• Regular - 8 semesters - Info Pack

The specialty "Kinesitherapy" was established in The South-West University in 1994. Since 2009 the specialty "Kinesitherapy" forms part of the Faculty of  "Public Health and Sport" and is part of the Department of "Sports and Physical Therapy." For 16 years there have graduated 511 kinesitherapists, including here students from Macedonia, Greece, Serbia and Kuwait. Most of the Bulgarian students work in the field in the country and abroad. During the 2009/2010 school year there are 159 students from Bulgaria and Macedonia who follow the course. The specialty "Kinesitherapy" is one of the most popular and preferred by the prospective students. Our students are among the most hard working and responsible in training students of The South-West University. The academic staff is represented by 11 lecturers, including 6 with an academic rank: two professors, four associate professors and five assistant professors.

The main priorities of specialty "Kinesitheraphy" are:

• To ensure the development of skills and knowledge by the professionals working in the field of health sciences focusing efforts on the concepts of restoring, maintaining and improving health
• To encourage individual motivation and responsibility of the students to various forms of continuing education
• To integrate educational programs on the prophylactics and treatment of sick people according to the European and International standards
• To further optimize the structure of the specialty with new educational programs.

Training

The educational programs include various models of courses such as:

• Basic courses - provide knowledge and skills for harmonious contact with healthy people and patients for analysis and handling of specialized information for professional growth and development.
• Medical and biological disciplines - provide basic knowledge and specialized training in Anatomy, Physiology, Physiology of movements and Sports Physiotherapy, Therapeutic massage and more.
• Specialized courses - the content of this module is focused on specialized courses tailored to the specifics of kinesitherapy.

Clinical practices - provide practical training for the students in the form of academic clinical practice, summer internships, clinical experience before graduation etc. They are held in small groups in specialized clinical facilities and rehabilitation centers in the Hospital For Active Treatment in Blagoevgrad, Military Medical Academy in Sofia, Specialized Hospital for Active Treatment in Orthopedics and Traumatology Gorna Banya Sofia, Hospital for Active Treatment and Emergency Medicine " Pirogov ", Sofia Medical Center" Faith, Hope and Love "in Blagoevgrad.

Research activities

The specialized training facility has well equipped laboratories, offices and centers located in corps 1 and 4 of the University. The lecturers actively participate in research projects at the World Bank, the National Fund for Research, Ministry of Education and Science, the University fund under regulation 9 and others.

Research infrastructure consists of

• Laboratory of Physiology of exercise (a computer class)

• Laboratory of Human Anatomy (with computer class)

• Laboratory of Sports Medicine

• Laboratory mechanotherapy

• University Center for functional studies in sport and kinesitherapy (under construction)

• Resource Center

• Psychophysiological laboratory.

Students and teachers are included in the program EU Erasmus Life Long Learning, which encourages mobility. Another tool for promoting educational and research activities is the program Fulbright Senior Specialist.

Members of the program also participate in programs such as COST Grant System, DAAD, Bulgarian-Denmark Culture Science and Culture Cooperation, Youth Programme of the European Commission: SignaEuropa IV and others.

Educational Programs

• Kinesitherapy - B - eight semesters
• Kinesiology - M - two semesters
• Sports Kinesiology - M - two semesters
• Physical education and sport of children and outstanding students - two semesters
• Sports animation - two semesters

Methods of teaching and evaluation of students

The main method of teaching is a good displaying lecture and practical exercises in groups. Continuous assessment is carried both during lectures and during exercise throughout the semester through checks and questions - oral and written. The course ends with an examination consisting of written questions from pre-defined syllabus. The final evaluation is consisted of the results of the tests and the exam at a ratio of 50% to 50%.

Graduation follows the practical exam in a state hospital and state theoretical exam (written and oral) or thesis defense. When a student chooses to complete their studies with a thesis, they can receive their topic after semester six provided that they have an average until then no less than Very Good (4.50).