Curriculum

The School of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences aims to bring up a diverse range of specialists who will lead the world of physical education and sports at the international, national and regional levels. The curriculum provides a systematic approach to learning the content that is required to become a specialist. We have consistently strived to develop a curriculum that adapts to societal needs and anticipates future trends. Since 2013, a revised curriculum has been implemented.

The curriculum that students in the School of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences follow is broadly divided into “General Foundation Subjects”, which are general education subjects open to all students at University of Tsukuba, and “Major Subjects” and “Foundation Subjects for Major”, which are organized in line with the educational objectives of the Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences.

The Foundation Subjects for Major are a group of subjects that all students studying physical education and sport sciences as a specialism must take in order to acquire the minimum basic knowledge and skills required, and are mainly taken in the first and second years. The Major Subjects are a group of subjects that build on the learning of the basic subjects and aim to further improve the student’s expertise in physical education and sports, and are taken from the third year onwards. The Major Subjects are further divided into four groups: “Career Support Subjects”, “Major Subjects by Main Research Field”, “Graduation Research Area Subjects” and “Practical Subjects”. The standard course of study and the number of credits to be obtained are as follows.

Overview of Course

General Foundation Subjects (approx. 30 credits): 
General education subjects

Common Foundation Subjects	Multidisciplinary Subjects	Subjects that help first-year students adapt to new learning environments and to autonomously start setting their career goals First Year Seminar, Invitation to Arts and Sciences, Multidisciplinary Subjects for the Undergraduate Degrees
	1st Foreign Language	Subjects aimed at developing practical language skills in foreign languages (English is designated as 1st foreign language for the School of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences)
	Information Literacy	Subjects that help acquiring the rules, morals, skills and knowledge of the Internet society
	Japanese Language	Subjects that cultivates the ability to accurately express and communicate one’s own intentions in Japanese

※Specific Foundation Subjects: You can choose from “Subjects offered by other Schools and Colleges”, “Subjects related to the Teaching Profession”, and “Subjects related to the Museum”.

Foundation Subjects for Major (approx. 40 credits):
Subjects that provide a broad-based understanding of the basic theories of physical education and sports science, as well as the basic skills of various types of exercise

Physical Education and Sport Studies	A field of the humanities that uses mainly the humanities and social sciences to educate and research physical education and sports Philosophy of Physical Education, Study of Sport History, Theory of Budo, Sociology of Sport, Management of Sport and Physical Education, Psychology of Physical Education and Sport, Sport Industry, Sport Policy
Coaching Studies	A field of education and research into the characteristics of sports and exercise, exercise methods, and teaching methods Movement theory of Sport, General Coaching Studies, General Theory of Training for Sporting Excellence, Coaching Studies by Categories of Sports, Theory of Training by Categories of Sports
Health and Human Performance Studies	A field of science that uses mainly natural scientific methods to educate and research sports, exercise and health Anatomy, Physiology, Exercise Physiology, Biochemistry, Exercise Nutrition, Physical fitness and Human Performance, Sport Biomechanics, Health and Fitness for Active Living, Measurement and Evaluation for Physical Education (including Statistics), Sports Medicine, Personal and Public Health, Health Education (including Mental Health), School Health (including Child Health and Safety in School)
Practical Theory and Practice of Sport and Physical Education	A group of subjects that teaches the basic skills and theory of each sport Select at least 8 sports (credits) from various sports groups, Taping and Sports Massage

Major Subjects (approx. 50 credits):
Subjects selected according to interests, abilities and aptitudes, with the aim of improving specialized skills

Career Support Subjects (10 credits)	Subjects that provide practical knowledge and skills used in the field of physical education and sports <Examples of Subjects> Education of Health and Physical Educator, Observational method in Physical Education, Olympic Education, Curriculum Management in Physical Education, Adapted Sport Education, Economics of Sport and Sports Industry, Sport Media Studies, Sport Law, Information Strategy in Sports, Successful Aging, Measurement of Physical Fitness for Coach, Regional Health, Biomechanics for Teaching Physical Education, Prevention of Sport-related Injury and Rehabilitation, Career Development with Sport, Internship for Career Development, etc.
Major Subjects by Main Research Field (10 credits)	Subjects that further specialize and develop the academic knowledge of the various individual specialized studies that make up physical education <Examples of Subjects> Sport Ethics, History of Sport and Physical Education, Training(Keiko) Theory of Budo, Contemporary Sport, Principle and Methods in Mental Training, Sport and Health Psychology, Sports and Corporation, Sport Techniques, Sport Tactics, Theory of Artistic Expression, Anatomy for Kinesiology, Human Performance and Physical Strength, Exercise and Environmental Health, Anti-Doping, Health Sociology, Mental Health, etc.
Graduation Research Area Subjects (14 credits)	Practical subjects to learn the latest findings and research methods in the selected research field <Examples of Subjects> Seminars and practical training sessions held for each of the 39 graduation research areas/fields (Examples: Seminar on Philosophy of Physical Education, Seminar in Movement Theory of Sport, Seminar of Applied Anatomy, etc.), English for Specialized Subjects, Bachelor Thesis
Practical Subjects (3 credits)	Subjects aimed at improving the practical skills and leadership abilities of each student in their specialized field of exercise <Examples of Subjects> Seminar of Coaching by Categories of Sport I, II, III

Career Support Subjects

There are four different course models for the Career Support Subjects, depending on your career path after graduation.