.svg)
.png){kind=logo}
Human Performance and Wellness
At VMI all cadets are required to take seven semesters of human performance and wellness classes.
The Human Performance and Wellness program mentally and physically develops cadets, through exposure to comprehensive and progressive academic (non-degree granting) and experiential (co-curricular) programs designed to enhance self-esteem, physical fitness, leadership characteristics, and the pre-requisite knowledge that produces graduates with a commitment to life-long physical fitness and health.
The program also provides cadets:
- with knowledge & skill to enhance physical fitness and self-confidence
- with the knowledge to develop leadership capabilities
- on how to apply exercise science principles to design exercise/fitness programs
- with experience to respond appropriately to situations where CPR/lifeguard skills are needed
Degrees and Programs
The Human Performance and Wellness curriculum offers an Exercise Science Minor.
All cadets are required to take seven semesters of human performance and wellness classes, and earn four semester credit hours (exclusive of any 3 credit hour course) to meet graduation requirements.
HPW in the News
Find out more about the department's cadets and faculty in recent VMI news.
Can Music Improve Athletic Performance?
Music is known to help lower anxiety and stress, slow the heart rate, and create a calming effect, but can certain music enhance an athlete’s performance? Colton Shirk ’27, a biology major, sought to answer the question for his Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) project.
Exercise Study Recruiting VMI and W&L Alumni
A new research study comparing the exercise habits between four populations: VMI cadets, VMI alumni, W&L students, and W&L alumni, both in the short- and long-term, is being conducted by Maj. Katherine Baur, assistant professor in the Department of Human Performance and Wellness at VMI.