Physical Education

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Education


What is Physical Education?

Physical education in the 21st century focuses on teaching movement skills with an increasing emphasis on healthy living and development of people's lifelong activity patterns.

This program leads to licensure for teaching physical education to students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12.


What are the features of Miami's program?

Extensive classroom experience: Our teacher education program gives you more classroom experiences than most programs at other universities. Early in your second year, you get a feel for teaching by spending time in school classrooms. In methodology of teaching classes, you spend a quarter of the term in schools, working directly with teachers. And during the semester of student teaching, you are regularly visited by a Miami student-teaching supervisor for consultation and guidance.

Top-notch facilities: The Department of Kinesiology and Health has four laboratories where students can work in the teaching and research technologies of exercise science, neural-motor control, dietetics, and skill performance analysis.

Coaching minor: Miami offers a Coaching minor that includes study in your choice of sport performance and analysis classes, introductory sports medicine, functional anatomy, and exercise physiology.

Professional education sequence: Teaching requires such knowledge as the characteristics of learners, social structures of schools, families and communities, assessment techniques, classroom practices, law, statistics, electronic support systems, curriculum, and resources. In the professional education sequence, you investigate this knowledge and combine it with extensive experiences in a variety of schools. As you progress through the professional education sequence, you spend increasing time with experienced teachers in a variety of urban, suburban, and rural schools. Your experiences will range from helping individual students in the schools to being responsible for an entire classroom of students.

Double major: Majoring in Physical Education also gives you the opportunity to easily double major in Sports Studies or Athletic Training. If you choose Athletic Training, you'll be prepared for the National Athletic Trainers Association certification examination. This program requires courses in sports medicine, nutrition, and exercise physiology, and field experience under the supervision of a certified athletic trainer.


Are there special admission requirements?

To enter this major, students must enroll in the Department of Kinesiology and Health (KNH) to take KNH courses as pre-majors. Once enrolled as a physical education pre-major, students are eligible to apply to the major after completing at least 24 credit hours of coursework (including three courses of program requirements), achieving a g.p.a. of 2.5 or higher, and successfully passing a background check for felony convictions.


What courses would I take?

The curriculum for this major prepares you to plan developmentally appropriate content, teach skills and knowledge about skillful movement and healthy living, and promote appropriate and healthy social behavior. Students also participate in several field experiences throughout their first three years.

This program also requires you to take classes within the Miami Plan for Liberal Education. Through the plan's foundation courses, you'll hone skills such as thinking critically, understanding contexts, reflecting and acting, and engaging with other learners. These courses are in the broad discipline areas of English composition, fine arts, humanities, social science, world cultures, natural science, formal reasoning, and in the social foundations of education.


What can I do with this major?

Graduates of this program found positions in private and public sports facilities, in agencies such as the YMCA, working in sports medicine facilities, and directing exercise and fitness facilities. You could also work in sport marketing and public relations. If you double major in sports studies, the opportunities are endless.


Who can I contact for more information?

For general information about Miami University, please contact:

Office of Admission
301 S. Campus Ave.
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056-3434
513-529-2531 (v/t)
www.muohio.edu/requestinfo

For specific information on the Physical Education major, please contact:

Department of Kinesiology and Health
106 Phillips Hall
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
513-529-2700
www.muohio.edu/knh