Support the Health Needs of Individuals and Athletes
Our Department of Exercise and Sport Performance (ESP), offering programs in Athletic Training (AT) and Applied Exercise Science (AES), trains you to support the needs of healthy as well as health-compromised individuals and help athletes enhance performance.
Students in these programs complete very similar coursework in the first two years, before moving into major-specific coursework for the last two years. As part of this coursework, you'll take combined courses in integrated health sciences that allow you to learn about different careers and experience interprofessional education activities that teach you to function as part of a health care team.
Explore UNE’s Department of Exercise and Sport Performance
What is the Difference Between Athletic Training and Applied Exercise Science?
The AT program prepares students for a career as an athletic trainer and focuses on athletic and orthopaedic injury prevention and rehabilitation. Clinical rotations occur during the sophomore through senior years. Graduates in AT frequently find positions in a school or orthopedic setting. Students in the AT program are prepared to sit for the Board of Certification (BOC) examination for entry-level athletic trainers.
The AES program is broader, enabling individuals to pursue diverse career fields such as ones that involve clinical exercise testing, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, and exercise prescription and instruction to improve health, fitness, and athletic performance. Students in the AES program can sit for the National Strength and Conditioning exam for both the Personal Trainer and Strength and Conditioning. The AES students can also become certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as either a Certified Exercise Physiologist or Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist.
All of our programs are excellent gateways to graduate allied health professional programs due to their applied nature. Each year approximately 60% percent of the seniors are successful in gaining acceptance to graduate programs (Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Clinical Exercise Physiology, Accelerated Nursing, Chiropractic, Strength and Conditioning, etc.). Among graduates interested in entering the workforce immediately, 83% secure positions within six months of earning their degrees.
Please take time to learn about these programs and contact us if you have any questions about the ESP department. We look forward to meeting you and sharing with you all the wonderful things our students are doing.
Sincerely,
Paul Visich, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor/Chairman Exercise and Sport Performance Department
(207) 602-2203
pvisich@une.edu
Degree programs
Minor
Sarah Coulombe ’10
The Exercise and Sports Performance Department is wonderful. All of the teachers are willing to help you with your studies. My classes related a great amount to my degree, and I will be able to apply the skills I learn from my undergraduate degree to physical therapy.
The classes that I feel contributed the most to my professional development are Gross Anatomy, Motor Learning and Development, Anatomy and Physiology, and Fundamentals of Nutrition and Exercise. Gross Anatomy contributed the most to professional development because in the lab we can really see all of the structures and how they allow the body to move and function.
During the summers of 2008 and 2009 I obtained a job at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital in Haverhill, Massachusetts in the in-patient clinic. At this job, I was a physical therapy rehabilitation assistant. This entailed seeing patients, administering rehabilitation in half-hour increments, assisting other physical therapists, and doing some clerical work. I got to experience what is like to work with patients one-on-one and in group settings. The most amazing part is seeing a patient barely being able to move around in a wheelchair [advance] to taking their first steps in the parallel bars.
My classes related a great amount to my degree, and I will be able to apply the skills I learn from my undergraduate degree to physical therapy.
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One-of-a-Kind Location
As a student in one of our Department of Exercise and Sport Performance programs, you study on UNE's scenic Biddeford Campus, where the waters of the Saco River flow into the Atlantic Ocean. Over the years, this confluence of natural resources has inspired students and faculty from around the world. Recently named the youngest city in Maine, Biddeford and its twin city, Saco, boast an up-and-coming, hip downtown offering delicious eateries, exciting social and cultural events, and more. With the transformation of the old Biddeford/Saco mills into restaurants, breweries, housing, fitness facilities, salons, and retailers, there is something for everyone to explore in downtown. Looking to try a new type of food, grab a coffee, or shop for locally-made clothes? Biddeford/Saco has it all.