The master's program is designed to prepare students for future graduate study, while the doctoral program is directed toward careers in research and in teaching at the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels in colleges and universities. Several well-equipped research facilities are available to support graduate study including the Biomechanics Laboratory, Motor Behavior Laboratory, Noll Physiological Research Center, and the Center for Locomotion Studies. The Department of Physical Education programs focus on research, work skills, practicum, and the biophysical, psychosocial, and the business of sport and wellness. One of the missions of the graduate program is the development of scholars to carry forth the search for, and dissemination of, knowledge in the discipline of physical education. The strength of the program is in its internship opportunities based on a nationwide network.
Students work closely with their advisers, internship coordinators and faculty mentors.
The program educates students with the systemic and cellular and conceptual models of current biomedical thought and trains them in the application of pertinent disciplinces to the field of rehabilitation. The mission of the Department of Health, Physical and Recreation Education is to promote health and well-being across the lifespan through the teaching and study of human movement. The specialization includes an integrated core of knowledge in these foci as well as advanced study in each. The specialization in Developmental Movement focuses on the control and learning of motor skills, how perception, attention and memory impact this process, and the underlying neurological correlates. The College of Human Resources and Education ranks among the leading programs of its kind in the United States and was ranked first in production of theses and dissertations for the past five years.