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Integrative physiology (formerly known as exercise science) at Iowa is a unique major related to the biology of the human organism and how it responds to internal and external stimuli, including increased and decreased activity levels, environmental conditions, and disease processes. It involves the scientific disciplines that facilitate the measurable responses of human biological systems. These include anatomy, biomechanics, neuroscience, physiology, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and statistics.
Why
Study Integrative Physiology at Iowa?
This program consistently ranks among the top programs of its kind in the country. There is no similar major at any of the other Regents institutions or four-year colleges in Iowa. Also, Iowa's is the only program among the Big Ten universities, plus the University of Illinois at Chicago, with the specific goal of preparing students for admission to programs in the various health sciences.
This program, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is designed specifically to prepare students for advanced study. About 98 percent of integrative physiology students do graduate work in the professional health care sciences such as medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant, dentistry, and others.
Students
Students in integrative physiology are highly motivated and do well academically. Most are pre-health profession students. The integrative physiology major has the highest grade-point average (GPA) of all majors at the University and includes many honors students.
Approximately 75 students are admitted to integrative physiology each year, from a pool of about 100 applicants. The GPA of these students typically ranges from 3.40 to 4.00.
Faculty
The department’s eight outstanding faculty members place a high priority on research and teaching. Faculty are actively involved in research and publishing in professional journals about studies related to such topics as stem cells, connective tissue growth, environmental stresses, sensorimotor mechanisms, movement control, thermoregulation, mechanical factors regulating blood flow, blood flow in cardiovascular disease, and sympathetic nervous system control of vascular smooth muscle.
Many department faculty members collaborate with faculty in the University’s Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, and they encourage students to participate in research. Honors students in particular must complete a research project in the various laboratories.
Facilities
The department houses classrooms and research laboratories for anatomy, biomechanics, neuroscience, and several areas of integrative physiology. Undergraduates use these facilities for instruction and research.
In addition, through the presence of Iowa’s renowned teaching hospital and strong biomedical sciences departments in the adjacent Carver College of Medicine, integrative physiology students have access to teaching and research facilities in anatomy and cell biology, biochemistry, bioengineering, internal medicine, microbiology, orthopaedic surgery, free radical and radiation biology, and pharmacology.
Admission
Admission to this major is competitive. Entering first-year students are designated as having an interest in the major for advising assignments and course selection. A cumulative GPA above 2.75 is required to apply, and students must earn a GPA above 3.00 in the prerequisite courses.
Course
Work
Students generally enter the integrative physiology program at the beginning of their sophomore or junior year. First-year students take prerequisite courses in biology, chemistry, calculus, and rhetoric. Sophomores take organic chemistry, human physiology, and General Education Program courses. A formal admission application is submitted after completion of the prerequisite courses.
The integrative physiology major includes study in anatomy, biomechanics, integrative physiology, and neuroscience (motor control). The curriculum is designed primarily for students who intend to pursue advanced degrees in integrative physiology or in professional health sciences such as medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant, dentistry, optometry, or podiatry.
Integrative physiology departmental major courses total 27-28 semester hours (s.h.)
and include:
- Biomechanics
- Human
Physiology
- Exercise
Physiology
- Exercise
Physiology Laboratory
- Gross
Anatomy for Integrative Physiology
- Gross
Anatomy Laboratory for Integrative Physiology
- Motor
Control I: Neurophysiological Basis
And at least
three of these:
- Biomechanics
of Human Motion
- Human
Growth and Motor Development
- Embryology
and Connective Tissue Anatomy
- Skeletal
Muscle Biology
- Cardiovascular
Physiology
- Molecules
to Malady
- English Grammar
- Integrative Physiology Senior Seminar
Also, all students
must complete:
- 12 s.h.
of biology
- 8-17
s.h. of chemistry
- 4 s.h.
of calculus
- 8 s.h. of physics
- 3 s.h. of statistics
Minor
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recently added a minor in integrative physiology to its list of offerings. Students take 15 s.h. within the department, 12 s.h. of which must be above the 100 level. Because of common requirements, integrative physiology majors frequently minor in one or more of the following: biology, chemistry, or psychology.
Honors
To graduate with honors in integrative physiology, you must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.33 and complete original research and a thesis, as well as present your findings.
Careers
The BS degree in integrative physiology prepares students for graduate-level education in the various health professions or the basic sciences (including integrative physiology) related to the professional health sciences. Therefore, nearly all of the students are pre-health profession students in the areas of medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant, dentistry, optometry, osteopathic medicine, or podiatry.
Scholarships
There are several scholarships available for undergraduate students, including the George S. Schaeffer Scholarships, offering $2,000 to full-time undergraduate science majors from an Iowa farming community with a strong academic record in their chosen field of study.
Refer to the Office of Student Financial Aid for
a complete list of available scholarships.
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