The Undergraduate UMass Boston Navitas GSSP is the first year of a bachelor’s degree program at UMass Boston. The Navitas GSSP consists of for-credit coursework and provides an academic and cultural bridge from the high school experience to studying at a university in the United States. When students successfully complete the UMass Boston Navitas GSSP, they will progress directly into the second year of their undergraduate degree program.

The Department of Exercise and Health Sciences offers one undergraduate degree: a Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Health Sciences. The curriculum includes a solid foundation based on the principles of exercise physiology and physical activity promotion while offering the flexibility for students to pursue prerequisite courses for graduate programs in many health professions.

The curriculum has been designed so that all students who graduate from the EHS program are eligible to sit for the exam by the American College of Sports Medicine to become a Certified Exercise Physiologist. This certification is a valuable distinction for EHS professionals in the workforce. 

Upon graduation, students in the Exercise and Health Sciences program will possess the knowledge and ability to:

Demonstrate knowledge of core and concentration-specific EHS courses:

• Identify chronic health conditions and disparities associated with physical inactivity and poor nutrition;
  
• Convey the most current recommendations for physical activity and nutrition;
• Demonstrate knowledge of the physiological response to physical activity and associated health benefits;
• Understand the correlates of physical activity behavior.

Demonstrate the ability to apply scientific theory to practice in humans:

• Design and implement a health behavior intervention, based on scientific theory, to improve health and fitness;
• Demonstrate the ability to perform an assessment of health-related fitness;
• Apply the scientific method through the completion of a group research project using objective measures;
• Design individualized exercise programs for low and moderate-risk populations.

Demonstrate ability to evaluate literature related to exercise and health sciences:

• Gather and analyze relevant peer-reviewed literature;
• Draw conclusions through a synthesis of the literature;
• Convey knowledge of literature related to the exercise and health sciences in oral and written format.