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Sport and Exercise Science

BSc (Hons)

Sport scientists use knowledge of how the body works to help people improve their health or sporting ability. On this course you'll study the science behind sports, covering areas like physiology, nutrition, biomechanics and psychology.

UCAS Code: C600

Single Honours

Students using anaerobic equipment including a running machine and cycling machine

The course at Worcester is hands-on and practical, with lab work and industry placements. You'll be prepared for a wide range of jobs, whether that's enhancing the performance of elite athletes, or promoting healthy living in the wider community. You could work in an NHS or private hospital, on a sports field, at a research facility, in an office, at a client's business or at a fitness centre.

Top10

Our Sports courses are 9th in the UK for student satisfaction

Complete University Guide 2024
95%

in work or further study 15 months after graduating

Graduate Outcomes Survey
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Endorsed by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Science (BASES), the industry's professional body


Overview

This course is endorsed by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences and has a strong practical focus that will help you develop your workplace skills, enhance your CV and explore your future career options.

Each year you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules, allowing you to explore different subjects and career paths in the industry before choosing to specialise in your final year. Your first year will introduce you to the key principles of the scientific study of sport, exercise and physical activity. You’ll begin to understand how the various scientific disciplines influencing sporting performance interact, and how performance can be measured and improved through appropriate interventions.

Hands-on sessions and industry placements are built into the course, and our labs are used day in day out for teaching – not reserved solely for academic research. By the time you graduate, you’ll have plenty of experience in professional sports settings and with using industry-standard equipment.

You’ll join a community of sports students from a range of courses, building bonds that will endure during your time at Worcester and beyond. We organise regular social events throughout the year, including our ‘alternative Olympics’ and Christmas quiz.

Placements

In your final year, you’ll spend at least 40 hours on placement as part of our work-based-learning module, giving you the experience needed for your future career.

Recent students have gone on placement at West Bromwich Albion, Severn Stars netball and Sport England. So, you might find yourself filming first-team training sessions as part of a performance analysis team, or developing new projects and funding programmes for a governing body.


Discover sport at Worcester


Course content

Each year you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. This flexible course lets you explore different subjects and career paths in sports and exercise science before choosing to specialise in your final year.

Mandatory modules
Optional modules


Careers

Most people start this course knowing they love sport, but not knowing exactly what career they want to go into. Which is why we give you the chance to explore lots of different subjects from strength and conditioning, biomechanics, and performance analysis, through to nutrition, clinical physiology, and psychology.

While you’re exploring these subjects and the jobs they lead to, we also work with you on the professional skills needed for a successful career. In each of the three years, there’s a dedicated employability module – where you look at the real jobs out there, practice CV writing, interviewing and develop your skills for the workplace. This culminates with a work placement in your final year

Performance sport careers

Our graduates go on to work with a professional sports team or individual athletes as:

  • Performance analysts
  • Strength and conditioning coaches
  • Sports data scientists
  • High-performance managers

And with postgraduate training, as:

  • Nutritionists
  • Biomechanists
  • Sport psychologists

Health, exercise and wellbeing careers

Throughout the course many decide they want to use their passion for sport and exercise to improve the health and wellbeing of others. With further education they enter careers within the NHS or with private health providers like Nuffield Health, including as:

  • Sports therapists
  • Dietitians
  • Cardiac rehabilitation specialists
  • Fitness and wellbeing advisors

Other options


Course highlights

A Sports student kneeling beside a person on an exercise mat in the Riverside gym
Earn as you learn
Our students work in the gym, the Arena and at Open Events. You can also join our subsidised coach education programme - to gain the qualifications needed for part-time work with our partners around the city.

Teaching and assessment

Our course has been designed by academics and industry specialists to prepare you for a career in sport and exercise science. So our teaching is a combination of practical lab work, seminars, lectures and one-to-one tutoring.

Evaluation is not all about written assignments and exams, you’ll also be assessed on your lab skills and through oral and poster presentations.

Teaching and assessment contents

You are taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and laboratory practicals. Lectures will provide students with the fundamental knowledge and key concepts required for the degree. Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures, and laboratory practicals are focused on developing subject specific skills and applied individual and group project work. You will study physiology, psychology and biomechanics, as well as modules that explore the way in which these disciplines interact to affect both sporting performance and health. We aim to provide a learning context that will explore the full potential of all participants and encourage excellence in both theory and practice. You will also gain a thorough grounding in the investigative and research techniques required in order to work effectively in this field.

The expertise of the staff includes sports coaching and teaching, match analysis, biomechanics, exercise physiology, sports motivation and sports development. Students may have opportunities to take part in research projects. In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course.

You will use industry-standard software and have access to laboratory and computer facilities throughout the course.


Sport facilities

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Women playing hockey
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A sports field in the sunshine
The Riverside Gym
A sports students inside an environmental chamber
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Women playing hockey
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Entry requirements

UCAS tariff points required: 104

Typical Offer
QualificationGrade
A-levelBCC
BTEC National Extended DiplomaDMM
T-levelMerit

We do accept Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications which may not exactly match the combinations above. Work out your estimated points with the UCAS tariff calculator.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.


More to explore

Open Days

Visiting us is the best way to get a feel for student life at the University of Worcester.

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The City of Worcester

Worcester is a welcoming university city with great transport links and plenty of student parking.

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Accommodation

Benefit from our accommodation guarantee. We have rooms on campus to suit every budget including en-suite options.

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Fees

Fees contents

UK and EU Students

The standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £9,250 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International Students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £16,200 per year.


How to apply

How to apply contents

Applying through UCAS

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.

Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.

  • Sport and Exercise Science BSc (Hons) C600

Contact

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

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Dr Jennifer Joyce

Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science

Admissions Office

01905 855111