Requirements: Physical Education and Health Studies

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Course Offerings

The Department of Physical Education and Health Studies (PEHS) offers both physical education activity courses and courses in health and sport studies.

Goals for Physical Education and Health Studies courses include:

  • engaging in physical activities that maintain and improve personal wellness
  • fostering an appreciation of physical activities that will bring enjoyment and well-being while in college and in future years
  • promoting comprehension of the benefits of physical activity on health
  • developing practical athletic skills
  • learning how to maximize the results of physical activity throughout life
  • developing a broad knowledge base regarding personal health and wellness
  • developing both theoretical knowledge and practical laboratory skills in the area of health and sport studies

Physical education activity-based courses, designated PHSD, are offered in four six-week sessions or full semester sessions. Each six-week course is worth 0.13 unit. Each semester course is worth 0.25 unit. The grading of activity-based courses is Pass/D/Fail, but these do not count against Kenyon's limit of three units of Pass/D/Fail credit or credit/no credit. PHSD courses may not be repeated for credit. Students may apply a maximum of 0.5 unit of PHSD courses toward the sixteen units needed for graduation. Evaluation criteria include attendance, effort, cooperation, written tests, subject knowledge and physical proficiency (where applicable). These courses include "Personal Fitness," "Lifeguard Training," "Racquetball," "Tennis," "Intro to 5k Running," "Beginning Weight Training," "CPR and First Aid," "Strength and Conditioning" and "Golf."

Health and sport studies courses (HSPS) are full-semester courses offered on a semester-by-semester basis and are 0.25 or 0.5 unit. These courses receive a letter grade and count toward the student’s grade point average. These courses include "Sports Medicine and Wellness," "Human and Sport Nutrition," "Anatomy and Physiology," "Wilderness First Aid and Outdoor Skills," "Gender in Sports," and "Topics in Human Performance." Evaluation criteria include mastery of subject matter, critical and analytical thinking, and comprehension and proficiency in laboratory skills and sessions.

All classes designated as 100 level are appropriate for first-year students. 200-level courses require course work in the natural sciences for success.

There are no limits on the number of HSPS courses that may be taken per semester but they may not be repeated for credit. HSPS courses do not count in the PHSD 0.5 credit limit allowable towards graduation.

Individual Study Guidelines

Given the nature of physical education and health studies courses at Kenyon, individual studies are approved only in health and sports studies and only under extenuating circumstances. They will be approved only on formal petition to registrar, the director of athletics, and the coordinator for physical education and lifetime fitness. Documentation of the circumstances justifying a proposed individual study must be included with the petition. Petitions without documented need will be declined.

Individual studies in HSPS are intended to provide the student with the opportunity to pursue an independent investigation of a topic of special interest not covered, or not covered in depth, in the current curriculum. The investigation, which is designed in close collaboration with a current health and sport studies instructor, may be designed to earn 0.13 or 0.25 unit of credit in a semester. Students may receive credit for no more than one individual study within the department, which does not count in the 0.5 PHSD credits allowable toward graduation.

Enrollment and Completion Procedures for Individual Studies

To enroll in a HSPS individual study, the student must:

1. Complete the petition process through documentation of need and present the petition to the coordinator for physical education and lifetime fitness. After approval, the student must complete the following no later than the fifth day of the semester:

2. Identify a member of HSPS willing to mentor the project. If the student is a varsity athlete, the student's coach or coaches may NOT serve as mentor.

3. Working closely with the mentor, draft a detailed course syllabus, including the following:

  • Individual study title
  • Topic background information
  • Desired course outcomes
  • Specific objectives necessary to achieve outcomes
  • Weekly topic schedule
  • Readings: at least one assigned reading per week for the duration of the individual study. Reading must have direct bearing on the topic of the study. The specific reading must be included in the syllabus, which must also include an electronic link to the text in question.
  • Meeting schedule: at least one hour-long meeting with the mentor per week for the duration of the individual study
  • Required assignment set 1: At least one detailed paper of ten to twelve pages on the assigned topic per 0.13 of credit desired for the individual study. Two papers of this length are required for a 0.25 credit individual study. Papers must be fully cited using APA or CSE formatting and each must include at least eight references from accredited sources.
  • Assignment set 2: For courses that involve physical activity or internship/coaching/sport management-style activities as well as academic components, a complete journal of all daily and/or weekly activities must be included, and must contain, at a minimum:
    • Date
    • Activity completed
    • Specifics of activity
    • Course objectives and/or outcomes met by completion of activity

4. Upon completion of the course syllabus, the syllabus must be turned in to the coordinator for physical education and lifetime fitness for final topic approval.

5. Upon completion of certain units of the study (at set intervals during the semester) and at the final completion of all individual study courses, the requirements as presented in the course syllabus, as well as copies of all assignments and journals, must be presented to the individual study mentor and the coordinator for physical education and lifetime fitness. A timetable of review and submission of these documents will be set by the coordinator for physical education and lifetime fitness.

6. The mentor is to forward attendance records and recommended course grades to the coordinator for physical education and lifetime fitness.

7. Final course grade will be the result of successful completion of all course requirements as reviewed by both the mentor and coordinator for physical education and lifetime fitness. Grading will follow standard College procedures.