A major in health and exercise science can have minors or an emphasis in a certain area. These can include public health, fitness or coaching. This should give a student some courses to choose depending on interest or career path. Some students may be able to complete an internship for course credit or take more science courses if they aim to go on to study physical therapy.
A health and exercise science major generally consists of courses in anatomy and physiology, exercise physiology, biomechanics, nutrition and some aspect of public health or wellness. Other courses can include fitness testing, exercise prescription, performance and training.
Any athletic training major program should prepare you for taking the athletic training certification exam. The major program should also give you clinical observation hours and an internship with hands-on experience needed to sit for the certification exam. After you graduate, you are eligible to sit for the exam and once you pass the exam, you become a certified athletic trainer.
An athletic training major is similar to a health and exercise science major because of the common anatomy and physiology courses required along with exercise physiology and biomechanics or kinetics. But athletic training focuses more on injury prevention, treatment, orthopedics, therapy modalities, conditioning and training.
An health and exercise science degree doesn't prepare you for a certification like an athletic training degree. Health and exercise science is a base degree that prepares you for graduate programs, such as physical therapy school, public health or exercise physiology. An athletic training degree is specific to only becoming a certified athletic trainer.