Interested in sport and exercise and the science that drives it? Aspire to help elite athletes perform to their highest potential? Want to make your mark by tackling health challenges such as obesity and heart disease? Explore your opportunities with Northumbria University.

With a practical, real-world, multi and inter-disciplinary emphasis on the latest sports science, our BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science course will explore psychology, physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, strength and conditioning and performance analysis to help you give future sports stars the winning edge. You will learn about health issues from internationally acknowledged experts, giving you the real-world experience to qualify for public health roles beyond graduation.

Student-athletes have access to sports laboratories and testing equipment in our specialist sports and teaching facility, focusing on practical hands-on training to set you up for a career in sport and exercise science. Attain an entrepreneurial streak, or set yourself up for teaching, by exploring out-of-discipline modules with an emphasis on sport management and sports coaching.

We appreciate the demands of combining study and soccer development so, where possible, we ensure our student-athletes benefit from maximised time in both the classroom and on the pitch. Timetabling is done in such a manner that means academic study will typically be taught in the morning with soccer activities taking place in the afternoon.

Northumbria has a long and successful history of professional accreditation for its courses. This course has been endorsed by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES).

With an emphasis on practical science, you’ll develop an understanding of the skills needed to help athletes from all backgrounds and abilities gain the maximum from their performance.

Throughout the degree, there is multidisciplinary collaboration between students across modules, and you will be encouraged to develop an understanding of the diverse needs of participants and clients from different clinical groups and cultural backgrounds. We also provide you with the opportunity to study out-of-discipline modules with an emphasis on sports management and sports coaching to further build your skills and knowledge.

Virtual, self-directed learning technologies support you 24/7, including extensive, carefully curated resources from world-leading management researchers and practitioners. Our eLearning Portal also enables you to contact your tutors in real time and to submit the formative and summative assessments that support your learning.  

Assessments are student-centered, enabling you to pursue issues and research questions of personal interest, and allowing you to be creative and demonstrate individual passion. Example assessments are reporting on scientific data, providing feedback to clients, presentations, written and practical exams, and sometimes ‘real-world’ settings such as primary schools.

• Download a PDF containing all core and optional modules from Year One - Year Three

The Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation aims to give all student-athletes a first-class education in world-class learning and teaching environments.

Expect a first-class education in a world-class environment, from our social spaces and hub areas to lecture theatres and exhibition spaces - our facilities are exceptional. For example, the 24/7 university library achieves some of the highest levels of student satisfaction in the UK and has held the Cabinet Office accreditation for Customer Service Excellence since 2010.

The equipment within our labs is state-of-the-art meaning you will be taught vocationally relevant skills in an exciting and stimulating setting. Some of the facilities you will have access to are specialist physiology, biomechanics and nutrition laboratories, strength and conditioning suites, indoor sprint tracks, an environmental chamber and the DXA bone scanner. Explore your learning spaces virtually here.

We are committed to helping you make the most of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) by embedding it throughout the course. Tools such as the ‘Blackboard’ eLearning Portal and electronic reading lists are there to help you efficiently and thoroughly prepare for seminars and independent research. Lecture capture software means you can revise previously lectured material online in your time, as well as at your speed.

Outside of the classroom, we have a wide range of socialisation and study spaces for students to utilise from our award-winning Student Central and Library to your dedicated Students' Union.

As an i2i student-athlete, you will have full access to Northumbria University's extensive state-of-the-art sports facilities.

Our sporting facilities comprise a City Campus facility - Sport Central - which was a £30 million investment made in 2010. Sport Central comprises a fitness centre, swimming pool, sauna and steam room, squash courts, four full-sized basketball court sports halls, indoor track, meeting rooms/performance analysis pods and strength and conditioning suites, the latter of which is only accessible by our scholar and i2i student-athletes.

We also have our Coach Lane Sport Centre which is the focus of all our outdoor sports and the home of our soccer and i2i programme. Coach Lane Sport Centre is 3 miles away from our City Campus and Sport Central. At Coach Lane, we have four full-sized grass soccer pitches and two full-sized 3G pitches, with one pitch recently built in September 2022. There is also an indoor sports hall, player lounge, performance analysis rooms and a strength and conditioning suite.

Along with access to our strength and conditioning suites with our qualified coaches, i2i student-athletes receive a free commercial gym membership where they can access a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. as well as an extensive timetable of exercise classes.