concepts of marketing and management of a corporate wellness program.
Gain practical experience of a wellness program through the requirement of a 400-hour practicum in a facility that functions to promote health and wellness.
A person with a professional degree in “Fitness Promotion” can work in a variety of positions and settings in which a specialist is needed to develop programs that combat cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, metabolic disorders, and musculoskeletal problems.
Employment opportunities are commonly found in fitness and wellness centers, hospitals and health care facilities, rehabilitation centers, senior centers, corporations and universities.
For more information visit the USU Catalog or USU Degree Finder.
Graduate Program Coordinator
Melissa Johnson
Coordinator of Programs III
Kinesiology and Health Science
Program Director
Dale Wagner
Professor
Kinesiology and Health Science
Admissions
The MFP degree aims to meet the needs of students who desire to or currently hold a position within the field of health fitness, who do not foresee pursuing a PhD or a career as a researcher. Student’s extensive fieldwork (practicum) experience during the program further ensures a practical benchmark for a career as a health-fitness professional.
Candidates for the MFP program are preferred to have an undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline such as Kinesiology, Exercise or Sport Sciences. If a candidate has earned a degree in another field they could still be considered for admission in this program but may be required to complete prerequisite undergraduate courses such as Human Anatomy & Physiology, Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics, and Anatomical Kinesiology.
Application Requirements
Applicants desiring to enroll in the kinesiology program must be admitted to the Utah State University School of Graduate studies. The application requires the following:
- Meet the prerequisite degree requirements listed above.
- Official transcripts from all previously-attended colleges and universities
- Overall GPA on the last 60 semester or 90 quarter credits taken must be 3.0 or above.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- All letters of recommendation should be professional references. Two letters should come from faculty members.
- Statement of purpose responding to the following prompt:
- In 500 words or less, please answer the following questions. Why do you want to pursue a graduate degree in Kinesiology? What are your career goals and how do you foresee a master’s degree in Kinesiology helping you toward that goal? There are literally over 200 graduate programs for Kinesiology in the United States alone. Why do you want to be part of the master’s program at USU (specifically), rather than another program? If you have any undergraduate research experience, please include that in this essay (e.g., what was your role, did you present the research at a conference, is the research published).
- Submission of the Admissions Survey as a portfolio in the supplemental materials of the application.
- International students must meet english proficiency requirements
Admission Deadlines
Fall semester
July 1
Spring Semester
December 1
Assistanships
The Kinesiology and Health Science Department offers graduate assistantship opportunities for Logan, Utah based students who are accepted into one of the graduate programs in the department. These positions are limited and are awarded on a competitive basis.
Students interested in a graduate assistantship positions with the KHS Department need to complete a separate application that is submitted to our department. The deadline for these applications is March 1 and positions are awarded for the coming Fall and Spring semesters.
More information: KHS Graduate Assistantships
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New Graduate Student Orientation
The department holds an orientation for new graduate students in the KHS Department at USU. The orientation was designed to meet the needs of students within the KHS department and to better prepare new students for their time at USU. The design of this orientation was based on student concerns brought to the department, observations from departmental personnel, and from current research.
The orientation includes both an in-person and online portion that is held before the beginning of the Fall semester. Both portions (online and in-person) of the orientation are required for all new students. Students accepted to start in the Spring, Summer, and Fall of that calendar year are expected to participate in the orientation of the Fall of that calendar year.
The online portion has much of the general information, processes, and resources available to graduate students and will be available to students for future reference throughout their graduate student experience. Students will receive an email with instructions for how to access this orientation during the summer (end of July, beginning of August).
The in-person portion is designed to provide an opportunity for students to begin building relationships with other students, faculty, and staff. Students will be expected to complete the online portion before attending the in-person portion as it is a time for students to ask questions and get clarification on any information they have received previously. The in-person orientation will be held the Monday, two weeks before the first day of the Fall semester, in August. Students should plan for the full day. Additional information is communicated with students as it is available.
Both portions are critical for students to build a foundation that will help them be successful and receive the most out of their experience as graduate students. By providing this orientation before the semester and allowing students time to work through the content, students have more time to process information, helping to prevent feelings of “information overload”. In addition, students have access to the orientation information throughout their academic program allowing students to refer back to information when it is needed.
Reach out to the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) with any questions.
Program Requirements
Tracking Sheet
PDF
At USU, the Graduate School uses plan types to classify students who are on similar tracks and will have similar culminating projects, grouped as either a thesis, creative project, or internship. These are classified as a Plan A (Thesis), Plan B (Creative Project), or Plan C/Professional (Internships). The MFP program only has the Plan C/Professional plan type option.
The primary focus of the degree is to acquire advanced skills specific to a profession in a health fitness setting. In addition to some of the same courses that MS students take (i.e., Advanced Exercise Physiology, Biomechanics), MFP students take courses in ECG interpretation and Health Psychology, as well as health- and wellness-related electives from other departments (e.g., Nutritional Epidemiology, Sociology of Health, etc.).
In addition to completing the required course work students will be expected to complete an internship/fieldwork for their cluminating experience.
Internship
Master of Fitness Promotion (MFP) students must complete 6 credits of internship as part of their degree requirements. Typically, these 6 credits are divided into 1 credit for each of the fall and spring semesters of their first year learning about corporate/employee wellness programs and doing fitness assessments in conjunction with USU Employee Wellness, and 4 credits at an off-campus practicum in the second year of their degree program. This 4-credit off-campus practicum equates to 400 contact hours working at their chosen location. Students are encouraged to find their own practicum sites that correspond to their career goals. For example, past practicum experiences have been clinical (e.g., cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation), hospital-based wellness programs, corporate wellness programs, or fitness industry positions. Students are encouraged to work with their faculty mentors to select internship sites.