A new doctorate program is in the works at the health and human performance education department at Iowa State.

Jerry Thomas, chair of the Department of Health and Performance, said planning for the program has been ongoing for some time.

“We developed the program in all the justification and all the other things needed over the last summer, and we started through the university process in the beginning of the fall semester,” he said.

Thomas said the program was approved by the Faculty Senate in April and the Board of Regents in June. The program has yet to be approved by the statewide council.

“The statewide council is a kind of oversight group that looks at programs at private and public institutions in the state. We are expecting their approval,” he said.

Thomas said the department will try to do something different with the program than is usually seen in traditional doctorate programs.

“One of the issues that has been addressed by a lot of fields nationally is the extreme specialization that occurs in Ph.D. programs. We are trying to address that in this program by having broader preparation for potential faculty that come into this program,” he said.

Thomas said there are two different tracks to the program. The first is the biological basis of physical activity and the second is the behavioral basis of physical activity.

“Traditionally, the biological basis includes exercise physiology, biomechanics, health promotion and exercise, and the behavioral basis includes things like sports psychology, motor behavior, sport management and physical education teaching,” he said.

Thomas said traditional programs have been narrow in just one of those areas.

“We are trying to prepare [faculty members] across that area so they are competent to teach in more than one of those specialized areas, but they would still have a specialized research focus,” he said.

Rick Sharp, coordinator of graduate studies in the health and human performance education department, said students can expect more diversity of coursework and research.

“We will involve them in seminar experience, which will expose them to other issues, such as grant writing, tenure, outreach, and basically prepare them to be a productive university citizen and faculty member,” he said.

Sharp said he thinks the program will be popular.

“There aren’t very many Ph.D. programs in this intellectual area in the country. It does a real good job of preparing students to work in higher education where demands on faculty will be diverse,” he said.

Thomas said the emphasis on broader-based specialization also will provide prospective students with an advantage in the job market.

“We think it will be a very attractive program if you look at the job market in our field in the U.S. In 85 percent of the case, they seek a person who is more broadly prepared, and we think our Ph.D.s will be very competitive in that market place,” he said.

Sharp said one challenge the department might face could be in regards to the size of the program.

“Our biggest challenge will be keeping it manageable and not letting it get so large that it’s hard to manage and meet the individual needs of the students in the program. We are interested in quality,” he said.

Thomas said the experience of the faculty will help pilot the program.

“We have a strong faculty and strong research laboratories. Several of our faculty have participated in Ph.D. committees and have been co-directors of Ph.D. programs in other departments at ISU, so we do have some experience in working with Ph.D. students,” he said.