Health and Exercise Sciences (Kinesiology)

at UBC's

Okanagan Campus

Discover how human movement impacts health. As a graduate of this program, you will be an adaptable leader with the knowledge and skillset to enhance the health and well-being of various populations.

Visit program website

Program information

  • Campus: Okanagan
  • Faculty: School of Health and Exercise Sciences
  • Degree: Bachelor of Health and Exercise Sciences (Kinesiology)
  • Length 4 yrs
  • Co-op Yes
    You can combine your studies with full-time, paid work at top local and international organizations.
  • Honours Yes
    You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Help people lead healthier, more active lives. Health and Exercise Sciences will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of human movement and its impacts on health.

You’ll examine the interdisciplinary nature of human health, including the psychological, physiological, neuromechanical, and socio-cultural aspects of movement. Together, these will equip you with practical skills to work with individuals across their lifespans.

At the end of your second year, you have the option to complete one of three concentrations: Kinesiology and Allied Health, Health Behaviour Change, or Clinical Exercise Physiology. Each concentration offers a strategic career focus to best prepare you to be a leader in your field.

Upon graduation, you may start a career as a kinesiologist or clinical exercise physiologist, with a focus on the role of exercise in improving health, fitness, and performance. You could also go on to pursue graduate studies in research or in a variety of health professions, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, athletic therapy, public health, or medicine.

Experiential learning and research

Your Health and Exercise Sciences degree includes skill-building labs, practicum opportunities, independent research, and co-op placements in order to create a broad foundation for your career potential. Within each concentration you will complete a community practicum with an agency, business, or industry, where you’ll gain experience in a supervised health-related work setting.

You can also complete an Honours Thesis with the supervision of a faculty member.

To get involved on campus, you can join the Health and Exercise Sciences Student Union to connect with your peers, get involved in advocacy, and gain better access to career resources.

What can you do with this degree after graduation?

Your Health and Exercise Sciences career options

Your future

A UBC education will introduce you to people and ideas from around the world, open doors to new opportunities, and take you places you never imagined. You’ll graduate not only with expertise in your chosen field, but with the skills you need to continue growing, learning, and evolving with your career over time.

Program requirements

English-language requirements

English is the language of instruction at UBC. All prospective students must demonstrate English-language competency prior to admission. There are numerous ways to meet the English Language Admission Standard.

General admission requirements

IB Diploma Programme

  • Completed IB Diploma, including at least three Higher Level courses.

IB Certificate Courses

  • IB Certificate courses (Standard and Higher Level) may be used in an admissions average if you are graduating from a recognized high school curriculum that can be used as your basis of admission.
  • IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, do not satisfy the math requirement for admission to UBC’s science-based programs, the Faculty of Management, the UBC Sauder School of Business, or the Vancouver School of Economics.

Degree-specific requirements: Health and Exercise Sciences

  • IB Math Analysis and Approaches SL or HL, or IB Math Applications and Interpretations HL. (IB Math Applications and Interpretations SL, or IB Math Studies, are not acceptable.)
  • IB Biology 
  • Grade 11 (or equivalent) Chemistry or Physics

Note: Grade 11 Chemistry and Physics requirements listed are only relevant to students who are not completing the equivalent IB Diploma Chemistry and/or Physics courses.

For students studying outside of Canada, some examples of courses that may be accepted as Grade 11 equivalents are junior-level courses for American students, and IGCSE and O Level for those following British-patterned curricula.

Related courses

The following subject categories are particularly relevant for this degree. Consider taking courses in these areas in your junior year and senior year.

  • Language Arts
  • Mathematics and Computation
  • Sciences
  • Social Studies
Visit program website