The goal of the health and exercise sciences major is to examine how movement-based physical activities, exercise and sport contribute to the quality of human life. We do this from a wide range of perspectives including biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, business, education and philosophy to ensure that you can conceptualize and analyze health and human movement in a holistic manner.
Melissa Trujillo’s '20 Pacific education gave her a strong foundation to pursue Duke University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. Since she was in high school, Melissa is determined to be a physical therapist and serve the diverse population of the Central Valley. As a Spanish-speaker and a member of the LatinX community, she wants to diversify health care and become a role model for others who identify with her.
For her future professional career, Maddy would like to become a physician assistant or an occupational therapist. She was excited to find Pacific’s HLTH program because the classes it offers and the hands-on experience she gets will help her realize her goals.
The health and exercise sciences major features immersive learning experiences through hands-on lab work like taking patient’s blood pressure, meeting distinguished speakers and going on field trips. You will go beyond the classroom through a variety of experiential learning opportunities and internships.
We recognize we live in an ever-changing world, so our health and exercise sciences major will adopt, model and promote innovative teaching/clinician practices as well as assessment strategies. Your coursework will include instruction about relevant technologies and, when possible, employ these technologies for assignments, development and assessment.
Knowledge, research and careers in health and exercise sciences draw from numerous disciplines. As a result, our program maintains a broad curriculum. This provides you with the experience needed to operate in a dynamic environment, exposes you to a variety of career possibilities in the field and ultimately enables you to become a more complete practitioner.
