Department, Major and Degree Change to Kinesiology Approved at N.C. A&T

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 25, 2019) – The Department of Human Performance and Leisure Studies in the College of Health and Human Science at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will now be known as the Department of Kinesiology. 

The University of North Carolina System approved the department and degree renaming request. Instead of receiving a B.S. in Sports, Science and Fitness Management, graduates will receive a B.S. in Kinesiology. 

“Kinesiology is a professional canopy term that allows a diversity of degrees, content and research,” said Moran Sciamama-Saghiv, Ph.D, department chairman and associate professor of clinical exercise physiology. “It is beneficial due to the fact it is a more current term, better understood and regarded.”

In a letter of request to the UNC System, the department outlined additional reasons for the name change, citing that kinesiology integrates biological and behavioral approaches, using biomechanical, physiological, psychological and sociological perspectives to study and recommend physical activity in individuals, groups and populations. 

Chief among the improved outcomes, kinesiology will help students understand, more clearly, the nature of the major, coursework, outcomes and placement opportunities. The field also captures the wide variety of programs offered, such as athletic training, providing the department opportunities for expansion into future programs and majors as well as future work options for students and a greater connection to graduate fields of study such as physical therapy and occupational therapy. 

The current title of the department was an attempt to merge degrees in exercise science, sports management and leisure studies. However, the melding of those areas of study created a lack of clarity in the curriculum and the degree awarded. Kinesiology will allow those areas to be independent majors and minors, maintaining the integrity of each.