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Physical Education and Coaching (PECO)

This concentration requires 121 semester hours of prescribed courses to complete the Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. The curriculum is designed to meet the need of students interested in becoming physical education teachers in public and private schools. Students who complete the program will be eligible for teacher licensure by the Mississippi Department of Education.


  • Community college transfer hours may not exceed 62 hours toward this curriculum.  
  • Please review your CAPP/DegreeWorks before each advisement meeting (see MSU MyState)  
  • It is each student’s responsibility to determine and obtain coursework required for any post-graduate studies and communicate those requirements with his/her advisor.  
  • Any questions regarding curriculum or advisement can be answered by logging into the Kinesiology Advising Hub https://msstate.instructure.com/courses/8951 or through your myState https://my.msstate.edu/
  • General Education Requirements and MSU Course Catalog may be found at http://catalog.msstate.edu/undergraduate/

*Students who do not have a 21 or Higher ACT Composite score should take PRAXIS 1 as soon as possible after completing their freshmen year!

*Note: Courses in bold are those for which you must complete previous prerequisite courses before enrolling.

GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES (38 hrs) Hrs
ENGLISH (6 hours)  
EN 1103 English Comp 1 (prereq.: ACT English score 17 or above or EN 0103) OR EN 1163 Accelerated Comp 1 (prereq.: ACT English score 29 or above) 3
EN 1113 English Comp 2 (prereq.: English Comp I or Accelerated Comp I) OR EN 1173 Accelerated Comp II (prereq.: Accelerated Comp 1 or ACT English score 28 or higher) 3
FINE ARTS (3 hours)  
PE 1323 History & Appreciation of Dance Or other Gen. Ed. Fine Arts (see Gen. Ed. Requirements: Fine Arts) 3
MATH (6 hours)  
MA 1313 College Algebra (prereq.: ACT Math subscore 19 or prereq. grade of C or better in MA 0103) 3
ST 2113 Introduction to Statistics (prereq.: ACT Math subscore 24 or a grade of C or better in MA 1313) 3
SCIENCES (11 hours): suggested completion before Spring, Sophomore year)  
BIO 1134 Biology 1 OR other Gen. Ed. 4-hr BIO Natural Sci. (see Gen. Ed. Requirements: Natural Science) 4
CH 1213 Chemistry 1 & CH 1211 Investig. in Chem. 1 OR other Gen. Ed. 4-hr CH Natural Sci. (see Gen. Ed. Requirements: Natural Sci.) 4
Natural Science: suggest BIO 1004 (prereq.: any course in bio. sciences) OR other Gen. Ed. Natural Sci. (see General Ed. Requirements: Natural Sci.) 3-4
HUMANITIES (6 hrs)  
Choose 1 Gen. Ed. Humanities (see Gen. Ed. Requirements: Humanities) 3
Choose 1 Gen. Ed. Humanities (see Gen. Ed. Requirements: Humanities) 3
SOCIAL SCIENCES (6 hrs)  
PSY 1013 Psychology OR other Gen. Ed. Social/Behavioral Sci. (see Gen. Ed. Requirements: Social/Beh. Sci.) 3
SO 1003 Intro. to Sociology OR other Gen. Ed. Social/Beh. Sci. (see Gen. Ed. Requirements: Social/Beh. Sci.) 3

 

Major Core Courses Hrs
EP 2013 Fundamentals of Kinesiology (Suggested completion by the end of Freshman year) 3
PE 1243 Methods of Teaching Games & Sports (Background Check Required) 3
PE 1253 Methods of Teaching Lifetime Activities (Background Check Required) 3
PE 1263 Methods of Teaching Rhythms 3
PE 3133 Adapted Physical Education (Background Check Required) 3
PE 3153 Methods of Elementary PE (Background Check Required) 3
PE 3223 Motor Development (Prerequisite: BIO 1004) 3
PE 3533 Coaching Sports 3
PE 4533 Developing Coaching Expertise 3
PE 4283 Sport Biomechanics (Prerequisite: BIO 1004) 3
PE 1000 Play, Fitness & Physical Activity OR select 2, 1-hour P.E. activity courses (see MSU course catalog for descriptions. PE 1191 is not an option) 2
PE 3163 Sport Psychology 3
EP 3233 Anatomical Kinesiology 3
EP 3304 Exercise Physiology (Prerequisite: BIO 1004 and CH 1043 and CH 1213) 4
KI 2213 Emergency Health Care OR KI 3273 Athletic Training 3
PE 4853 Motor Learning (Prerequisite: PE 3223) 3
EDF 3333 Social Foundations in Education 3
EDX 3213 Psychology & Education of Exceptional Children & Youth 3
PE 4163 Principals & Methods of Secondary PE (Admission to Teacher Education Required) 3
PE 4173 Tests and Measurements (Admission to Teacher Education Required) 3
PE 4883 School Health Education (Admission to Teacher Education Required) 3
EPY 3143 Human Development & Learning  (Admission to Teacher Education Required) 3
TECH 4763 Digital Tools for 21st Century Teaching and Learning 3
PE 4873 Professional Seminar (To be taken with Student Teacher Internship: Admission to Teacher Education Required) 3
PE 4886 Teaching Internship (Admission to Teacher Education Required) 6
PE 4896 Teaching Internship (Admission to Teacher Education Required) 6

 

Phase I: Enroll in Physical Education and Coaching

  • Get admitted to Mississippi State University
  • Declare Kinesiology as Major with concentration in Physical Education and Coaching

Phase II: Admission to Teacher Education Requirements

see advisor to apply for admission to teacher education

  • Minimum of 2.75 GPA on 44 hours including the core
  • Cumulative GPA of 2.5
  • C or better in Comp I, Comp II, and College Algebra
  • Background Check: go to https://mycb.castlebranch.com/ and enter code MI43
  • Two recommendation forms from Educators
  • Verification of 40 hours of work experience with children or youth
  • Signed Dispositions Form
  • Proof of Liability Insurance 
  • Licensure Information Form
  • Purchase 4 year Subscription to Taskstream by Watermark
  • Test Scores: ACT 21 Composite, equivalent SAT. or PRAXIS Core Academic Skills for Educators score of 156 reading, 162 writing, 150 mathematics.
  • Completion of the online orientation module (after adm. to TE)

Phase III: Teaching Internship

  • Minimum of 90 Semester Credit Hours
  • Completion of all Professional Education courses with a C or better
  • Minimum overall 2.5 GPA
  • Submit Application and Advisor Agreement to OCFBI (318 Allen)
  • Take the PRAXIS Subject Assessment and the PRAXIS Principals of Learning and Teaching (PLT)