Physical & Health Education

BPHE (Honours) Program Information

Mission

The mission statement of the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies is “to research, teach and promote physical, mental and social well-being from the level of the individual to society.” The School occupies a unique position as a leader in understanding physical activity and its effects on health enhancement, disease prevention and human performance.

Students, faculty and staff believe our program offers students the best all-round education possible through the multi-disciplinary study of the human body, mind and spirit as society strives to encourage a healthy active lifestyle among citizens in a changing world. The School proudly claims to be home to many top-notch researchers in the areas of health promotion, epidemiology, socio-cultural aspects of physical activity as well as in the more traditional areas of exercise physiology, biomechanics and ergonomics, and sport and exercise psychology.

Program Highlights

• Both the BPHE (Honours) and BSCH KINE programs are direct-entry programs.
• The total undergraduate enrolment in the School is approximately 400, with a maximum of 50 students being admitted to first year in the BPHE (Honours) and 60 students in the BSCH KINE (total of 110 students). This limited enrolment results in a closely-knit group of students, staff, and faculty who share a common interest in academic excellence, sport, physical activity and healthy living.
• All students who enter the programs and successfully complete their course work will be allowed to move through the upper years of the programs. There is no reduction in the class size moving from first to fourth year of the programs.
• Both the BPHE (Honours) and BSCH KINE programs have been designed to meet and exceed the minimum accreditation standards for the Physical Education Pre-Teacher Preparation and Kinesiology programs (respectively) accredited by the Canadian Council of University Physical Education and Kinesiology Administrators.
• Both programs prepare students for post-degree interests in graduate school as well as most professional schools, e.g. medicine, rehabilitation, athletic therapy, law school, etc. The BPHE program prepares students for the teaching profession with Physical Education as a teaching subject.

What’s the difference between Physical Education and Kinesiology?

Both programs build on a multi-disciplinary program with a focus in the field of applied exercise science (i.e. biomechanics, ergonomics and exercise physiology).

In the BSCH in Kinesiology, science-based courses form the central core, although students will also complete courses in exercise and sport psychology, the socio-cultural context of physical activity, and epidemiology and health promotion, Laboratory and hands-on learning experiences are an integral part of the learning process. Students completing this program should satisfy the criteria for membership in the Ontario Kinesiology Association and the Canadian Kinesiology Alliance.

In the BPHE (Honours) program, students will also learn about human movement from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The program is organized around a framework that includes disciplinary content in the physical, behavioural and social sciences. The focus of this program is on the application of knowledge about physical activity and sport in various contexts. Students will learn about the physical aspects of human movement through courses in the area of applied exercise science, as well as how sport, physical activity and exercise is shaped by psychological and socio-cultural factors. They will learn how research findings in physical and health education are promoted by health educators and policy makers – as well as how these efforts are evaluated.

In addition, BPHE students will be taught how to integrate theory from these discipline areas and apply it in various contexts such as coaching and fitness leadership, or to various populations, e.g. children and youth, persons with disabilities, older adults, etc. Physical activity practical courses allow students to participate in fitness, sports, games and leisure pursuits. The program is recognized as a Physical Education teachable for admission into teaching programs.

Finally, the BPHE program has also been developed with the social science student in mind. Students with an interest in the psychology of physical activity, the socio-cultural study of sport and physical activity or the study of health promotion and epidemiology will find this program attractive to them.

How different is the curriculum in the two programs?

First Year

• With the exception of the first-year practicum course, all courses taken through the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies are the same in first year. BPHE students will complete the first-year practicum (i.e. activity-based) course - which the BSCH KINE students cannot take.
• Students in both programs will complete the first-year introductory course in Principles of Psychology.
• BPHE students will select  9.0 Arts and Science course units from the breadth of course offerings in the Faculty . (BSCH KINE students will select 12.0 course units  in the physical or natural sciences.)
• BPHE students who are interested in pursuing a teaching career will specifically select course(s) that can serve as the foundation for a second teaching subject.

Second Year

• Students in both programs will complete the following 18.0 course units:
  • KNPE 227/3.0 Exercise Physiology
  • KNPE 255/3.0 Physical Activity, Fitness and Health
  • KNPE 261/3.0 Motor Learning
  • KNPE 265/3.0 Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity
  • ANAT 315/3.0 The Human Musculoskeletal System
  • ANAT 316/3.0 The Human Visceral Systems
• Students in the BPHE program will also complete the following 6.0 course units:
  • PACT 200/3.0 Activity-based Practicum
  • KNPE 237/3.0 Physical Activities for Children
• (Note: Students in the BSCH KINE program will also complete the following 6.0 course units:
  • KNPE 225/3.0 Human Physiology II
  • KNPE 251/3.0 Introduction to Statistics)
• BPHE students will select 6.0 units of ASC electives to round out their 30.0 course units in second year. Again, students interested in pursuing a career in teaching will likely select a course in their second teaching subject. (Note: BSCH KINE students will select one (3.0 course unit) concentration option and one (3.0 course unit) ASC elective to round out their 30.0 course units in second year.)

Third and Fourth Years

• By third year, the BPHE and BSCH KINE programs are starting to differ to a greater extent. Although both groups of students have to select concentration options from the same list of course offerings, the BSCH KINE students take a greater number of courses that include laboratory experiences and are restricted from taking PACT courses that are restricted to students in the BPHE program such as:
  • PACT 300/3.0  Activity-based Practicum (Year 3)
  • PACT 338/3.0 Outdoor Education I (Fall Camp School)
  • PACT 400/3.0 Activity-based Practicum (Year 4)

What’s unique about Queen’s Kinesiology and Physical Education programs?

• We’re small. Both students and faculty enjoy the smaller classes that are a direct result of our size.
• Everyone stays in the program from year one through graduation (unless of course, they choose to pursue a different education path).
• Our affiliation with the Faculty of Arts and Science (we are a unit within this larger faculty) provides students with a wide selection of elective courses and, in the case of BPHE students heading towards the teaching profession, provides the necessary courses to satisfy the requirements for a second teaching subject.
• The BPHE (Honours) and BSCH KINE programs benefit from our BAH Major in Health Studies. Faculty members from this component of our School bring a strong health-based perspective to their teaching. Many courses examine the role of physical activity as a determinant of health and provide students with an understanding of the complex factors that influence health and wellness. Students in the Physical Educationand Kinesiology programs have access to the breadth of health studies course offerings. These courses can be offered as concentration options or electives towards their BPHE or BSCH KINE degrees.