Movement towards a healthier life.
Staying active in the field of Kinesiology and Health Education makes our program one of the best in the country. This past year proves no different. Our students and faculty contribute to the academic community through research, community outreach, and promotion of a healthy lifestyle.
Through grants and expenditures, we have led research across all labs and affiliate centers including the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center, the Health and Integrative Physiology Lab, and the Fitness Institute of Texas. This research serves the dual purpose of improving our knowledge of health and sport science while educating future leaders. Our graduates are inspired to promote a healthy lifestyle and sport experience through their work, research, and community outreach.
About
Our Department
Total Students – 1,165
Graduate Students – 163
Undergraduate Students – 1,002
Student Internships – 189
Total Faculty – 53
Graduate Degrees Offered – 16
Undergraduate Programs Offered – 6
Degrees Offered
Graduate Degrees
Exercise Science (Ph.D., M.S., M.Ed.)
Health Behavior and Health Education (Ph.D., M.S., M.Ed.)
Sport Management (M.S., M.Ed.)
Academic Rankings
We are consistently ranked among the top in the nation and the world. We are recognized by many as one of the best programs for research and health education and kinesiology studies.
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National Academy of Kinesiology
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Shanghai World Ranking
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U.S. News and World Report
Undergraduate Students
Majors
Applied Movement Science - 10
Athletic Training Program - 36
Exercise Science - 381
Health Promotion - 229
Sport Management - 148
Physical Culture and Sport - 173
Graduate Students
Programs
Health Behavior and Health Education - 28
Exercise Science - 72
Sport Management - 43
Physical Culture and Sport Studies - 8
Kinesiology - 12
Awards and Honors
The Department of Kinesiology and Health Education had 245 Students recognized as UT College Scholars. To achieve this distinction, University of Texas at Austin students must achieve a GPA in the top 20% of the student body.
Hall of Honor
The Hall of Honor recognizes faculty, alumni, and friends of the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education who have made significant contributions to their professional field.
Deborah Rohm Young Ph.D. '91
Distinguished Alumnus Inductee
Ellie Noack B.S. '53, M.Ed. '59
Distinguished Alumna Inductee
Faculty Awards
Dixie Stanforth
Provost Teaching Fellowship
Matt Bowers
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education Undergraduate Teaching Award
Darla Castelli
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education Graduate Teaching Award
Brian Farr
NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award
Student Internships
We encourage students to take on internships that will give them practical knowledge in their field. Students participate in internships across the country as well as on campus with our collegiate sports teams.
This year, our students completed internships at some impressive organizations. Internships were completed by 189 students with 117 different organizations.
A Year with the Minnesota Vikings
Second-year Sport Management Masters (M.Ed.) student Logan Johnson was selected to participate in the exclusive new Innovative Leadership Rotational Program developed by the Minnesota Vikings. Johnson emerged as one of two individuals to secure a position following an exhaustive and highly competitive nationwide search that culminated in multiple rounds of interviews with high-ranking Vikings officials.
“My professors and classmates have had a huge influence on me during my time at Texas and I can’t thank them enough.”
Undergraduate Student Spotlight - Kelsy Osterman
Year: Senior
Major: Exercise Science
Career Goals: I want to be a physical therapist and will be attending Texas State University for PT school this upcoming June. The professors at UT really try to tailor their teaching to your field, whether that be med school, PT school, teaching, coaching…whatever! UT has helped me to build great study habits, time and stress management skills, and has taught me the basics of the human body and movement that I will need in PT school.
What drew you to UT?: I couldn’t picture myself going anywhere else. I could see myself on this campus and being around 50,000 other students working towards changing the world. Choosing to attend the University of Texas has been one of the best decisions for my future.
Internship: My internship is with Functional Sports Therapy and Fitness. It is run by a hybrid coach who is also a certified active release techniques provider. It is a fun and different internship because I get to see a unique soft tissue treatment that has its core in human movement. The whole idea is that there is so much more you can learn from “doing” and being with other professionals than from sitting and taking notes in a classroom. I got this internship through the guidance of the specialization supervisor and one of my professors, Dixie Stanforth. She encourages us to go out and find our own internship, but she is there for guidance and helps us in any way she can.
Are you involved in any student organizations?: The Student Bowl is a competition put on by the Texas branch of the American College of Sports Medicine at their annual meetings. It brings together kinesiology students and teams from other colleges across the state to compete in a “Jeopardy” style competition. Leading up to the competition, all six of us meet each week with a faculty member and go over various topics (ECGs, biomechanics, exercise physiology, anatomy, etc.) that could be quizzed at the competition. We all get to go for the meeting and listen to speakers, see various research done during the year, eat yummy food, visit with other students, and compete. It is a great team-bonding experience. You get to be with your professors and fellow students outside of the classroom and in an environment that really gets you excited to be a part of a wonderful field that promotes the functionality and health of others … it is incredible! This year the national meeting is in Denver, and we are hoping to be the champions yet again.
Favorite thing about UT: The people, both students and faculty, are by far my favorite. You meet so many great students in your classes that become lifelong friends. I’ll never forget the fall semester of my freshman year when my professors invited anyone in their class of 100+ students over for Thanksgiving dinner in case some people couldn’t make the trip home to visit their own families.
