Strength and conditioning are a key components of every athlete’s training regime. Home to the Weightlifting Wales National Performance Centre, Bangor is ideally placed to provide real-world experience in strength and conditioning. You’ll have access to the 470 square metre Platform 81 Performance Training Centre, our World Rugby and FIFA standard 3G artificial pitch and state-of-the-art sport science laboratories. You’ll gain a modern theoretical knowledge of sport science, strength and conditioning and develop practitioner skills.

Successful strength and conditioning practitioners require a varied toolbox of skills including scientific knowledge, practical expertise and coaching experience. The Sport Science, Strength and Conditioning degree at Bangor University directly addresses all of these requirements to kickstart your career. You’ll cover the core areas of sport science including, psychology, physiology, anatomy and biomechanics and combine this with contemporary strength and conditioning theory and practice as well as topics from the field of sport coaching such as talent development and skill learning.

Alongside the theory, you'll gain hands-on experience of strength and conditioning in our state of the art indoor and outdoors facilities, as well as additional practical experience in our extensive sport science laboratories. We also offer work placement options so that you can bring these newfound skills to life. Together these experiences you’ll develop the skillset needed by the modern, forward thinking strength and conditioning or sport science practitioner. You’ll be taught by staff with extensive experience as applied practitioners and who are recognised internationally for their cutting-edge scientific research. North Wales offers a stunning natural environment for your studies, and our department, which was established in 1978, is proud to call itself one of the original and longest serving Sport and Exercise Science providers in the world.

Why choose Bangor University for this course?

• 100% Student Satisfaction (Sports, Health and Physical Education – NSS 2020).
• 5th for Research Quality (Complete University Guide 2021).
• Includes practical modules and sport-related work placements.
• Close links with high-profile bodies (e.g. NHS, military, UK Sport, Sport Wales, Premier League football teams, England and Wales Cricket Board) and with world-leading athletes.
• Excellent Laboratories including £1M exercise physiology lab, environmental and high altitude chambers, motion analysis, biochemistry, cell biology and sports psychology labs.

Students will typically have one or two hours of lectures per week for each module as well as practical strength and conditioning sessions, laboratory time, seminars and tutorials. This direct contact time will be tied with student-centred learning such as reading, writing essays and reports, practicing technical competencies, gathering information and data, working on group projects and preparing verbal and poster presentations. These activities form the basis of your assessment, along with examinations (practical and written), case studies and critiques of research.

25% of students’ time is spent in lectures, seminars and practicals. We keep our lectures, seminars and lab class sizes small:

• Lectures: 30-150
• Seminars: approx. 12
• Strength and conditioning / Laboratory practicals: approx. 25

This approach allows our students have closer contact with lecturers and tutors, and all our students have access to regular one-to-one meetings with staff.

Much of the practical teaching within this program will take place at the University sport centre Canolfan Brailsford. To integrate class-room and practical teaching there is a seminar room from which practical classes can break out into several practical teaching spaces including:

Sports Hall 1
This multiple use sports hall has a sprung floor and a balcony is available for spectators. It comprises space for Badminton courts, Volleyball courts, full & half size Basketball courts, Netball court, Indoor Hockey pitch & Five-a-side pitch.

Sports Hall 2
Another multiple use sports hall with viewing balcony. There is also provision for Indoor Bowls, Indoor Cricket and Trampolining.

Sports Dome
Covered dome, contains space for Netball and Indoor Tennis courts.

Platform 81 Performance Training Centre
The training centre is used by Welsh Weightlifting athletes' some of which have competed in Commonwealth and Olympic games. Comprises, integrated weightlifting platforms, stand-alone weightlifting platforms, a 20-metre track, a wall mounted rig, assault bikes, power racks and Olympic bars and weights, as well as a large range of dumbbells with cushioned flooring.

Normal Site Sports Hall
Multiple use sports hall

Outdoor practical facilities are also utilised at the University's Treborth Site. The Pavilion offers changing facilities, enclosed viewing area and facilities for delivering seminars. Outdoor facilities here include: World Rugby and FIFA standard 3G artificial pitch with viewing stand Grass pitches – 1 football, 2 rugby and 1 American Football Eight lane athletics track, built to the highest standards with facilities and equipment available for all events

This degree in Sport Science, Strength and Conditioning aims to allow graduates to develop practical and theoretical skills to maximise physical potential and improve athletic performance. Students on this course will gain evidence-based knowledge, intellectual skills and practical competency needed for future accreditation and post-graduate study to pursue future careers within the disciplines of strength and conditioning and sport science.

This degree will equip the student with the necessary knowledge and professional competencies for future accreditation and post-graduate study to pursue careers within the disciplines of strength and conditioning (e.g., strength and conditioning coach/performance coach/physical preparation specialist). Students will also be able to work within other areas of sport (e.g., Applied Physiologist in sport and military settings, Exercise Physiologist in healthcare settings), health (e.g., physiotherapy or sports therapy, after postgraduate training), exercise (e.g., exercise trainer), education (e.g., teaching, after postgraduate training) or research (e.g., progress to PhD / Research Fellow careers). Students may also utilise their transferable skills to pursue careers in the armed forces, emergency services, or in business.

Our research-led curriculum covers the core Sport, Health and Exercise Science topics of physiology, psychology, exercise, health and medicine, biomechanics and effective coaching. Our expertise and high calibre teaching will help you gain the knowledge and skills you need for a career in the expanding sport, health, exercise and adventure markets.