Program Overview
College of Natural and Health Sciences
Location: Ross Hall 1210
Telephone: 970-351-3082
Email: nhsadvising@unco.edu
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/sport-exercise-science/
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) Credits
- University-Wide Credits
*For Educator licensure majors, PTEP coursework counts towards the minimum of nine upper-division UNC credits (300-400).
Program Description:
The mission of the undergraduate Physical Education and Physical Activity Leadership program at the University of Northern Colorado is to prepare future physical educators with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop physically literate K-12 graduates. This mission will be accomplished by providing students with classroom and field-based experiences that cultivate expertise in the areas of motor skill development, health-related fitness, program design, instructional technology, assessment, and pedagogy. Graduates will depart the program as reflective physical education professionals who are capable of promoting physical activity in diverse settings.
Program Admission Requirements:
Admission Criteria. Prior to enrollment in KIN 266 students must have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.5 and completed the Application for Initial Admission to PTEP.
Transfer Applicants and Change of Major Students. First semester transfer applicants who have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours may enroll in KIN 266 their first semester on campus if their overall GPA at another institution is a 2.5 or higher.
- Academic Good Standing
- A 2.5 cumulative GPA is required for transfer and change of major students to declare this program.
- A maximum of 15 hours may be transferred to the major from other institutions.
Program Requirements:
Must maintain a 2.5 overall GPA to retain full admission in methods and PTEP courses. Provisional status will prevent the student from enrolling in upper division courses in the PEPAL K-12 major.
- Demonstrate professional promise as a teacher to the satisfaction of the Physical Education and Physical Activity Leadership Faculty. Means of evaluation may include, but are not limited to, review of dispositions and interviews with the PEPAL faculty.
- Students will annually be required to complete an oath and consent form.
- Prior to student teaching, students must have successfully completed all required program courses, be fully admitted to the major and PTEP programs, meet expectations for all professional dispositions, and hold current First Aid/CPR certification.
- Meet all Physical Education and state standards at a provisional level as listed in the program handbook.
- Show continuous growth in becoming a physical education teacher. Students who wish to be licensed to teach in the State of Colorado must make application upon completion of their program.
- Students who plan to apply for K-12 Teacher Licensure in the State of Colorado must student teach at both the elementary and secondary levels.
PTEP Program Requirements:
Teacher candidates who complete an approved content degree and the UNC professional teacher education program, as well as pass the appropriate Colorado Department of Education designated PRAXIS exam (if applicable), will be eligible for recommendation from UNC for a Colorado Department of Education teaching license.
Teacher Candidates seeking licensure in this licensure program must complete the following program requirements:
- Maintain program GPA requirement
- Completion of Application for Initial Admission to PTEP - referred to as Checkpoint #1 (This checkpoint requires an out-of-pocket payment - to the chosen approved vendor - to obtain a fingerprint background check, which is required by the Colorado Department of Education.)
- Enrollment in this teacher licensure program results in a one-time program fee (Teacher Preparation Program Fee) assessed the semester of the first field experience course.
- Completion of Full Admission to PTEP - referred to as Checkpoint #2
- Completion of Application for Student Teaching - referred to as Checkpoint #3
- Candidates may not take extra courses with Student Teaching without prior approval from the Program Coordinator and the Associate Dean in charge of Educator Preparation.
- All PTEP courses, practicum field experiences, and methods courses need to be successfully completed prior to Student Teaching.
- A teacher candidate may be removed from the UNC teacher licensure pathway if they fail to meet professional, academic, or dispositional standards set by the program. In such cases, the student may continue in a different degree program and graduate; however, they will not receive a recommendation for licensure.
- Supervision of Student Teaching outside of UNC Faculty will be considered for approval.
- Teacher Candidates will not be placed in a school where they have a close relative attending and/or working. If teacher candidates need an exception to this, they will need approval from the Associate Dean in charge of Educator Preparation.
- Teacher Candidates placed in a middle or high school they once attended must notify their program coordinator and the Field Placement Officer immediately for a possible change in placement.
- Teacher education and educator preparation licensure programs do not accept Professional Teacher Education Program (PTEP) or field based courses that are more than ten years old. PLEASE NOTE: Teacher Candidates have the right to petition this policy at the discretion of the program coordinator.
Teacher Candidates work with the content advisor and/or Program Coordinator to determine when these requirements will be completed throughout the licensure program.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the 49 required major credits.
Any additional coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Written Communication courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Mathematics courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
KIN 220 and FND 250 are recommended to fulfill Natural & Physical Sciences requirement and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 49 credits
Take all of the following courses:
| KIN 170 | Introduction to Field Based Experience | 1 |
| KIN 202 | Lifetime Sports and Physical Activities | 3 |
| KIN 210 | Developmentally Appropriate Elementary Activities | 3 |
| KIN 220 | Anatomical KinesiologyLAS1LASLGT-SC1 | 4 |
| KIN 221 | Weight Training Techniques | 1 |
| KIN 240 | Secondary Physical Education Content | 3 |
| KIN 266 | Introduction to Physical Education as a Profession | 3 |
| KIN 280 | Prevention and Care of Sports Injuries | 3 |
| KIN 322 | Exercise Physiology I | 3 |
| KIN 323 | Motor Learning and Development | 3 |
| KIN 331 | Biomechanics | 3 |
| | |
| KIN 333 | Psychology of Exercise and Physical Activity | 3 |
| or | |
| KIN 438 | Sport Psychology | 3 |
| | |
| KIN 338 | Adapted Physical Activity and Education | 4 |
| KIN 342 | Physical Activity and Fitness in Schools | 3 |
| KIN 441 | Physical Education Technology | 3 |
| KIN 446 | Sociocultural Concepts in Physical Activity Settings | 3 |
| FND 250 | Principles of NutritionLAS1GT-SC2 | 3 |
3. Required PTEP — 39 credits
Take all of the following — 21 credits
| EDF 290 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
| PSY 349 | How Students Learn | 3 |
| ECLD 341 | Content-Based Literacies for Equitable Access to PK-12 Instruction | 3 |
| EDSE 201 | Culture of Special Education | 3 |
| EDFE 444 | Supervised Student Teaching | 1-15 |
PTEP Methods Courses — 18 credits
| KIN 340 | Planning, Assessment, and Instruction in Physical Education | 4 |
| KIN 440 | Developing Pedagogical Skills in Elementary Physical Education | 4 |
| KIN 442 | Developing Pedagogical Skills in Secondary Physical Education | 4 |
| KIN 443 | Teaching and Assessing School Health | 3 |
| KIN 422 | Directed Studies | 1- 3 |
4. University Wide Credits — 1-8 credits*
*Note: Students must apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum requirements and the major requirements to complete this degree program in 120 credit hours. Students may have an increased number of university wide electives to apply to this degree depending on the number of credits applied to both the LAC and the major. See your advisor for details.