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Help an Olympic hopeful recover from a torn ligament. Prevent workplace injuries by improving a company’s ergonomic standards. Give a child with cerebral palsy a better quality of life. Learn to prevent and treat movement-related illness and injury – and if you opt for the co-op stream, you can get 20 months of paid career experience along the way.
In addition to traditional science courses in biomechanics, neuroscience, and physiology, you’ll have four kinesiology-related minors and dozens of campus-wide minors to choose from. You can also include courses to prepare you for professional health programs such as medicine and physiotherapy.
Whatever direction you choose, Waterloo equips you with the tools you need to get there.
Over half of your required courses include a lab component. You’ll gain the practical skills to understand movement problems that occur in sports, industry, rehabilitation, and fitness.
Waterloo is one of Canada’s first non-medical schools to house a School of Anatomy — giving you the chance to study anatomy on real human cadavers right in your first year.
Learn why our Kinesiology student ambassadors chose their program... and ask them any questions about what it's like!
Jyoti chose Waterloo because she wanted a hands-on degree where she could learn about anatomy before applying to med school.
Department of Kinesiology in the world
program-specific courses and labs for you to broaden your knowledge
Ontario students: six Grade 12 U and/or M courses including
Admission averages: Regular: low 80s, Co-op: mid-80s
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Previous topics include how to choose a university program, tips for a successful senior year of high school, differences between high school and university, and more.
About half of the classes you’ll take for your degree will be Kinesiology courses. With your remaining classes, you can choose electives from many of the 100 subject areas at Waterloo.
View all the courses required for your degree.
KIN 312 – Introduction to Movement Disorders
KIN 326 – Forensic Biomechanics
KIN 406 – Physiology of Muscle Aging and Disease
KIN 407 – Coronary Artery Disease – Prevention and Rehabilitation
Offered by the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences
Apply directly to this program on your application
Earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology
By alternating school terms and paid co-op work terms throughout your degree, you can explore different career areas and types of employers as your interests evolve.
At the end of first year, you can choose to start one of the minors available within the program, such as
You can also include one of the minors available to all Waterloo students. Popular choices include Psychology, Human Resources Management, French, and Management Studies.
Graduates often pursue careers where they can help people, such as physiotherapy, chiropractic, ergonomics, health and safety, exercise management, nutrition, research, and by working in clinical settings such as hospitals or health centres.
Learn about the future of careers in health and helping professions.
While the full range of further education depends on your personal interests and goals, graduates often choose professional and graduate programs in medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic, biomechanics, anatomy, and neuroscience.
Available as a