Program Information

The Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance is a single college-wide Ph.D. program with 6 concentrations that are housed and administered by the four departments, according to the following organizational structure:

• Applied Physiology and Kinesiology (APK): Ph.D. students in APK study the immediate and lasting effects of exercise and its use in disease prevention and rehabilitation as well as fundamental mechanisms within muscle biology, cardiovascular function, motor neuroscience, biomechanics, environmental physiology, sports medicine, and emotion regulation. APK Ph.D. concentrations include Exercise Physiology and Biobehavioral Science, with further specializations in biomechanics, motor control and learning, performance psychology, and sports medicine / athletic training.
• Health Education & Behavior (HEB): Ph.D. students in HEB investigate health promotion strategies aimed at modifying behaviors which will improve individual, family, workplace, and community health and well-being. The HEB Ph.D. concentration is in Health Behavior.
• Sport Management (SPM): SPM Ph.D. students study the business of sport and the impact of sports on individuals and the industry. SPM improves the understanding of factors that help the sport industry thrive. Sport Management students and faculty explore organizational and marketing theories, sociological concepts and sport consumption behaviors among sport organizations and sport consumers to improve the quality of the sport industry practices and the experiences of sport consumers and participants. The Ph.D. concentration in SPM is Sport Management.
• Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management (THEM): TRSM Ph.D. students study the impact of tourism, recreation activities, professional and amateur sports, ecotourism, parks and beaches on the personal, social, economic, environmental and resource infrastructures of society. Ph.D. concentration in THEM is Recreation, Parks, and Tourism.

Students are expected to be involved in research throughout their Ph.D. program, which requires approximately three to five years of full-time study for completion. Graduates of the program are trained to assume positions as post-doctoral research scientists, or entry level professorships at colleges and universities throughout the country. The program of study is developed by the student and the supervisory committee based on the student’s background, interests, and career goals, as well as faculty expertise. By design, the program is multidisciplinary and flexible, permitting students to tailor their scholarly experience to the development of research skills in their areas of concentration.

For more information, please see our website: http://gradprograms.hhp.ufl.edu/index.php/doctoral-program.

Degrees Offered with a Major in Health and Human Performance

• Doctor of Philosophy
  • without a concentration
  • concentration in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology
    • optional second concentration in Clinical and Translational Science
  • concentration in Biobehavioral Science
    • optional second concentration in Clinical and Translational Science
  • concentration in Clinical and Translational Science
  • concentration in Exercise Physiology
    • optional second concentration in Clinical and Translational Science
  • concentration in Health Behavior
    • optional second concentration in Clinical and Translational Science
  • concentration in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism
  • concentration in Sport Management

Requirements for these degrees are given in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.

Applied Physiology and Kinesiology Departmental Courses

Health Education and Behavior Departmental Courses

TOURISM, HOSPITALITY & EVENT MANAGEMENT Departmental Courses

Health and human performance

SLO 1   Knowledge        
Discuss, explain, and defend subject matter relevant to the discipline – exercise physiology, biobehavioral science, health behavior, recreation, parks and tourism, or sport management.

SLO 2   Knowledge        
Discuss, explain, and defend traditional and current research methods in their discipline - exercise physiology, biobehavioral science, health behavior, recreation, parks and tourism, or sport management.

SLO 3   Skills     
Discuss, explain, and defend the use of appropriate research methods as determined by the discipline and faculty committee.

SLO 4   Skills     
Articulate and defend, orally and in writing, the results of their research and scholarship.

SLO 5   Professional Behavior   
Ethically conduct research that is suitable for the discipline.