Welcome

The Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation’s primary responsibility is to prepare its majors to become highly qualified proficient communiversity leaders for the global marketplace. The department aims to provide disciplinary curricula that are relevant, diverse, and comprehensive for the acquiring of a holistic knowledge base, for the learning of capable and situational leadership approaches, and for the grasping of scholarly, professional, and occupational skills. It also aims to provide opportunities for overall personal and intellectual development and growth by offering contemporary curricula and by offering a variety of instructional and methodical techniques and procedures in the course offerings of its respective degree programs. Furthermore, the department offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs with state, professional, and national accreditations. possessing such accreditations of these degree programs enables the department to offer existing and prospective majors (locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally) a chance to achieve their individual, disciplinary goals and degrees in the department and to ensure that their respective degrees have recognizable merit and approval in both the world of higher education and in the world of work. Thus, majors and prospective majors of the undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the department must have a responsive personality, be resourceful, have functional physical abilities, and be intellectually thirsty.

 HPER Mission Statement: The Department of Health, Physcial Education and Recreation provides quality experience, association and instruction that enable students to become holistic learners in Health, Physical Education and Recreation. 

The undergraduate degree of the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER) is the Bachelor of Science Degree in Recreation, and the endorsement degree is the Bachelor of Science Degree in Recreation with an emphasis in Physical Education. Students interested in pursuing a Recreation degree must: 

(1)be admitted by Alcorn State University (ASU);

(2) declare Recreation as their major;

(3) complete all academic requirements of the University College for Excellence;

(4) earn a “C” (2.00 above) in all the 300 and 400 level courses offered in the recreation curriculum;

(5) be a member of the department’s HPER Club;

(6) and satisfactorily pass the recreation, comprehensive examination.

Additionally, students interested in pursuing an endorsement with a Recreation Degree with an emphasis in Physical Education must:

(1) be admitted by ASU;

(2) declare Recreation with an emphasis in Physical Education as their major;

(3) complete all academic requirements of the University College for Excellence;

(4) earn a “C” (2.00 above) in all the 300 and 400 level courses offered in the Physical Education curriculum;

(5) pass Praxis I and II;

(6) be a member of the department’s HPER Club;

(7) fulfill the requirements of the teacher education program;

(8) and satisfactorily pass the physical education, comprehensive examination.

The Department of HPER offers the Master of Science Degree in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education and the Master of Science Degree in Education with an emphasis in Athletic Administration. Students interested in pursuing the master of science degree in education with an emphasis in physical education must:

(1) have an undergraduate degree with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of a “B” (3.00 above) in their respective undergraduate curriculums;

(2) have satisfied all admission requirements of the graduate school;

(3) have a valid, permanent teacher license or have documentation of passing both Praxis I and II;

(4) maintain a cumulative GPA 3.00 in the curriculum of the degree program;

(5) and satisfactorily pass the English Proficiency, Core Education, and Physical Education Comprehensive Examinations.

 

Furthermore, students interested in pursuing the master of science in education with an emphasis in athletic administration and coaching must:

(1) have earned an undergraduate degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above in their respective undergraduate curriculums;

(2) have satisfied all admission requirements of the graduate school;

(3) have a valid, permanent teacher license or have documentation of having passed both Praxis I and II;

(4) maintain a cumulative GPA 3.00 in the curriculum of the degree program;

(5) and satisfactorily pass the English Proficiency, Core Education, and Athletic Administration and Coaching Comprehensive Examinations.

The Department of HPER offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that continuously evolve to satisfy the continually updated accreditation standards of the accredited bodies for both the undergraduate and graduate degree programs and whose curricula are consistently and continuously evaluated and revised to fulfill the most contemporary, diverse, and overall academic needs of all students, including those locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally.

Undergraduate Degree Programs

The undergraduate degree program of the department of HPER is Recreation. The curriculum of recreation whole thrust is to provide majors with a variety of extensive, contemporary, and probing theoretical, practical, and research opportunities so that optimal knowledge, experiential growth, and professional maturity in recreation can be acquired and so that majors can be prepared with competencies in providing individuals with knowledge and skills in recreational, leisure time, and/or lifelong activities. And it is to ensure that majors attain a relevant, holistic, and diverse knowledge base that equips them with proficient skills to be successful in graduate school and in the world of work in any professional and/or related areas of recreation.

Physical Education is the undergraduate, disciplinary endorsement of the department of HPER and is also the teacher education component of the department. It prepares majors to teach and/or coach students in grades from K thru 12. It insures (a) that students acquire an overall, extensive learning of the knowledge base of physical education; (b) that they master instructional, methodological techniques specific to physical education; (c) that they understand and are able to execute the instruction, application, and adaptation of physical activities and skills not only with able body individuals but also with individuals with disabilities; (d) that they know and can apply appropriate theoretical, practical, and spontaneous classroom approaches as physical educators; (e) and that they know and can apply as well leadership managerial approaches as coaches and/or as administrators.

Lastly, the teacher education component of physical education prepares students to succeed in higher education, particularly whenever they attempt to pursue advanced degrees in Physical Education and/or related disciplines.

An undergraduate academic component of the department of HPER is the General Education Core Courses. These courses instill in students a familiarity of the many different enhancers and detriments that can influence their psyche, attitude, knowledge, health, fitness, and lifelong engagement in executing a reasonably conscientious style of living healthy. Moreover, the goal of these courses is to impart on the consciousness of students the necessity of knowing (1) how the body responses to disease and exercise, (2) how it responses positively and negatively to individual and environment factors, (3) how it reacts to engaging and not engaging in a healthy life style, and (4) how learning healthy lifestyle practices can enable them to be energetically persistent not only in an academic and/or a professional endeavor but also in sustaining a quality professional and a personal long life span of wholesome exuberance.

Another undergraduate component of the department of HPER is the HPER Club. The goal of the HPER Club is to engage HPER majors in the processes of organizing, planning, marketing, community service, team work, and leadership. The HPER Club is major-centered; the chair and faculty members of the department serve only in an advisory role. The majors are solely responsible for creating the vision and mission statements of the club; recruiting majors who are not members of the club; electing the officers for the club; determining the procedural operations, campus and community service functions, and fund-raising events of the club; and participating in the department’s research, professional, and academic development.

Graduate Degree Programs

The department offers two individual graduate degree programs: The Master of Science Degree in Education with an Emphasis in Physical Education and the Master of Science Degree in Education with an Emphasis in Athletic Administration and Coaching. The Master of Science Degree in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education provides an interestingly and a rigorously diverse, contemporary curricular offering with the intent to excite the graduates in the degree program to engage studiously in a painstaking and investigating inquisition and research endeavor of the advanced theoretical, practical, experiential, and empirical knowledge prevalent in physical education. The Master of Science Degree in Education with an emphasis in Athletic Administration and Coaching offers a curriculum requiring graduates in the degree program to engage in a profound and comprehensive exploration, examination, and study of the various administrative, scientific, injurious, and coaching models, theories, approaches, techniques, and methodologies for the effective management, administration, operation, and leadership of an athletic and/or a sport program on any athletic or non-athletic hierarchy.

Lastly, the department of HPER, as such, performs indeed the vital roles of nurturing, advising, leading, and empowering not only able-body students but also those with special needs of the diverse population of the university. In light of these roles, the department structures its overall operational processes, academic degrees, and components to have a personal, an advisory, and a professional link with these students and those with special needs.