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Young woman running on a treadmill in one of UAB's kinesiology labs.

The Department of Human Studies Honors Program provides high-achieving students studying Exercise Bioenergetics, Exercise Science, and Sports Physiology and Performance the opportunity to participate in honors (HON) sections of KIN 485 and 499. You will collaborate with faculty mentors in pursuit of your intellectual interests and complete an honors project.

Supervision of your work will be conducted by a faculty mentor who is responsible for guiding your progress and setting deadlines. The honors project consists of an inquiry or investigation that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline of kinesiology and meets global and societal needs. The Honors Program director must pre-approve all projects.

Benefits

Each student has the opportunity to work one-on-one with a mentor in an area of mutual interest. You will conduct an in-depth literature review and either a research project or a civic engagement project designed to meet some particular need related to pertinent areas of fitness, exercise, or physical activity. The experience is designed to encourage critical thinking and presentation skills.

Eligibility

Students majoring in kinesiology with concentrations in either Exercise Science or Sports Physiology and Performance who have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher are eligible to apply for this program.

How to Apply

Students should secure a faculty mentor and identify an honors project during their junior year while taking or after taking KIN 307 and 400. You should apply to the honors program during the semester prior to taking KIN 485 so you have sufficient time to complete your honors projects (which will entail at least 90 hours of coursework) in your senior year while enrolled in KIN 485 and KIN 499.

Deadlines

The deadline to submit an application for students taking KIN 485 in:

  • Fall: July 20
  • Spring: November 10
  • Summer: March 20

Each student is required to submit

  1. a student application,
  2. an essay,
  3. a letter of support from his or her faculty mentor, and
  4. a second letter of recommendation.

All of these materials may be submitted as attachments in one email to the honors program director, or else as hard copies in one envelope to the director. Please be sure to submit ALL four documents together and at the same time; incomplete packets will NOT be reviewed.

Application Form Opens a PDF.

NOTE: Please use a PC to complete this form—the form is NOT compatible with Mac computers. If you have difficulty entering information in the template provided, please seek assistance from the student workers in the EB 149 Open Lab.

Coursework

Grades for students enrolled in KIN 485 (HON) are determined in the same manner as they are for students in KIN 485 (non-HON). During the last week of the semester, the faculty mentor will submit a progress report with the designation of satisfactory or unsatisfactory for each of their mentees. Mentees submit a journal (hourly log) of their activities signed by their faculty mentor to the KIN 485 HON course co-instructor. Students are placed in the HON or non-HON section (traditional) of KIN 499 based on the recommendations of their faculty mentors.

The faculty mentor also determines, in consultation with the program director, the final grades for KIN 499 HON coursework. By the completion of KIN 499 HON (3 credits), students should have devoted at least 90 hours to their honors project. Faculty mentors submit either a satisfactory or unsatisfactory progress report and a copy of each student’s written report—while each student submits a journal (hourly log) of his or her activities signed by the faculty mentor—to the program director.

Please refer to the syllabus (provided by your faculty mentor) for specific course prerequisites, grading policies, and guidelines. Your mentor serves as the agency supervisor during the KIN 499 HON Fitness Internship. You may register for an additional section of KIN 499 HON if you need more time to complete your project.

Project

In order to complete the honors project successfully, you must produce a written report that meets stated criteria in the syllabus and also conforms to the format necessary for submission to an approved journal for publication and/or a professional organization for an oral or poster presentation. The written report may consist of the following components: abstract, introduction, statement of the problem, purpose, materials and methods, results, discussion, and conclusion.

For more information and guidance, consult the Office of Undergraduate Research opens a new website, UAB’s one-stop clearinghouse for the promotion and facilitation of undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative activities across all disciplines at the university. You may also wish to seek guidance from Inquiro opens a new website, the official UAB journal for undergraduate scientific research.

Graduating with Honors

Honors students must earn a grade of ‘A’ in HON sections of both KIN 485 and KIN 499 (3—6 hours) in order to graduate with "Honors in Education.” You must also maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher throughout your degree.

Honors graduates will wear a white cord at the Commencement ceremony (picked up from the Honors table), and with ‘Honors in Education’ will be printed by your name in the program.

Advising/Program Director

Please contact Dr. Gordon Fisher opens a new website, Honors Program Director, for additional information and advising. He will help students identify both their project and faculty mentor.

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