This program will provide current or aspiring athletic coaches throughout our state and the region with access to a strategically designed practitioner-focused credential to support their career competencies and advancement. The certificate will be offered to undergraduate or graduate students majoring in exercise science or related fields (nutrition, biomedical science, biology, community health, and health education) or used as part of the Graduate School’s Master’s Degree of Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (IGS).

Admissions Requirements

Applicants must have earned an undergraduate degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution with an overall GPA of 2.5 (4.0 scale).

There are no special admissions or curricular requirements for this program. Students can start this 15-hour Coaching the Intercollegiate Scholar Athlete Graduate Certificate in the fall, spring, or summer. Applicants do not need to have earned a degree in kinesiology.

Certificate seekers who are or are not currently enrolled in a UAB degree-seeking program must submit a certificate-seeking application for admission to UAB’s Graduate School and pay the corresponding application fee. Upon entry to the Coaching the Intercollegiate Scholar Athlete Graduate Certificate, all certificate-seekers must attend an advising session with the Exercise Physiology Program Coordinator or a designated Kinesiology faculty advisor.

Course and Certificate Requirements

Students will take 4 required courses and a seminar course with a Coaching Internship for this 15-hour certificate-granting program. Courses will be offered online. This certificate cannot be completed only as full-time students in the certificate program. Please note that all students enrolled in the certificate program must apply to receive their certificates and be registered for courses when they submit the completed UAB Application for Graduate Degree or Certificate Form to the Graduate School. The Graduate School does not award certificates or degrees retroactively.

Graduate Studies and Career Opportunities

The Coaching the Intercollegiate Scholar Athlete Certificate will provide current or aspiring athletic coaches throughout our state and the region with access to a strategically designed practitioner-focused credential to support their career competencies and advancement. The certificate can also be merged with other certificates within Humans Studies (CHHS Health Education, Health Coaching, or KIN Clinical Exercise Physiology Certificate) or additional credentials as part of the graduate school's Masters in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (IGS).