Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo Campus

The Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE) features a broad selection of core courses that reflect our integrated and multidisciplinary approach to the study of human movement, physical activity and sport, followed by opportunities to select from a wide range of elective courses and to choose one of four optional concentrations.

CORE COURSES

• Sociocultural courses exploring historical and philosophical foundations and sociological examinations of physical activity, sport and the body.
• Lab/tutorial-supported courses in human regional anatomy, human physiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, motor learning and control, and inferential statistics.
• Foundational courses introducing you to key concepts in sport and exercise psychology, health and research methods.
• Fundamental and applied movement-based courses actively exploring key concepts related to physical literacy and athlete development, as well as teaching and coaching physical activity and sport.

CONCENTRATIONS AND ELECTIVE COURSES
Our program features four areas of concentration:

• Athletic Performance and Injury Management
• Movement, Health and Development
• Physical Activity Education and Promotion
• Sport Development and Management

Within these concentrations are Kinesiology elective courses, including:

• Exercise Nutrition; Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription; Athletic Injuries
• Psychology of Injury Rehabilitation; Applied Psychology of Sport and Performance
• Behaviour Change and Physical Activity; Adapted Physical Activity
• Children in Physical Activity; Aging, Physical Activity and Health
• Ethics in Sport and Physical Activity; Modern Olympics; Canadian Sport History
• Organization and Administration of Physical Activity; Marketing in Sport and Physical Activity
• Advanced Biomechanics and Ergonomics; Advanced Exercise Physiology
• Balance, Posture and Gait; Neuromuscular Function in Exercise
• Research Thesis; Interdisciplinary Capstone Experience

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Laurier’s Kinesiology program is designed to expose you to learning inside and outside the classroom. During your studies you are required to complete 96 hours of community-based leadership or volunteer work. Some courses will also require you to engage in practical, hands-on learning experiences such as physical activity programming, fitness testing or injury assessment.

The Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Psychology program at our Waterloo campus is structured to ensure that you are exposed to the breadth of content that exists within the natural, life and social science areas of psychology, while permitting sufficient flexibility for you to pursue your own particular interests within these areas.

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?
Psychology involves the scientific study of behaviour and experience, including thinking, feeling and action. We study psychology to learn about human behaviour, including: individual variations in sensation, how languages are learned, and why some people crave narcotics.

ABOUT THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY
The Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Psychology program at our Waterloo campus is structured to ensure that you are exposed to the breadth of content that exists within the natural, life and social science areas of psychology, while permitting sufficient flexibility for you to pursue your own particular interests within these areas.

As a student in the Water Science and Environmental Health program, you'll learn the underlying scientific principles, processes and theories concerning the physical, chemical and biological properties of water and the factors that play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem and human health.

Through a combination of training and practical work experience, including co-op, you'll identify and solve ongoing threats to our water resources including those caused by human activities and climate change. You'll be able to recognize that the availability of safe, clean water and its resources is a fundamental question of social justice.

This program will help you develop the skills needed to apply quantitative and computer analysis to assess, monitor and sustainably manage land and water resources. You'll understand the critical need of government responsibility for managing and protecting water and Earth's resources.

Throughout your studies, you will feel empowered to contribute to the quest to improve the availability, security and reliability of human water supplies, while ensuring the whole ecosystem and human health.

The information explosion of the modern age has resulted in extremely large data sets and a need to understand how to analyze and make sense of big data. Advances in hardware, software and statistical techniques are giving rise to automated methods to analyze patterns and models for all kinds of data, with applications ranging from scientific discovery to business intelligence and analytics.

As a result, data-driven decision making is quickly becoming the standard in almost every industry and has created an unprecedented demand for data-oriented professionals across a wide range of industries, organizations and disciplines. Given the volume of the data sets in question, it is nearly impossible to extract patterns, trends and behaviours without some degree of mathematical guidance and programming expertise.

About Data Science at Laurier
Our Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Data Science is the first undergraduate degree of its kind in Canada.

Our Data Science program seeks to address the data-related needs of modern business and industry. As a graduate of this program, you'll be prepared for many and diverse career opportunities through your study of mathematics, statistics, data analytics and computing technologies and methods. You’ll also take courses in computer science, data analysis, business and economics.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AT LAURIER
In our Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Science program, you will learn and understand how concepts from biology, chemistry and geography can be integrated to explain the processes that affect the physical environment and how these processes influence the biotic performance, from individual organisms to whole ecosystems.

The Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Science will give you the skills needed to understand how to use analytical tools, including lab and field methods, to quantify and assess the physical and chemical properties of soil, water and air for assessing and monitoring populations of organisms.

You will develop a broad range of techniques that will allow you to identify and devise solutions to environmental problems caused by human activities. You will be able to communicate these issues to diverse audiences for a number of purposes, such as helping to restore ecosystems or advocating for environmental issues.

Students in Environmental Science take one mandatory field course, and have opportunities to take others through the Ontario Universities’ Program in Field Biology.

Faculty members hire students as research assistants to work help with studies in the lab and field.

HONOURS THESIS OPTION
Students completing an honours thesis will conduct a yearlong research project that includes data collection, analysis and write-up.

Examples of honours thesis topics include:

• "Relating intensity of forest fires to caribou herd depletion in the Northwest Territories"
• "Effects of climate change on frozen landscapes in the north"
• "Effects of atmospheric processes on the movement and fate of pollutants"
• "Identification and conservation of rare and threatened plant species"