Boise State celebrates new School of Kinesiology

Divisional Dean Lynda Ransdell stands proudly in front of Bronco Gym.

The stellar program has been in place for years. It has an enviable placement rate among physical therapy schools. It offers a fantastic blend of research and experiential opportunities.

But Boise State's School of Kinesiology has come into its own as of the fall of 2025, emerging from the School of Allied Health Sciences. Creation of the school, as Divisional Dean Lynda Ransdell notes, lifts the profile of the university, the college, faculty and research - and has graduates cheering from near and far.

For Ransdell, school status matters for at least three primary reasons:

• It places the Boise State program among high-level peers across the country, including the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ohio State and Central Florida.
• It underscores the impact that graduates have; alums go places and excel as the result of their Boise State experience.
• It affirms the role the program plays within the university in terms of enrollment and numbers of degrees conferred. The higher profile that the school designation carries, Ransdell knows, is helpful when it comes to research grants and collaborations with a variety of educational and other organizations.

"We've always been a really big part of the university and this recognizes our contribution and enhances our visibility," she said. "It's a growing profession, it's a growing movement, and this sets us apart."

A track of proven successes

Assistant Professor Mariane Bacelar wears an EEG cap while she putts and graduate student Jet Taylor captures the data in kinesiology's Skill Acquisition and Psychophysiology Lab.

Graduates have long benefited from the blend of lab involvement, deeply committed faculty members and connections to a broad variety of the types of businesses and entities - schools, sports organizations, hospitals and clinics - that ultimately want to hire them.

"Kinesiology is such a diverse field, and we have a lot more labs than most programs," Ransdell said. "Students get experience in the labs and can go on and do research with our faculty. That really separates us from other programs."

One gauge of success is the rate at which Boise State grads go on to continue their education in one particular, highly competitive field.

"I'm really proud of our record of students who get into physical therapy programs," she noted. "They're getting into Duke, Idaho State, the University of Utah, among other desirable schools."

Kinesiology graduate student Calvin Doerr interprets the results of a DEXA bone density scan for a kinesiology student in the Human Performance Lab.

Also notable are student successes at the graduate level in areas including athletic training - enrollees work, among other things, with Boise State athletes - and post-baccalaureate education, preparing graduates to support the next generations of students.

"We have a really strong track record of preparing master's students who go on to work on their doctorate degrees," Ransdell said.

Given growth and demand, and the appetite for online learning, the team last year rolled out a new degree, Exercise, Physical Activity and Sport. Weaving together business, technology and sports science, the offering is already hitting its mark; there are dozens of declared majors, many of them athletes, rural residents and working professionals seeking a bachelor's degree.

Ransdell and the team intend to continue building out online offerings, given the demand for flexible programming. She's gratified by graduates' continued involvement with the program - alum donations have helped to fund impressive equipment purchases. She also loves seeing Bronco babies now filtering into their parents' program of choice - the kinesiology grads of the future.

"It has been such a fun thing to see graduates from 20 years ago celebrating graduation with their children who are second-generation Broncos in Kinesiology."

Successful School of Kinesiology alumni

Here's just a few of the highly successful alumni coming out of the School of Kinesiology. Learn more about what they're doing.

Share This

• Share on Facebook
• Share on X
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share through Email