University of Hertfordshire - BSc (Hons) Sports Studies

University of Hertfordshire

BSc (Hons) Sports Studies

If you love sport and want to learn as much as you can about sports management, development and coaching, this is the course for you. This course brings together these distinct but interrelated themes, to promote a broad understanding and examination of these diverse areas of sport. 

You might be thinking about becoming a PE teacher, starting your own business, working in a more managerial role, or as a performance analyst, high-performance coach, or a sports development officer. Perhaps you see yourself working in a more managerial role, or maybe working in education and teaching. Work experience opportunities are integrated into the programme. So whatever career you decide to pursue, work-related experience combined with academic study and a focus on communication skills will enhance your prospects.  

You’ll study a range of subjects, focusing on key areas that impact on sports participation and performance. With optional modules, you’ll be able to tailor your degree to what interests you most. This course is full of opportunities, including the potential to visit Utrecht University in the Netherlands for an exchange*. The University also works closely together with national and international researchers, coaches and athletes, who engage with our facilities and workforce.

In your first year you’ll learn the foundations of sports coaching, aspects related to physical activity and sports development and begin to understand the sports industry. You’ll also learn about national and international sports business management and sports within a global world. To help you settle into University life, you’ll take a module focused on developing the academic skills you need to be a successful student.    

Your second year builds on what you learnt in the first year. You’ll study global perspectives of sports development, applied sports coaching and management of sports events. The module on research methods helps you to understand the principles and methods that underpin social science research. You’ll be able to use this to critique and understand the research done in the areas of sports development, sports coaching, or the sports business management field. It will also come in handy for your final year dissertation. In addition, we also offer optional modules for you to choose from e.g., process and practices in high-performance sport, sports ethics or facilities and funding.  

Work placement/study abroad option*: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or complete a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about, but it will also give your CV a boost. If you would rather go straight to your final year, that’s fine too. You can decide in your second year with us, so there is still plenty of time to think about this.  

In your final year, you’ll be able to develop your research skills through our research dissertation module and/or focus on a work experience dissertation. You’ll get a personal supervisor to support you with the research and/or work experience dissertation. Here, you’ll design and undertake your own project on a topic relevant to your area of study, and more importantly, it will be aligned to an area that interests you. You’ll also be able to study other modules in the final year, such as enterprise and entrepreneurship, behaviour change for physical activity and advanced sports coaching.  

  For a full list of modules, see the section under ‘What will I study?’   

 *Depending on the COVID-19 guidelines and developments  

Entry Requirements

UCAS pointsA LevelBTEC
104 - 112BCC - BBCMMM - DMM

GCSE: 

Grade 4/C in English Language and Mathematics

All students from non-majority English speaking countries require proof of English language proficiency, equivalent to an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each band.

Career Prospects

There are a variety of career opportunities in sports related employment for Sports Studies graduates including sports coaching, sports development, sports management, sports administration, sports media, sports promotion, health promotion, sports business, and sports instruction/teaching/lecturing/research.

Course Details

Degree programmes are structured into levels, 4, 5 and 6.  These correspond to your first, second and third/final year of study.  Below you can see what modules you’ll be studying in each.    

Modules are assessed in a variety of ways via coursework, debates, presentations, viva and practical. The type of coursework is varied, depending on the module and includes reports, reflections, write up of practicals, portfolios, posters and presentations.

Year 1

Understanding the sports industry
Sport business management: national and international perspectives
Sports as social and global phenomena
Developing an academic approach
Foundations of sports coaching
Physical activity and sport policy in practice

Year 2

Research methods for sports studies
Sport experience learning

Optional modules
Process and practice in high performance sport
Exploring sports ethics
Leadership and management of sports events
Applied sports coaching
Global perspectives of sports development
Facilities and funding for active communities

Year 3

Sports studies experience dissertation
Sports studies research dissertation

Optional modules
Insight and evaluation of sports development
Enterprise and entrepreneurship in sports business management
Creating business strategies for sport
Advanced sports coaching
Sandwich placement - sport
Study abroad - sport
Behaviour change for physical activity and sport

*The information’s are correct at the time of publishing, however it may change if university makes any changes after we have published the information. While we try our best to provide correct information, It is advisable to call us or visit university website for up to date information.

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