Franklin College

Exercise Science

Turn your passions for health, wellness, fitness, and performance into a thriving career as you pursue this highly hands-on program that combines rigorous coursework, clinical experiences, and career development support to prepare you to lead in this expanding field.

The Franklin College exercise science major is designed to prepare students for careers in both clinical and sports performance settings, covering anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, sport psychology, exercise prescription and more. Courses accentuate hands-on, lab-based learning, preferring a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, heart rate monitor and training equipment to a textbook. Beginning their first semester, students perform foundational health assessments like EKGs — electrocardiogram tests that assess a patient’s heart health — and ultrasounds, which become second nature well before graduation. Students are assessed using practical testing to demonstrate their proficiency in these skills. In addition to coursework, every major pursues independent research on human subjects, a unique opportunity for undergraduate students. Past research topics have included:

• Testing the acute physiological effects of high-altitude training masks
• Measuring physical changes after using blood flow moderation (KAATSU) training
• Assessing the physical response to exercise using virtual reality gaming

The curriculum also infuses digital fluency, leadership and career preparation, giving students the professional competence and confidence they need to accelerate in their field.