Exercise and Sport Science Comprehensive Major: Clinical Exercise Physiology Emphasis (with AESP 3+2)

The Clinical Exercise Physiology Emphasis allows students to complete the BS in ESS and the MS in Applied Exercise Science and Performance (AESP) at Western in five years. Students in this emphasis must fulfill all the AESP application requirements by the time they complete 97 credits. Admissions requirements for the AESP program are listed below.

To remain qualified for the Clinical Exercise Physiology Emphasis, upon earning 65 credits by the end of the second year, the student must have:

• Maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.25 GPA within the major.
• Completed ESS 181 Foundations of Exercise and Sport Science, ESS 185 Lifetime Wellness, all 100 level major science courses, 21 credits of general education (not including AREA II: Natural Sciences), and the Biology Human Anatomy and Physiology sequence (BIOL 372 Human Anatomy and Physiology I (with laboratory)/BIOL 373 Human Anatomy and Physiology II (with laboratory)). 
• Written, submitted and discussed a Letter of Intent with the AESP program Director and the student's advisor. The Letter of Intent should include preliminary research interests and career goals. This letter will be kept on file with the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the application to the AESP program.

Upon earning 97 credits by the end of the third year, the student must have:

• Completed all undergraduate course requirements for the Clinical Exercise Physiology track (except for ESS 430 Topics in Clinical Exercise Physiology and ESS 412 Exercise Biochemistry, which will be taken in the fall and spring, respectively, of the fourth year). Please note: a student may elect to take ESS 498 Internship in Exercise and Sport Science during the summer before their fourth year. See DEGREE PLAN at https://western.edu/ess. 
• Requested, and the School of Graduate Studies must have received, two letters of recommendation. At least one letter must be from a Western faculty member. Recommendation letters will be kept on file with the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the application to the AESP program.
• Submitted a current resume. The resume will be kept on file with the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the application to the AESP program.

Upon satisfying all the requirements listed above, the School of Graduate Studies will consider the student a “AESP candidate with provisional acceptance.”

Upon earning 121 credits by the end of the fourth year, the student must have:

• Completed ESS 430 Topics in Clinical Exercise Physiology and ESS 412 Exercise Biochemistry.
• Maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a 3.25 GPA within the major.
• Completed 18 graduate level ESS credits, with at least a 3.0 GPA.

At this time, the School of Graduate Studies will consider the student a “AESP M.S. degree seeking student.”

Program Requirements

A minimum of 81 credits is required for the BS. The following is required for the Comprehensive Program with Five-Year MS in Applied Exercise Science and Performance:

Upon successful completion of the prescribed courses listed above, University defined General Education, and elective requirements totaling 120 credits (with 40 at the 300-level or higher), students are eligible for their B.A. conferral. Students electing to complete the AESP program must follow the balance of their declared emphasis curriculum.

For a full description of the required Graduate coursework, please see the AESP program in the Western Graduate Catalog.

Capstone Course Requirement

Students completing the ESS Clinical Exercise Physiology Emphasis must use ESS 498 Internship in Exercise and Sport Science to fulfill the Capstone requirement.

Western Watershed General Education Requirements

Students must complete all Western Watershed General Education requirements to graduate. 

Graduation Requirements

Undergraduate programs require a minimum of 120 semester credits for graduation.  Of those 120 credits, 40 credits must be in upper-division courses (those marked 300 and above).  Fifteen of these 40 upper-division credits must be earned in courses that are part of the standard or comprehensive major program being pursued. 

Students are expected to review all graduation requirements, which can be found in the Western Undergraduate Catalog: Graduation Requirements. 

Sample Plan

Degree Plans are for planning purposes.  They reflect a suggested plan to complete the degree in a projected timeframe per program of study. 

“Western Watershed Course(s)” refers to a course from the Tributaries area of the Western Watershed program. These courses should be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor.

A minimum of 81 credits is required. To graduate, all Exercise & Sport Science (ESS) majors must complete ESS 181 Foundations of Exercise and Sport Science and ESS 185 Lifetime Wellness with a minimum grade of "C-".

 Western is committed to doing our part to provide each student a clear path to graduation. This four‐year degree plan is a sample map for fulfilling requirements in the major and General Education. The pathway that you take to your degree may differ somewhat from this illustration, depending on where you start and the detours and side trips you may take along the way. You are responsible for ensuring your overall, upper division, and major‐specific credits as well as GPA requirements are fulfilled for graduation.