Favorite thing about Austin: We are so close to everything you could imagine and there is so much to do! I love all of the fun state parks, fitness studios, food trucks, and events. Getting to live and go to school in Austin has helped me balance school and getting to do things I love.
Research
Publications
Our faculty work with graduate and undergraduate students on cutting-edge research in each area of our Department. This research has been funded by a host of Federal (e.g., National Institutes of Health), State (e.g. Texas Department of State Health Services) and private foundations (e.g. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).
Peer-Reviewed Publications
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Publications
Student Publications
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Publications
Faculty Presentations
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Presentations
Food and Drink Advertising Affects Kids’ Health
Dr. Pasch explores the effect advertising has on children's diets and what can be done to combat this.
Featured Research
The Acute Effects of Supramaximal High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise on Vascular Function in Lean vs. Obese Prepubescent Boys
Recent decades have seen a growing concern about the rate of obesity among adolescents. Research has associated childhood obesity with premature cardiovascular disease and related illnesses such as the narrowing of arteries due to plaque build up. Hirofumi Tanaka, professor of exercise science and director of the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory, conducted research on the effect of high-intensity exercise on lean vs. obese prepubescent boys. This study was carried out along with faculty from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
In this study, subjects participated in repeated periods of strenuous exercise followed by a period of recovery. Participants exercised on a stationary bike at different levels of intensity in 8 sets of 20 second cycling, alternating with 10 seconds of rest. After exercising at the highest intensity level, it was observed that arterial stiffness in obese children was the same as that of the lean children.
Although this study shows the short-term effects of strenuous physical exertion, the research suggests that this type of exercise may be effective in reducing arterial stiffness in obese children. This type of exercise is not only beneficial for cardiovascular health, but is also safe, efficient, and long-lasting health intervention. Participants in the study noted that they enjoyed the challenging level of exercise. This fact bodes well for parents and teachers worried about motivating young children to exercise.
Research Expenditures
The total amount of research expenditures for the 2015-2016 fiscal year was
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Research Grants Awarded
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5 New Awards
5 Renewed Awards
15 Continuing Awards
Private - $1,424,466
Federal/State - $2,955,859
Federal - $7,029,206
Stories
A Pioneer in Physical Education Moves On
After 40 years at UT, Dolly Lambdin goes on to further childhood health education
Podcast: Creativity in Sports
Matt Bowers talks about the impact youth sports has on individual creativity on this Sports Illustrated podcast
Student Recognized at Ceremony: Honoring America's Wounded Warfighters
Active duty soldier and sport management student Jen Lee wins gold medal in paralympic games
Podcast: Sport in the Cold War
Thomas Hunt discusses the practice of doping among Olympic athletes during the Cold War
Smoking Cessation Program
AIDS Arms partners with the tobacco and research evaluation team to combat tobacco use in individuals with HIV
One Big Question
Department Chair John Bartholemew addresses the question of how to improve public health from a social standpoint. Our research focuses on ways to improve wellness from a behavioral and physiological perspective.
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Austin ISD Schools
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5th Grade Players
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Spectators and Volunteers
Explore UT is a university-wide day of fun, activity, and learning for elementary through high school students in Texas. Our department and the student Kinesiology Club volunteered to put together a chance for kids to learn volleyball and interact with students from other Texas schools. This event also gives students a glimpse of college life and the importance of higher education.
Stark Center
Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936
The Life of a Texas Legend
The Stark Center hosted the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s traveling exhibition, “The Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936” July 9th, 2015 through January 29th, 2016. The exhibit contained artifacts, stories, and photographs from history’s most controversial Olympic games. This resource serves as a showcase of long-term repercussions from a major world event, sponsored by underlying policies of racism and extreme nationalism.
Alderson Lecture Series
This year marked the 35th annual Alderson Lecture and Award celebration. This ceremony honors graduate and undergraduate students who have received awards and scholarships.
UT Alumnus Trey Hardee, a two-time World Decathlon and Decathlon Olympic Silver Medalist (2012), gave the keynote lecture, “Price of Success”. The talk recounted personal experiences in which repeated failures led to the highest levels of success.
McCraw Lecture Series
This monthly lecture series features faculty from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education as well as speakers from other colleges and universities. Topics included sport history and culture, health and behavior, and physical fitness. Talks were open to the public.
2015-16 Lectures
September
“Black Auxiliaries, Aryan Racial Supremacy and the Berlin Olympic Games” – Dr. David K. Wiggins, Professor, School of Recreation, Health and Tourism, George Mason UniversityOctober
“The role of sleep in adolescent health” – Julie Maslowsky, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at AustinNovember
“Enhancement of Cognitive and Physical Performance by Near-Infrared Lasers” – Francisco Gonzalez-Lima, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at AustinFebruary
“School Gardens: Impact on health in children” – Jaimie Davis, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Texas at AustinMarch
“Muscular Fitness – Get a Grip, it’s your Health” – Paul Gordon, Ph.D., MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation, Baylor University
Thank you for another great year!
Our accomplishments were achieved with the help of our tremendous faculty, staff and students.
Connect with Us
*Some information in this document may not be an accurate representation of the current state of our department. Links in this section may bring you to current and updated pages.