Sports Studies BSc (Hons)

Sport is a dynamic area full of opportunity and the demand for qualified, knowledgeable individuals in specialist areas such as coaching, performance enhancement and teaching is increasing. If you want to be a part of it, there has never been a better time to get involved!

Overview
About the course
Structure
Fees
Entry requirements
Applying

The sport industry is one of the fastest growing in the UK, influenced by the increasing awareness of the value of health and exercise, the success and popularity of British sports internationally and the focus on the developments for the 2012 Olympic Games. Sport is a dynamic area full of opportunity and the demand for qualified, knowledgeable individuals in specialist areas such as coaching, performance enhancement and teaching is increasing. If you want to be a part of it, there has never been a better time to get involved!

The course offers an exciting line-up of Lecturers delivering both academic and career-based sessions to inform you of your career options after you graduate. In addition, you will have the opportunity to take part in a number of career-related workshops.

Why should I do this course?

The sports industry is one of the fastest growing in the UK, influenced by the increasing awareness of the value of health and exercise, the success and popularity of British sports internationally and the focus on the developments for the Olympic Games in 2012. Sport is a dynamic area full of opportunity and success. The demand for qualified and knowledgeable individuals within specialist areas such as coaching, performance enhancement, and fitness instructing and teaching is increasing, and if you want to be a part of it - now's the time!

What's covered?

Subjects you will study on the course include:

Year 1

Promoting Exercise for Health and Nutrition
Research Techniques in Sport and Exercise
Anatomy and Physiology
Fundamentals of Sports Psychology
Sociology of Sport
Principles of Fitness and Training
Coaching Through the Early Years

Year 2

Advanced Research Techniques for Sport and Exercise Sciences
Exercise Physiology
Historical and Sociological Aspects of Sport
Teaching and Coaching Methods
Managing Sports Events
Sport and Business
Sport and Exercise Psychology

Year 3

Limits of Human Performance
Dissertation
Applied Sports Psychology
Sports Nutrition
Comparative Studies of Sport in Society
Health Assessment and Exercise Prescription
Legal Aspects of Sport
Analysing Sports Performance

How will my work be assessed?

Throughout the Degree course students’ assessments are extremely varied and involve a wide range of practical assessments within the modules such as Coaching Through the Early Years, Teaching and Coaching Methods and Health Assessment and Exercise Prescription.

Students are also assessed through a variety of athlete case studies ranging from modules such as Applied Sports Psychology, Sports Nutrition and Sports Law. Research assessments are key within the Sports Studies Degree and the development and implementation of research ideas provides an alternative method of assessing the development of skills and knowledge.

Additional methods of assessment across the Degree course include presentations, coursework essays and examinations.

What can I do after this?

On completion of the Degree, you could progress into a variety of different career paths ranging from Teacher Training via Graduate Teacher Training Programmes, Postgraduate Certificates in Education or Teaching Assistant places to careers in Sports Coaching, Fitness Instructing and Personal Training. There are also a number of postgraduate courses (e.g. Sports Psychology and Sports Nutrition) that offer further progression in the sport field.

Careers

Sport, leisure and tourism

Year 1: Focuses on the fundamental topics related to the sports industry and provides a base from which your knowledge can be extended and applied in the subsequent years. Topics you will study in the first year cover anatomy and physiology, sports psychology, sports sociology, research methods, coaching through the early years and promoting exercise for health and nutrition.

Areas of study: Include promoting exercise for health and nutrition, research techniques in sport and exercise, anatomy and physiology, fundamentals of sports psychology, sociology of sport, principles offitness training and coaching through the early years.

Year 2: You will expand on the topics studied during the first year with a greater degree of application, especially in modules such as Teaching and Coaching Methods, Exercise Physiology and Advanced Research Methods. In addition, you will be introduced to topics such as sport and business, sports event management and sports and exercise psychology. The second year of the programme also allows you to generate a research proposal that links directly to your final year dissertation.

Areas of study: Include advanced research techniques for sport and exercise sciences, exercise physiology, historical and sociological aspects of sport, teaching and coaching methods, managing sports events, sport and business, sport and exercise psychology.

Year 3: Provides you with specialised knowledge from which you can progress to your chosen career area after you graduate. Specialist areas such as applied sports psychology, sports nutrition and health assessment and exercise prescription provide a theoretical and practical application of specialised career options and postgraduate areas of study in the industry. In addition, you will develop your chosen areas of interest through your final year dissertation and are provided with the opportunity to develop, conduct and evaluate research.

Areas of study: Include limits of human performance, dissertation, applied sports psychology, sports nutrition, comparative studies of sport in society, health assessment and exercise prescription, legal aspects of sports, analysing sports performance.

Low-cost higher education

Our fees are well below the national average and are among the lowest in the region, so studying with us is great value for money!

Click for more about higher education funding.

Entry requirements

You will need:

160 UCAS points
GCSE grades C or equivalent in Maths and English

Relevant industry experience is also considered and a mature entry portfolio is available for recruiting from the industry.

Full-time courses

Applications for full-time courses should be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), quoting institution code S43 and the UCAS code for your chosen course.

Part-time courses

Applications for all part-time Honours Degree, Foundation Degree, Certificate of Higher Education and Diploma of Higher Education courses at South Essex College should be made directly to the College using the online application form or by completing a paper application form and mailing it to our freepost address:

HE Admissions
South Essex College
Freepost SMU 110
Luker Road
Southend on Sea
Essex
SS1 1BR

Need more info? Take a look at applying for your course »