Degree Requirements

Curriculum Core Requirements

The curriculum core requirements allow flexibility in designing programs of study to meet the needs of each track and the student’s interests. Other specific requirements will vary depending on the student’s background and program track. Each student’s program of study is developed under the guidance of his or her advisor and committee.

The framework below illustrates the three pillars of the HMSC. The program has required courses and/or credits in all three areas. (These are minimal requirements. The student and advisor will plan an individualized course of study that may require additional courses.)

HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE (16 credit hours)

1. 6 credits of the Human Movement Science Core Sequence (HMSC 700, 701, 702)
   • 3 credits can be waived with permission of the instructor; however, those 3 credits must be made up by taking an additional 3 credits of Advanced Movement Science content.
   • If one of the core courses is not available, the student may get approval to complete an independent study or other course in that content area.

2. 6 credits of Advanced Human Movement Science Content
   • Examples include but are not limited to: EXSS 705, Applied Statistics and Research Methods Laboratory; BMME 701, Biomedical Instrumentation; BMME 621, Digital Signal Processing; HMSC 790, Advanced Biomechanics and Kinesiology; HMSC 791 Analysis of Human Motion; HMSC 743, Motor Control Topics; HMSC 795, Kinetics; EXSS 874, Advanced Topics in Exercise Phys; HMSC 710, EMG; EPID 706, Clinical Research Skills; HMSC 877, Independent Study***.

*** Only 3 credit hours of HMSC 877 will count towards the Advanced Human Movement Science Content requirement.

3. 4 credits of Doctoral Seminar in Human Movement Science (IHMS 870)

• The purpose of this seminar is to provide a scholarly format for students and faculty to share scientific knowledge and ideas in an interdisciplinary milieu. In the seminar, which will be a held weekly during the fall semester, students and faculty present and discuss research, research ideas, and professional issues related to Human Movement Science and academic career development.  Participation by faculty and students helps to ensure the interdisciplinary thrust of the program.  Each student is required to register for 4 credits of Doctoral Seminar over the course of their time in the program. Participation in all seminars over the course of the student’s entire program is encouraged.

Exemplar Pathways

A waived core course meets the content requirement but not the credit hour requirement.  The credit hours from a waived course must be used to take an additional Advanced HMSC content course.

RESEARCH & INQUIRY

4. A research design course or course sequence
   • Recommended Courses and Course Sequences:
     • AHSC 902 & 904
     • HMSC 886 Research Design
   • Other research design courses are acceptable.

5. Two graduate level statistics courses

• Must be in addition to pre-requisite statistics courses required for admission.

6. A grant writing course
   • Recommended Courses
     • AHSC 909
     • UNCG: KIN 798 (Co-Requisite is an independent study course)
   • Other grant writing courses are acceptable.

7. Research Ethics Training
   • Complete the required CITI training in addition to the CITI module on the Responsible Conduct of Research. This needs to be completed by the First Year Review.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

8. Research Experiences (2 structured experiences; 1 can be completed in the mentor’s lab)

• Each student is required to complete two structured research experiences. These will vary in length, typically lasting one semester or less, depending on the project and the faculty offering the experience. The research experiences are meant to add depth as well as breadth to student learning.  To ensure interdisciplinary training, only one research experience should be conducted in the mentor’s lab.  Faculty offering research opportunities are responsible for developing a learning experience for each student.  These assignments should be feasible for completing within the period of the rotation.  We expect that requirements and expectations will vary across projects.  Students are expected to learn methods and assist with data collection and analysis.  For example, students may assist in data collection or analysis with an ongoing project with a mentor, learn a method of data reduction or analysis, conduct secondary analyses, develop a pilot project, or write a grant.  Depending on the experience, students may conduct a well-defined study that culminates in an abstract submitted to a scientific meeting or a paper for publication.
• The faculty advisor for the research experience and the student should meet and develop a written contract that identifies the project and the expectations of the student, requirements, and grading. The student is responsible for gaining approval of his/her primary mentor and for providing a copy of this contract to the program registrar for placement in the student’s academic file.  There is a form in the record of progress for the research experiences. We expect that most students will complete the two research experiences by the end of the second year.

9. Teaching Experiences (2 structured experiences; 1 experience can be waived, at the discretion of the mentor, if adequate previous teaching experience is demonstrated [e.g. lead instructor of a course]. Decision regarding granting of the waiver will be made at or after the First Year Review.)
   • In addition to preparing doctoral students for careers as researchers, the program prepares them for careers as educators. Each doctoral student will complete two teaching experiences for courses related to movement science.  All educational experiences are directed by a faculty member and may include teaching a lab section of a course, teaching lecture units of an established course, or developing a new unit for a course.  Teaching workshops are presented yearly for all students through the Graduate School and courses are available in the Department of Education at UNC-CH and at NCSU.  We recommend that students complete some of the graduate school workshops or EDUC 757 College Teaching prior to their teaching experiences.

10. Doctoral Examination

• The purpose of these examinations is to ensure that students have achieved a satisfactory level of knowledge in Human Movement Science. Successful completion of this exam is required for the student to continue in the program. This exam should be completed after required class work is completed.

11. Dissertation Prospectus Presentation and Approval

• Recommended that preliminary approval of the dissertation topic be obtained from the committee. The student and dissertation advisor together develop a dissertation committee. As the topic develops, the student should receive advice and consultation from the advisor and the committee members.  The student may arrange a meeting with the doctoral dissertation committee either as a group or individually, to present the project for feedback and approval.  If the student chooses to present the dissertation topic at a meeting of the dissertation committee, he/she should prepare a brief description of the project to include the aims/questions and methods in 2-3 pages. This description should be distributed to the committee at least 1 week prior to the meeting.  The student should prepare a brief presentation (10 minutes) of the overall project, timeline and feasibility.  The committee members may provide feedback for revisions, suggestions to narrow, advice about study feasibility, etc. Once the committee approves the plan, the student may begin writing the dissertation prospectus. .

• Recommended that directed research providing preliminary data for the dissertation topic be completed.

• Required that the student prepare, with guidance and assistance from the dissertation advisor and dissertation committee, a formal proposal. The format of the proposal should be decided upon by the student and his or her advisor and committee. The proposal should be presented at a formal meeting of the dissertation committee. The student must have passed the doctoral examination and submitted a first-author manuscript to a peer-reviewed scientific journal prior to presenting the dissertation proposal.

12. Written Dissertation in thesis or manuscript format

• After acceptance of the proposal, the student completes the project and writes a doctoral dissertation for presentation to the committee for approval. The dissertation may be written in one of three formats (traditional thesis, alternative, or manuscript format), and must follow the guidelines for dissertations prescribed by the Graduate School. The format chosen may depend on the topic area and the committee’s preference. This decision for format should be discussed and approved at the time of the proposal presentation.  If the manuscript format is selected, the student and dissertation advisor should agree on a journal style that the student will follow in writing the final document. The dissertation document may be a series of manuscripts prepared for submission, submitted, and/or published.  Our goal is to prepare students as scholars, and preparing grants and submitting manuscripts for publication are critical scholarship skills. Two to three manuscripts are expected from the dissertation project.

Other Recommended Courses:  AHSC 914 Academic Writing