Doctor of Clinical Exercise Physiology
Training experts that apply exercise interventions across patients with complex clinical morbidities
UIC’s Doctor of Clinical Exercise Physiology (DCEP) program provides didactic and practical training to prepare advanced-practice clinical exercise physiologists and future leaders. Building upon master s-level training, this clinical doctorate delivers rigorous education, leadership skills, and hands-on experience required to manage complex patient populations and spearhead clinical programs.
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Pride points
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First The nation's first professional doctorate in Clinical Exercise Physiology
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100 % 100% of our students receive career placement offers before completing the program.
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High Earning 80% of alumni achieve an initial starting salary of $80K–$120K immediately upon graduation
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Preferred 60% of regional medical directors explicitly prefer hiring a DCEP graduate over a master's candidate
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DCEP pillars
Our curriculum elevates professional preparation beyond traditional master’s level training by cultivating clinical autonomy, advanced physiological assessment, and leadership capabilities across four domains:
- Complex patient management
Applying skills in clinical reasoning to safely manage and tailor exercise interventions for patients with multi-system, high-risk chronic conditions. - Advanced physiological assessment
Developing skills in administering and interpreting echocardiograms and cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) to gain deep insights into the cardiovascular system’s real-time response to exercise. - Targeted patient education
Delivering specialized, patient-centered chronic disease interventions, with an emphasis on advanced diabetes management and behavior change. - Clinical program administration
Developing administrative skills necessary to build and direct clinical programs, manage budgets, and lead personnel.
Clinical rotations
Students gain hands-on experience via 40 weeks of diverse and supervised clinical rotations through our network of sites across Chicago:
- UI Health Diabetes Education
- UI Health Inpatient and Outpatient Cardiovascular Ultrasound
- UIC Cardiac Rehabilitation
- UIC Cardiopulmonary Exercise TestingÂ
- UIC Medical Exercise Therapy (MET) ClinicÂ
- University of Chicago Medicine Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Lurie Children’s Hospital Pediatric Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Testing
- Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
Specialized certifications
The advanced clinical hours and specialized curriculum built into the DCEP explicitly prepare graduates for industry-leading credentials.
- ACSM Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist
- ACSM Certified Cancer Exercise Trainer
- Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist
- Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Certification
Career Pathways
Graduates of the DCEP program have taken high-level clinical, academic, and leadership roles, including:
- Director or manager of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programs
- University faculty member
- Senior or lead clinical exercise physiologist in cardiac, pulmonary, cancer and bariatric settings
- Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist
- Clinical research scientist
Your career
Our graduates are uniquely prepare to sit for certifications that students at the master’s level commonly are not prepared to take (ACSM’s Certified Cancer Exercise Trainer and Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer, Certified Diabetes Educator, Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer).
In a survey taken by cardiac, pulmonary and exercise testing directors/managers within Illinois of the respondents, 60% identified that if presented two candidates, one with a master’s and one with a professional doctorate, they would be more inclined to hire the professional doctorate. Additionally, 23 reported that they would pay a higher starting salary (on average $10,000 more per year) for a DCEP over a master’s prepared student.
Learn from the best
As Director of the Cardiac Rehabilitation program, Joel is exploring applications of clinical exercise physiology in diabetes management, exercise oncology, and cardiac rehabilitation
See yourself at UIC
See yourself at UIC
Still wondering what a DCEP can do for you? Contact us to learn more.
You can contact Joel Hardwick at:
Email jhardw3@uic.edu
Phone 312.355.2135
Address 1919 W. Taylor St.
443 AHSB, MC 898
Chicago, IL 60612