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Sport and Exercise Science with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

32-56

A typical offer will require a UCAS Tariff score between 32 - 56. Every application is considered on an individual basis. For further details of our international English entry requirements, please visit our General Entry Requirements pages.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Sport and exercise sciences

This course includes an additional year as a foundation year. This begins at the start of the course and will help prepare you for full time undergraduate study. The foundation year is intended for those who didn't meet the entry requirements for the course or want to take an additional year to prepare for study. After the year, the award and course is identical to the three year version.

This course has a shared first year across multiple specialisms. After your first year, if you want to study a different specialism you can choose between continuing this course or Strength & Conditioning.

**Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?**
Employers today want to see your skills and experience straight out of university. We understand this better than anyone, that's why we offer you a chance to gain both skills and experience in using them. We give you the chance to apply your learning wherever possible in simulated real-world environments, using industry standard facilities in our Human Performance Lab.

This course has been endorsed by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES), the professional body for sport and exercise sciences in the UK. Graduating with an endorsed degree provides you with a competitive advantage that is recognised nationally and internationally. Using our partnerships with professional bodies, sports teams, athletes and local schools and colleges we have based your course on what’s needed out in the field today.

The quality of our links to industry speak for themselves. We’re currently linked with Watford FC, Wycombe Wanderers, Reading Ladies WSL and academy teams, Amateur Swimming Association, British Rowing, GB para-athletes and many community sports clubs, athletes and schools. Our lecturers are actively engaged in professional practice and have many years of experience in teaching and in industry. We've really been there at the highest level.

**What facilities can I use?**
Most of our work with you and our professional partners takes place in the Human Performance, Exercise and Wellbeing Centre. This is where the body can be fully tested and evaluated, using specialist equipment used by sport and exercise scientists everyday.

It contains a working clinic and human performance laboratory, and the learning you will complete here helps prepare you for your future career using evidence based insights and research. Additionally, the University has a commercially run sports hall and fitness centre giving you the opportunity to learn within a sports centre environment, with a student gym too.

**What will I study?**
Endorsed by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Scientists (BASES) our BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science degree combines underlying scientific principles from the sport and exercise science disciplines of physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology with highly practical skills from the more contemporary sports science disciplines of strength and conditioning, nutrition and performance analysis, to help prepare you for a career within the field of sport and exercise science.

Over the three years you’ll study with us, you’ll focus on learning about the key areas of sport and exercise science, covering areas like health physiology, biomechanics, sport nutrition performance analysis, human anatomy and data analysis. You’ll spend time learning how to analyse and evaluate performance needs and develop a critical understanding of the fundamental principles which underpin applied sport and exercise science.

**Career Prospects**
The blend of theoretical, practical and work-based learning you’ll experience in this course will set you up for a career within the fields of high-performance sport or clinical exercise. You can also choose to study for a postgraduate course like MSc Sports Therapy or MSc Sports Performance. You’ll also have the chance to go on to BASES membership which is a key membership and is now becoming required for many jobs in the industry.

Modules

**Year one**
Preparing for Success Knowledge and Creativity
Preparing for Success Self-development and Responsibility
Inquiry and Research Skills
Introduction to Sport Development and Performance

**Year two**
Introduction to Coaching Theory and Practice
Introduction to Health Physiology
Human Anatomy
Foundations of Exercise Physiology
Data Analysis of Sports and Exercise Science
Foundations of Biomechanics
Foundations of Sport & Exercise Psychology
Fundamentals of Strength and Conditioning

**Year three**
Coaching and Athlete Development (optional)
Research in Sport and Exercise
Applied Exercise Physiology
Cognition and Emotion in Sport and Exercise Psychology (optional)
Sports Nutrition
Applied Biomechanics
Exercise Prescription and Instruction
Performance Analysis in Sport
Applied Sport and Performance Psychology

**Year four**
Contemporary Coaching Issues (optional)
Research Dissertation
Clinical Biomechanics (optional)
Training and Periodization in Physiology and Nutrition (optional)
Professional Issues in Sport and Exercise Psychology (optional)
Sports Injury and Rehabilitation
Exercise Referral
Sports Science in Practice
Skill Acquisition and Learning in Sport

Assessment methods

This course combines underlying scientific principles and highly practical skills from the sport science disciplines. We combine principles from classic disciplines like physiology, biomechanics and sports psychology with skills from contemporary ones like strength and conditioning, sports coaching, performance analysis and nutrition.

The way we’ve designed this programme to combine such a broad combination of subject areas means you’ll graduate with a holistic understanding of what it takes to prepare for a career within the field of Sport and Exercise Science.

You’ll be taught by our specialist teaching team through lectures, practical sessions, seminars and workshops and your work will be assessed through presentations, portfolio assessments, viva, practical assessments and written work.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£15,000
per year
International
£15,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Buckinghamshire New University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.bucks.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/financial-support-bursaries-and-scholarships

The Uni


Course location:

Buckinghamshire New University

Department:

School of Human and Social Sciences

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

79%
Sport and exercise sciences

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sport and exercise sciences

Teaching and learning

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

74%
Library resources
75%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
72%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
80%
Male students
20%
Female students
63%
2:1 or above
36%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sport and exercise sciences

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
57%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

35%
Sports and fitness occupations
11%
Teaching and educational professionals
8%
Information technology technicians

One of the fastest growing subjects in the country, the number of sports science graduates went from under 3,000 in 2003 to over 10,000 in 2013. Numbers have fallen slightly since 2015, but we still have over 9,000 graduates in the subject. However, the good news is the country's appetite for good health and fitness - and the adaptability of graduates in the subject - means that sports science grads are less likely than average to be out of work. Sports science graduates, not surprisingly, tend to get jobs in sport, fitness and health - coaching and teaching especially - but they're found all over the economy. Management and business are also popular options for graduates from this subject — and sports science graduates are particularly found where drive, determination and physical fitness are an advantage.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Sport and exercise sciences

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£14k

£14k

£22k

£22k

£24k

£24k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here