American Kinesiology Association

The American Kinesiology Association (AKA) promotes and enhances kinesiology as a unified field of study and advances its several applications. Kinesiology is a scientific study of human or non-human body movement, performance, and function by applying the sciences of anatomy, biomechanics, psychology, neuroscience and physiology. AKA is an educational discipline that involves the study of physical activity and its impact on health, society and quality of life. It includes, however is not limited to some areas of study such as exercise science, sports management, athletic training and sports medicine, socio-cultural analyses of sports, exercise and psychology, physical education-teacher education, fitness leadership,  and pre-professional training for physical therapy, medicine, occupational therapy and other health related fields. The American Kinesiology Association works to intensify the development, maintenance, and intra-organizational communication of specialized educational and professional societies that have a unconditional interest in the discipline of kinesiology. 

The AKA career center is the premier resource for college students pursuing a career in Kinesiology and experts seeking new opportunities in their area of experience. The AKA career center features information concerning career choices for each specialty within the respective Kinesiology field. They request to possess each kinesiology-related department in higher education in the US become a member of AKA. American Kinesiology Association disseminates news regarding kinesiology departments, national developments in kinesiology, and other developments of important interest to kinesiology faculty and also the broader public. Through its extensive data base, website, formal surveys, newsletter (Kinesiology Today), and periodic communiqués member departments have access to career info, position statements, updates on instructional and research innovations, national developments influencing kinesiology departments, and alternative necessary materials. They affiliate with scholarly societies and associations that study physical activity and/or utilize kinesiology information in skilled practice. AKA is committed to cross-disciplinary study in kinesiology as well as cross-disciplinary application of knowledge to issues within the physical activity field. AKA presently offers a variety of helpful services to its member departments like Access to the AKA webpage featuring Kinesiology Today, job listing service, consulting service, workshops and seminars and AKA scholar awards.

The AKA strategic planning and assessment support program will offer departments of Kinesiology a resource to assist advance their departments by establishing, using, and sustaining a meaningful strategic planning process. The services provided by this program are tailored to the particular needs of the individual department. The American Kinesiology Association does not accept individual memberships, rather it’s a department-member organization. Departments of Kinesiology or educational units that house kinesiology programs (including programs in exercise science, human performance, sport studies, sport management, etc.) are invited to hitch AKA. AKA works to develop and improve leadership skills for administrators of respective programs by recognizing outstanding administrative and leadership performance of an individual in an administrative body at an AKA member association that helps contribute to the attainment of the unit’s strategic goals and an award will be given for every level of institutional membership.