Kinesiology (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here. 

Program Overview

The term kinesiology means “study of movement.” In the kinesiology graduate program, human movement is studied from different perspectives, forming the basis for graduate specializations in exercise physiology, motor behavior, pedagogy/psychological sciences, and sport management.

• Exercise physiology is focused on the genetic, biochemical, and clinical evaluation of physiological alterations to exercise training and detraining in both human and animal models. This focus is centered on modifications in the muscular, cardio respiratory, and immune systems from an aging, disease, or peak performance perspective.
• Motor behavior research focuses on the learning and performance of coordinated movement, with particular interest in topics such as variables influencing effective and efficient skill learning, gait and balance control, sensorimotor integration for whole body and fine motor coordination, and musculoskeletal system rehabilitation.
• Pedagogy/psychological sciences research investigates factors that influence teaching, learning, and behavior choices in a broad range of physical activity settings, including physical education, health education, and exercise programs.
• Sport Management research focuses on the social construction and organization of sport and sport organizations, centering on management, sociological, and organizational perspectives.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School: www.lsu.edu/gradapply. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: Graduate Student Services, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for admission are received and evaluated by the departments throughout the year. Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by The Graduate School. Applications are continuously evaluated and students may be admitted for any semester. To ensure full consideration for financial assistance, applicants are encouraged to submit their materials by February 1 for admission in the fall semester.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, including a bachelor’s degree in a related field, acceptable GRE scores (GMAT can be used for admission to the sport management specialization), and three letters of recommendation. The target GRE score is 295-300 (combined verbal and quantitative sections), but students may be admitted with lower scores with high undergraduate GPAs and strong letters of recommendation. The school adheres to the minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale set by the LSU Graduate School for regular admission. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL or IELTS score according to the standards set by the LSU Graduate School.

Meeting the minimum entrance requirements does not ensure acceptance into the program. The school accepts qualified students whose interests and goals are consistent with our areas of specialization. Full admission is granted when students meet the minimum standards and a graduate faculty member agrees to serve as their advisor. If a student does not meet all requirements, he or she may be admitted provisionally.

Financial Assistance

A limited number of graduate assistantships and fellowships are available. Most assistantships require both teaching and assisting in research. Application forms are available on the school website.

Graduate Faculty

(check current listings by department by clicking this link)

Kwame J. A. Agyemang (6A) • Focuses attention on the organizational and individual level of analyses to understand the generation of high performance and social issues in the workplace. His research is typically grounded in in-depth interviews with his study participants.
Birgitta L. Baker (6A) • Psychological, family, and built environment predictors of physical activity and other health behaviors
Claude Bouchard (M) • Genetics and physical activity (Pennington Biomedical Research Center)
Russell L. Carson III (M) • Psychology of teaching and teachers, especially the determinants and consequences of daily emotional experiences and burnout in teachers of all disciplines
Ralph Ray Castle (3P) • Clinical effectiveness of physical rehabilitation techniques/therapeutic modalities on acute and chronic inflammatory responses
Timothy S. Church (3F) • Exercise and health (Pennington Biomedical Research Center)
Daniel M. Corcos (3F) • Motor learning, motor control, and motor disorders (College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois–Chicago)
Conrad Earnest (3F) • Exercise, nutrition, health, and sport performance (Pennington Biomedical Research Center)
Alex Garn (6A) • Achievement motivation in physical education and physical activity contexts, approach and avoidance motivation, physical education teacher development
Jan M. Hondzinski (M) • Motor control and sensorimotor integration used during task performances by adults of varying age with and without neurological deficits
Neil Johannsen (6A) • Research focus is the study of physical activity and exercise training effects on chronic disease and special populations ranging from young lean adults to older adults, overweight/obese people, individuals with type 2 diabetes, and women with a history of breast cancer.
Lisa G. Johnson (3F) • physical environmental influences on physical activity and health and endocrine responses to exercise
Maria Kosma (M) • Psychosocial determinants of physical activity for health and wellness among underserved populations (e.g., people with physical disabilities and older adults)
Dennis Landin (M) • Musculoskeletal system actions and rehabilitation, clinical anatomy
Amelia M. Lee (EM) • The role of self-perceptions of ability in achievement behavior; beliefs, expectations, motivations and attitudes as mediators between teaching and learning; gender differences in achievement-related cognition, affect, and behavior
Richard A. Magill (EM) • How practice-related variables influence motor skill learning, performance and rehabilitation
Arnold G. Nelson (M) • Physiological and biochemical adaptations of skeletal muscle and muscle metabolism to acute and chronic stressors (e.g., exercise, environment, dietary supplements) and how these adaptations can be manipulated to improve work and/or athletic performance
Eric Ravussin (3F) • Diabetes, metabolism, and physical activity (Pennington Biomedical Research Center)Leanne M Redman (3F) • Effects of diet and exercise on reproductive function in women across the lifespan; polycystic ovary syndrome; gestational diabetes; menopause
T. Gilmour Reeve (M) • Psychological factors related to human performance, response selection and programming processes in the execution of skillful human movements
Chad Seifried (6A) • Use of historical methods to review the organizational and individual history of decisions/strategies of sport facility construction and management, high school athletic management and coaching and Division I (FBS) postseason decision management and governance
Brian Soebbing (6A) • Understanding the strategic behavior of sports leagues, teams, and athletes using quantitative methods
Melinda A. Solmon (M) • Achievement motivation in physical activity, student goals and perceptions of teachers’ actions in physical education
Laura K. Stewart (6A) • Exercise and inflammation, botanicals and performance enhancement/prevention of disease
Melissa D. Thompson (3F) • Functional Anatomy and Shoulder Impingement
Catrine E. Tudor-Locke (3F) • Walking behavior (Pennington Biomedical Research Center)
Arend W. A. Van Gemmert (6A) • Mechanisms contributing to changes in the control of fine motor task performance due to stress, mental load, aging, neurological disease, and practice
Michael A. Welsch (M) • Influence of physical inactivity and exercise training on vascular biology in health and disease
Sara Winges (6A) • Focused on the kinematics, kinetics, and neuromuscular patterns of hand control and examining the role of vision in haptic perception of arm movements and prediction in smooth pursuit during eye tracking tasks.

