Department Overview
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 to 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.
Differences Between Athletic Training (AT) and Applied Exercise Science (AES)
The 3+2 MSAT 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 graduate portion of the program. 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 feel free to 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
Programs
3+2 Program
Bachelor Degree
Minor
Lindsey Dutton ’19
Exceptional Teaching and Learning
UNE opened my eyes to so many new opportunities. As an Athletic Training student, I had diverse clinical rotation opportunities that allowed me to work anywhere from high schools, to colleges, and even the orthopedic clinic and operating room setting.
I was exposed to a diverse group of athletes/patients and communities that helped form our basis for communication with people from all walks of life. I was required to communicate with parents, athletes, coaches, other athletic trainers, and different medical professionals. Clinical rotations put you into a safe location to work under certified athletic trainers while obtaining hands-on, on-field assessments of real-time injuries and patients.
UNE is also one of the few schools in New England that has a gross anatomy lab and allows undergraduate students to have classes in the lab. Having access to the gross anatomy lab was such an advantage to be able to understand the basics and complexity of the human body.
UNE taught me to care for everyone around me. The UNE community prides itself on caring for the people and planet around them.
UNE taught me, “a patient does not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” One of my professors made sure we would never forget this quote, and now it will follow me through the rest of my life as both a person and a professional. Healthcare isn’t only based on how much you, as a provider, know. It is also based on showing patients compassion for their ailments and treating the patient as a whole and not only the injury.
UNE opened my eyes to so many new opportunities. I had diverse clinical rotation opportunities and athletes/patients and communities that helped form our basis for communication with people from all walks of life.
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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.