COLLEGE OF EDUCATION & HUMAN SCIENCES

Students seeking admission to the M.S. degree program in Kinesiology at Louisiana Tech University must meet the guidelines established for admission by the College of Education and Human Sciences and the Louisiana Tech Graduate School. Students must meet all requirements for UNCONDITIONAL admission to be admitted into the M.S. degree program in the Department of Kinesiology.

Students meeting the requirements for conditional admission may enroll in graduate coursework as part of the Graduate Life Long Learning (LLL) program in the College of Education and Human Sciences. This program is a non-degree seeking program; thus, students are responsible for checking and following policies regarding loans, scholarships, or other requirements that may affect their standing. Any coursework taken as a graduate LLL student is subject to review and must be approved for use in a student’s Graduate Plan of Study for a master’s degree in Kinesiology.

Check with the College of Education and Human Sciences’ Graduate Studies Office (318.257.3229) for questions about the graduate LLL program or with the Department of Kinesiology’s graduate advisor (318.257.4432) for questions about the M.S. degree program in Kinesiology.

Unconditional Admission

• Undergraduate Degree – KINE or related field
• Undergraduate GPA – 3.2 all courses
• GRE Score – Waived
• Undergraduate GPA – 2.50 all courses or 2.75 last 60 hours
• GRE Score – 287 or greater and Neither score ≤ 142
• UG leveling coursework – No
• MS degree seeking – Yes
• MS hours – 36 hours
• Cumulative graduate GPA – At least 3.0

Unconditional Admission

• Undergraduate Degree – Not KINE or related field
• Undergraduate GPA – 3.2 all courses
• GRE Score – Waived
• Undergraduate GPA – 2.50 all courses or 2.75 last 60 hours
• GRE Score – 287 or greater and Neither score ≤ 142
• UG leveling coursework – Yes; 9 hours with at least 3.0 GPA
• MS degree seeking – Yes
• MS hours – 36 hours
• Cumulative graduate GPA – At least 3.0

Life-Long Learning Admission

• Undergraduate Degree – KINE or related field
• Undergraduate GPA – 2.25 all courses or 2.50 last 60 hours
• GRE Score – Not required
• UG leveling coursework – No
• MS degree seeking – No
• MS hours – Not applicable*
• Cumulative graduate GPA – At least 3.0

Life-Long Learning Admission

• Undergraduate Degree – Not KINE or related field
• Undergraduate GPA – 2.25 all courses or 2.50 last 60 hours
• GRE Score – Not required
• UG leveling coursework – Yes; 9 hours with at least 3.0 GPA
• MS degree seeking – No
• MS hours – Not applicable*
• Cumulative graduate GPA – At least 3.0

KINE = kinesiology; GPA = grade point average; GRE = graduate records exam; MS = masters of science

* = Students in Life-Long Learning (LLL) may apply for a graduate degree program after completing a minimum of 9 hrs of graduate courses with at least a 3.0 GPA or better by completing a Graduate School application and by meeting the admission requirements for that specific program including the GRE. After admission to a graduate degree program, students may file a written request that up to a maximum of 12 total semester hours of graduate credit earned under LLL be applied to their graduate degree program Plan of Study by special permission of the College of Education and Human Sciences’ Graduate Studies Office and Graduate Advisor assigned to the student’s degree program. These courses will be specifically identified on the Plan of Study.

For those in LLL, failure to achieve a quarterly & cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 or better will result in the student being dropped from graduate status to post-baccalaureate status. The student will be required to appeal his/her dismissal from the graduate program through the appropriate individual(s) in his/her college to the Graduate Council to be reinstated to graduate status.

The requirements for completing the M.S. in Kinesiology have been designed to provide students with general professional knowledge and skills related to their chosen area of study.

Specific requirements are:

• Completion of all coursework listed on the Plan of Study with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
• Satisfactory performance on either an internship, thesis, or directed research project.
• Satisfactory performance on a comprehensive examination.
• Registration for graduation by the designated University deadline.

Any student accepted “unconditionally” to the graduate program in Kinesiology or enrolled in the “life-long learning” program at Louisiana Tech University who does not have an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology or related field (i.e., Health and Human Performance, Exercise Science, or Health and Physical Education) will be required to take 9 hours of undergraduate leveling coursework from the list below and maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA. The student, in conjunction with the graduate advisor, will select the courses that best fit with their desired graduate degree concentration.

