After a year of planning, the health and human performance department at Iowa State has announced it will offer a Ph.D. program.

The new program, recently approved by the State Board of Regents, will produce three to five Ph.D. students a year, said Jerry Thomas, professor and chair of health and human performance.

Thomas said he gathered input from a variety of staff members within the department during the proposal process for the Ph.D. program, which began last summer.

The board reacted favorably, and Thomas said he believes there is a need for the program.

“The department here has a very strong faculty and excellent facilities,” he said.

Rick Sharp, graduate coordinator for health and human performance, said the program helps fill a void because now all departments within the College of Education have Ph.D. programs.

According to the department’s Web site, the Ph.D. program will address the need for scholars and practitioners who are broadly prepared in the biological or behavioral basis of physical activity, yet have a clear and focused program of research.

“[The program’s] broader preparation will be in line with national need,” Thomas said.

Sharp said in light of the changing job market, the new program will not be as narrowly focused as many of the traditional Ph.D. programs have been in the health and human performance field.

The new program will be designed to prepare students to respond to changes that may occur, Thomas said.

The health and human performance department is located in the Forker building, which contains three gymnasiums, a fitness center, a pool, offices and classrooms.

“One of our greatest strengths is that our facilities are top-notch,” Sharp said.

According to the Web site, the graduate program will have the support of excellent laboratories with the latest equipment in biomechanics, exercise physiology and motor behavior.

Thomas said the program is going to be kept “small and selective with a total enrollment between 15 to 17 students” at any given time.

“We hope we can make this an outstanding program,” Sharp said.