Accreditation for the B.S. in Exercise Science
The Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science is offered by the Department of Health and Human Performance in the Congdon School of Health Sciences and is covered by High Point University’s institutional accreditation from SACSCOC, the accreditation graduate programs and certification boards look for.
Accredited Graduate Programs on Campus
Many exercise science graduates continue into clinical programs, and several run on this campus with their own national accreditation:
University Accreditation
High Point University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and has been continuously accredited since 1951. SACSCOC has granted HPU Level V status, which authorizes a university to award doctoral degrees.
The Congdon School of Health Sciences
The Congdon School of Health Sciences houses the Human Biomechanics and Physiology Laboratory in a 220,000-square-foot complex with advanced biomedical research facilities, an environmental chamber, a cadaver lab, a medical simulation lab and standardized client spaces that record student interactions with patients. The Callicut Auditorium hosts visiting speakers and networking events, and the average student-to-faculty ratio is 17 to 1.
American Kinesiology Association National Undergraduate Scholar
Caroline Rivera, who completed dual degrees in exercise science and chemistry with a 3.99 GPA, was named the 2023 American Kinesiology Association National Undergraduate Scholar. Rivera was selected from 57 nominations nationwide as the undergraduate student with the most distinguished academic and leadership record, co-authored peer-reviewed papers with Dr. Roger Vaughan and continued to the Ph.D. program at Duke University.
Published Student Research
Exercise science students and faculty have presented at the American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association annual conferences and published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, the Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry and the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Faculty Recognition
Dr. Kimberly Reich, associate professor of exercise science, received HPU’s Meredith Clark Slane Distinguished Teaching-Service Award and was elected to a three-year leadership term with the Southeast Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, serving as president-elect, president and past president.
Funded Health Sciences Research
Dr. David Sinacore is part of a five-year, $3.9 million National Institutes of Health grant on chronic kidney disease and bone health in the diabetic foot, run with Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of California San Francisco. It is HPU’s largest active single NIH grant. Dean Kevin Ford has earned more than $728,000 in NIH grants to study knee and ACL injury risk in young female athletes. Ford and Sinacore are on Stanford University’s list of the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists, and Congdon School faculty have made the list four years in a row.
Award for Undergraduate Research
The Council on Undergraduate Research named High Point University the recipient of its 2025 Campus-Wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments. An exercise science major analyzing golf swings in the Human Biomechanics and Physiology Laboratory was pictured in the announcement.
Exercise is Medicine on Campus
HPU earned silver recognition from Exercise is Medicine on Campus for five consecutive years through programs led by exercise science faculty, Campus Recreation and Employee Wellness.
U.S. News & World Report Rankings
In U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2027 edition, High Point University debuted as the #1 Most Innovative Regional University in the South and ranked #1 of 152 schools in its category for Earnings by Major, which measures what graduates earn four years after leaving campus.
Mentored by Exercise Science Faculty
Exercise science graduates credit Congdon School of Health Sciences faculty with the mentoring that carried them into doctoral and graduate programs.
Lyndsey Marino
Doctor of Physical Therapy Student, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
“Dr. Tarara, when I first had him as a professor, said ‘You do not need my permission to succeed.’”
Emily Boenig
Doctor of Occupational Therapy Student, University of Southern Maine
“The amazing faculty pushed me academically and helped me realize my potential.”
Mia Krone
Nurse Practitioner Master’s Program, Vanderbilt University
“Dr. Vaughan, Dr. Tarara and so many more helped mentor me and are the reason I am able to pursue a master’s in nursing.”
Explore Exercise Science at High Point University
Exercise science at High Point University combines national student recognition with funded research.
Curriculum & Research Careers & Organizations
Questions about the program? Email Dr. David Bazett-Jones at [email protected].