Exercise Science

Select three hours (one course) from:

• KINE 326 Functional Anatomy
• KINE 333 Motor Learning
• KINE 408 Physiology of Exercise
• KINE 423 Biomechanics

Psychosocial Science

Select three hours (one course) from:

• KINE 316 Exercise and Sport Psychology
• KINE 420 Sports and Society

Applied Science

Select three hours (one course) from:

• KINE 403 Neural Basis of Movement
• KINE 407 Exercise Prescription
• KINE 410 Designing, Building, and Maintenance of Sport and Physical Fitness Facilities
• KINE 414 Introduction to Adapted Physical Activity
• KINE 416 Fitness Programming
• KINE 418 Strength Training and Conditioning

With the purposes of supporting graduate education and recruiting talented graduate students, the Department of Kinesiology offers a limited number of graduate assistant positions each year. The number of positions available are dependent on available funding each academic year. As a result, teaching assistant positions are awarded on a competitive basis. Neither admission to the Graduate School nor enrollment in a Master’s program in the Department of Kinesiology guarantee selection.

Position

Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA). Nine-month appointment begins Sept. 1.

Responsibilities

Activities required of all GTAs include teaching two (2) undergraduate courses per quarter, maintaining 10 office hours, and attending annual GTA meeting.

Qualifications

Candidates must have an earned undergraduate degree in Kinesiology or a closely related field. Successful candidates must be accepted unconditionally to the graduate school, maintain a GPA ≥ 3.0, and have the ability to teach a variety of undergraduate activity classes.

Financial Support/Stipend

GTAs earn $8,000/9 months ($888.88/month) to teach two classes/quarter and receive out-of-state tuition waived.

The Department of Kinesiology is housed at the Scotty Robertson Memorial Gym and has four lab spaces collectively known as the Human Performance Laboratories. The Minds in Motion Lab is the latest edition added to the facility for teaching and research. The Department offers the Master of Science degree in Kinesiology with concentrations in Sport & Exercise Psychology and Sports Performance.

Application Process

All GTAs must be admitted unconditionally to the Graduate School at Louisiana Tech. Applications for the GTA program is online.

Interested individuals can contact Dr. Alison Reichter for additional information.

Dr. Alison Reichter
Graduate Teaching Assistant Coordinator
Department of Kinesiology
Louisiana Tech University
P.O. Box 3176
Ruston, LA 71272
Phone: 318.257.3280
E-mail: reichter@latech.edu

Please note: Strength & conditioning graduate assistants/interns are not awarded by the Department of Kinesiology and must be addressed with the Louisiana Tech University Athletic Department.

All graduate students are required to complete at least one of the following application experiences to complete their graduate degree in the Department of Kinesiology at Louisiana Tech University (see plan of study)

• Graduate Internship (KINE 515, 3 or 6 credits)
• Directed Research (KINE 535, 3 credits)
• Thesis (KINE 551, 6 credits)

KINE 585: Comprehensive Examination in Kinesiology will be taken by all students completing the Master of Science in Kinesiology. However, the content of the course will vary depending on the application experience completed by the student (Internship, Directed Research, or Thesis).

Deadlines to Apply for Application Experience

All graduate students must submit the required documentation to the department main office by the first Friday of the quarter preceding the quarter the student intends to enroll in credit for the associated course (e.g., Planning to enroll in internship in the Fall, you must submit the required documentation the first Friday of the preceding Spring quarter).

It is the responsibility of the student to submit the required documentation by the deadline listed. Many experiences require weeks of coordination prior to beginning the opportunity, and without this window of time to organize, the experience may not be feasible. Therefore, if a student does not submit their documentation in accordance with the aforementioned deadline, they will not be able to enroll in the culminating experience course the following quarter, and this may delay completion of the graduate degree.

The specific requirements and deadlines for each application experience are described in the links below:

• Graduate Internship (KINE 515)
• Directed Research (KINE 535)
• Graduate Thesis (KINE 551)
• Comprehensive Exam (KINE 585)