Recent Faculty Publications

A representative sample of recent faculty publications includes the following:

Agyemang, K.J.A. (In Press). Toward a model of ‘athlete citizenship’ in professional sport through authentic
community stakeholder engagement. Sport, Business and Management.
Baker, B. L. & Davison, K. K. (2011). I know I can: A longitudinal examination of precursors and outcomes of perceived athletic competence among adolescent girls. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 8(2), 192-199.
Carson, R. L., Baumgartner, J. J., Matthews, R. A., & Tsouloupas, C. N. (2010). Emotional exhaustion, absenteeism, and turnover intentions in childcare teachers: Examining the impact of physical activity behaviors. Journal of Health Psychology, 15(6), 905-914. doi: 10.1177
Credeur D.P., Hollis B.C., & Welsch M.A. (2010). Effects of handgrip training with venous restriction on brachial artery vasodilation. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 42, 1296-1302.
Domangue, E. A., & Solmon, M. A. (2012). Fitness testing: How do students make sense of gender disparities? Sport, Education and Society, 17 (2), 207-224.
Garn, A. C., Baker, B. L., Beasley, E. K., & Solmon, M. A. (2012). What are the benefits of a commercial exergaming platform for college students? Examining physical activity, enjoyment, and future intentions. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 9, 311-318.
Li, L., & Hondzinski, J.M. (2012) Select exercise modalities may reverse movement dysfunction because of peripheral neuropathy. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 40(3), 133-137.
Nauta, M.M., Swift, D.L., Myers, V.H., Earnest, C.P., Johannsen, N.M., Champagne, C.M., Parker, B.D., Levy, E., Cash, K.C., & Church, T.S. Cancer survival through weight loss and exercise (CASTLE): a pilot study. Accepted, Int J Behav Med, 3/2012.
Daray, L.A., Henagan, T.M., Zanovec, M., Earnest, C.P., Johnson, L.G., Winchester, J., Tuuri, G., Stewart, L.K. (2011). Endurance and resistance training lowers C-reactive protein in young, healthy females. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 36(5):660-70.
Kosma, M. (in press). An expanded framework to determine physical activity and falls risks among diverse older adults. Research on Aging. An International Bimonthly Journal.
Landin, D., & Thompson, M. (2011). The role of the triceps brachii in shoulder extension. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 21, 161-165.
Russell, R.D., Kraemer, R.R., & Nelson, A.G. (in press). Metabolic Dysfunction in Diabetic Offspring: Deviations in Metabolic Flexibility. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Nelson, A.G., Kokkonen, J. Arnall, D.A. & Li, L. (2012). Acute stretching increases postural stability in non-balance trained individuals. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(11), 3095-3100.
Van Gemmert, A. W. A. (2012). Timing of tone presentation does alter training performance but not retention performance of a point-to-point sequence task. Advances in Physical Education, 2, 82-87.
Seifried, C.S. (2012). The legality of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS): Examining pro-competitive and anti-competitive outcomes on consumers and competitors. Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, 21(2), 187-218.
Soebbing, B. P., & Humphreys, B. R. (In press). Do gamblers think that teams tank? An analysis of NBA point spreads. Contemporary Economic Policy.
Stewart, L. K., Earnest, C.P., Blair, S. N., Church, T.S. (2010). Effects of different doses of physical activity on c-reactive protein among women. Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(4), 701-707.
Winges, S.A., & Soechting, J.F. (2011) Spatial and temporal aspects of cognitive influences on smooth pursuit. Experimental Brain Research, 211, 27-36.

Degree Programs

Programs

• Kinesiology, Ph.D.

• Kinesiology, M.S.