Beginning fall 2016 Norwich University will offer a new major, a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science.
The new program adds to the previously announced new Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and is part of an administrative restructure of the College of Science and Mathematics.
The new major will roll out this fall under the leadership of Assistant Professor Thomas Roberge, who also oversees Physical Education. Norwich University pioneered the academic study of physical education when in 1822 it was the first school to incorporate PE into the curriculum. Norwich’s founder, Captain Alden Partridge, was known in the early 19th century for his long distance hiking as described in this article.
Exercise science was previously offered as a concentration of the Physical Education program.
“Norwich is such a physically active community, it just makes sense to elevate this program to full major status so that our students can immerse themselves in the science of how to be physical in the most efficient and effective ways and then pass that knowledge on,” Roberge said.
The mission of the Exercise Science major is to provide undergraduate students with the tools to become experts of the human body and the science behind how exercise can impact the human body in a positive manner. A combination of the study of physical exercise and laboratory explorations, the Exercise Science program will have a solid foundation in the natural sciences and will educate highly trained individuals, who are needed to educate people on how to exercise appropriately without causing undue harm.
