The Exercise Science Program at NCWU is only one of four programs in the state and one of only 102 in the nation to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). With the help of the Health and Movement Science Club, NCWU is recognized as an Exercise is Medicine (EIM) campus. The Exercise Science Program is designed to prepare students for future employment in the fitness, health, & human performance industries. Specifically, the goals of the program are 1) to prepare students to pursue various health-related careers in university, corporate, commercial, hospital, and community settings, 2) to prepare students to enter the fitness industry. This may include testing and prescribing exercise for specific age groups such as elderly, children and adolescences, as well as apparently healthy and those with controlled disease, 3) to prepare students to pursue National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) accredited certifications such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), Certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM EP-C) and other certifications offered by leading organizations such as (ACE), National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCFS), and 4) to prepare students who are interested in post-graduate study in Exercise Sciences and serve as an option for students interested in completing the prerequisites for admission into a variety of professional programs such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, athletic training, etc.

Students may declare Exercise Science as their major at anytime during their freshman and sophomore years but must be officially admitted into the Exercise Science Program. Students must meet all of the following minimum academic requirements to be admitted into the Exercise Science Program.

1. cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better in all college course work
2. completion of 56 semester hours and 
3. successful complete ion (grade of C- or better) in all the following courses:  EXS 190 , EXS 214 , BIO 231 , BIO 232 , EXS 315  , EXS 318  , EXS 324  , and EXS 325  

In addition to the courses listed above, to graduate with a degree in Exercise Science, students must successfully complete all EXS prefixed courses with a grade of C- or better.

Student admission into the Exercise Science program is determine by the Exercise Science Program Director, typically at the end of the fall semester of the student’s junior year. Students who have not met all of the Exercise Science admissions requirements cannot remain in the Exercise Science program and must change their major.

With proper justification from a student, and following a consultation with the Exercise Science Program Director, in addition to unanimous agreement from all full time Exercise Science program faculty members, some of the admissions, but not graduation, requirements mentioned above may be temporarily waived.