Top-Notch Degree for a High-Impact Profession
The Master of Science in Kinesiology at Michigan Tech provides an excellent education paired with advanced research opportunities in health and human movement, which add up to a competitive edge for graduates.
Do your interests lie in cardiac rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, fitness training and management, sports administration, or research/teaching in health and kinesiology? If you would like to pursue a career in any of these fields, allow us to prepare you for a high-impact profession.
Because kinesiology is a highly interdisciplinary field, our master’s students cross departmental borders and collaborate with faculty and students in areas such as biological sciences, human factors, and biomedical engineering.
Achieving Excellence
Thomas Bye, Kinesiology (MS '19) was selected as an honorable mention finalist for the 2019 American Kinesiology Association (AKA) National Master's Scholar Award. The AKA is an organization of over 175 kinesiology departments housed in colleges and universities nationwide and promotes and enhances kinesiology as a united field of study. Thomas was selected from a national pool of AKA nominated scholars. He will receive a certificate and be listed in the archive of award recipients on the AKA website.
Degree Options
Our program offers both a thesis option and a coursework option. The thesis option includes course work and research in exercise and integrative physiology, biomechanics, or human performance. The coursework option includes a more directed coursework plan that is capped with an extended internship experience in cardiac rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, or fitness training/management.
For more-detailed information, see Degree Requirements and our Graduate Student Handbook.
Research Opportunities
Kinesiology faculty are deeply engaged in teaching, mentoring, and research focusing on health and human performance. The department currently has two faculty externally funded by the prestigious American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant program.
Over the past five years, the department has received external research funding from national health organizations including:
- National Institutes of Health
- American Heart Association
- American Physiological Society
Students conduct research in areas as diverse as:
- Neural control of circulation
- Molecular mechanisms involved in hypertension
- Human biomechanics
- Muscular fatigue and aging
- Human performance in collegiate athletes
The department’s cutting-edge research facilities and equipment include:
- Microneurography nerve traffic analysis system
- Electrocardiogram units and amplifiers
- Lower-body negative-pressure chamber
- Vicon motion-capture cameras
- Metabolic cart for VO2 max
- Venous occlusion plethysmograph for limb blood flow measurements (calf and forearm)