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Minor
An 18-credit minor for future PE teachers — teaching diverse learners, group dynamics, and your choice of four methods courses across team sports, lifetime fitness, and PE instruction.
Teaching Diverse Learners
EDU 321 — required in the core
Group Dynamics Built In
PSY 330 — the psychology of group settings
Four Methods Electives
Choose from six PHE methods courses
ACU’s Physical Education Minor is built for future PE teachers, coaches who plan to teach in school settings, and students preparing for K–12 athletic or wellness-program leadership. The 18-credit minor pairs a 6-credit core (EDU 321 Teaching Diverse Student Populations + PSY 330 Group Dynamics) with twelve credits of methods electives drawn from a focused PHE list.
The four methods electives let you specialize. Choose from Coaching Fundamentals (PHE 301), Teaching Team Sports (PHE 310), Teaching Group Activities and Team Building (PHE 311), Teaching Lifetime Health and Fitness (PHE 312), Concepts of Physical Education Instruction (PHE 400), or Differentiated Instruction for Physical Education (PHE 401). The combination of teaching-diverse-learners foundation, group-dynamics psychology, and applied PE methods gives you both the conceptual and practical preparation K–12 PE teaching requires.
Pairs especially naturally with ACU’s Secondary Education (Physical Education concentration) and Elementary Education programs — and supports career paths in coaching, athletic administration, and youth fitness programs.
Teach Diverse Student Populations
Build the foundation for working with students across cultures, abilities, and backgrounds — required for Arizona teaching licensure.
Apply Group Dynamics
Study the psychology of group settings — motivation, communication, conflict, leadership — that PE classrooms and athletic teams both depend on.
Teach Team Sports
Build the methods to teach team sports effectively at the K–12 level.
Lead Lifetime Health and Fitness
Develop curriculum and instruction for the lifetime-fitness component of modern PE programs.
Differentiate PE Instruction
Apply differentiated-instruction principles to physical education — meeting students where they are physically and developmentally.
A Biblical Worldview takes the body seriously — meaning physical education is meaningful work, not a peripheral subject, and PE teachers carry real responsibility for the students in their care.
The Body as Image-Bearing
Every student in a PE class — the athletic one, the awkward one, the one struggling with body image — is an image-bearer of God in their physical, mental, and emotional self. The minor treats PE teaching as work that takes the whole person seriously.
Grounds your classroom posture in respect for every student's dignity.
Movement as Formation
Scripture takes the body seriously as part of human formation — and PE teachers shape habits, discipline, and self-understanding through movement. A Biblical Worldview treats those formative effects as central to the work, not as side benefits."
Equips you to teach PE as character formation, not just skill development.
Health as Stewardship
Lifetime health and fitness aren't just personal preferences — they're stewardship of bodies God has entrusted to us. The minor's lifetime-health-and-fitness elective and the broader PE methods treat health as worth the work of teaching it well."
Anchors your teaching in the conviction that healthy habits matter beyond the gym class itself.
Physical Education opens doors across K–12 teaching, coaching, athletic program leadership, and youth fitness work.
K–12 Physical Education Teacher (with Education Major)
Pair the minor with ACU's BS Secondary Education (Physical Education concentration) or Elementary Education degree for full certification.
Christian School PE Teacher
Teach PE in Christian schools where state certification is not always required but PE preparation is.
K–12 Athletic Coach
Combine the minor with ACU's Athletic Coaching Minor for the strongest teacher-coach preparation.
Athletic Director and Program Leadership
Move into athletic-director, program-coordinator, or wellness-program leadership roles in K–12 schools.
Youth Sports and Camp Leadership
Lead youth sports leagues, summer camps, and after-school athletic programs.
Wellness and Fitness Industry
Apply PE preparation to corporate wellness, fitness-program design, or community recreation roles.
The Physical Education Minor at ACU is built around the methods K–12 PE teachers actually use — and it pairs naturally with ACU's Education degrees and Athletic Coaching Minor.
Teaching Diverse Learners Required
EDU 321 Teaching Diverse Student Populations sits in the required core — meeting Arizona licensure expectations for working with diverse classrooms.
Group Dynamics Psychology Built In
PSY 330 brings the psychology of group settings into the minor — uncommon in PE minors and directly useful in classroom and athletic contexts.
Four Methods Electives
Choose four of six PHE methods courses — team sports, group activities, lifetime fitness, PE concepts, differentiated instruction, or coaching fundamentals.
Stacks With Athletic Coaching Minor
PHE 301 Coaching Fundamentals appears in both this minor and the Athletic Coaching Minor — pairing the two builds a deep teacher-coach preparation.
Same Faculty as the BS Secondary Education PE Concentration
PE Minor students take the same courses with the same professors as ACU's Secondary Education PE concentration students.
The Physical Education Minor has prerequisite considerations for the PHE 400 and 401 methods courses — IVP card and EDU 317 unlock those upper-division options.
Talk With Your Academic Advisor
Map the 18 credits into your degree plan and decide which four methods electives best fit where you're headed (K–12 PE teaching, coaching, wellness).
Get Your IVP Fingerprint Card
Required for PHE 400 and PHE 401 (along with EDU 317). Most ACU education-track students obtain this in their sophomore year.
Take the Core Courses Early
EDU 321 Teaching Diverse Student Populations and PSY 330 Group Dynamics have no prerequisites — schedule them in your sophomore or junior year.
Choose Your Four Methods Electives
Pick PHE methods electives strategically — coaching-bound students pick PHE 301; future generalist PE teachers pick PHE 310, 312, and 400; future inclusion-focused teachers add PHE 401.
The Physical Education Minor pairs teaching-diverse-learners and group-dynamics foundations with four PE methods electives — strong preparation for K–12 PE careers. Apply or reach out today.
