Course description

Keen to explore the science behind sport and exercise? Look no further than this action-packed degree, designed to equip you with the specialist skills needed to prepare you for graduate employment.

• Build vital employability skills on work placements with organisations like Derby County FC, Derbyshire Country Cricket Club and Burton Albion FC
• Strengthen your CV by working towards additional qualifications – we offer a range depending on your chosen industry pathway
• The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) is the professional body for sport and exercise science in the UK. We fund your student membership to BASES throughout your studies, bringing benefits such as discounts on fitness products, priority registration for BASES webinars, and access to careers guides and events. Find out more about membership benefits
• Accredited and endorsed by BASES Undergraduate Endorsement Scheme (BUES), this course will provide you with many additional benefits and opportunities, and ensures the highest teaching standards are met

Sport and Exercise Science - your questions answered

In the below video, Head of Discipline for Sport and Exercise Science, Andy Hooton, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Derby.

Sport and Exercise Science at Derby

If you're interested in the science behind sport and exercise, this course will keep you ahead of the game with specialist facilities, work placements, sports masterclasses and the chance to gain additional professional qualifications such as coaching awards.

We give you a strong foundation in the science behind sport and exercise, including the roles of biomechanics, physiology and psychology in sport performance. As your studies progress, you'll be able to choose from specialised areas such as nutrition, physical activity and health, injury rehabilitation, and strength and conditioning. Your broad understanding of sport and exercise science, coupled with your specialist knowledge of a particular area, will enhance your career prospects and set you apart as a multi-skilled graduate

To ensure you’re well prepared for employment, you’ll engage in professional development activities including internships, research participation and/or additional qualifications in your first year and a mandatory work placement in your second year. You’ll also have the opportunity to undertake an optional placement year between your second and third year.

Expert teaching

Our sport and exercise science staff include accredited professionals who will provide you with high-quality teaching and support, for example, Dr Mark Faghy and Dr Ruth Ashton are accredited Clinical Physiologists with the AHCS and RCCP. The team are actively involved in research, high-performance sport and applied sport science consultancy. They are also members of leading professional bodies such as BASES, NSCA, The Physiological Society and the UK Strength and Conditioning Association.

Dr Mark Faghy, is also part of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Exercise Is Medicine committee. This partnership will enable you to engage with other students and academics from affiliated institutions around the world and brings to life teaching, knowledge exchange and research opportunities that are promoted through the ACSM.

The team conducts important research through the Human Performance Unit and Human Sciences Research Centre. Research themes include performance profiling, injury rehabilitation, human balance control and neuromuscular fatigue – to name but a few subjects. You’ll also have the chance to undertake your own independent research into a theme of your choice, culminating in a major conference where you will showcase your findings.

The Human Performance Unit (HPU) is a dedicated space focused on providing sport science services to coaches, individuals and teams wanting to enhance their performance. The range of services provided by the HPU includes, targeting improved physical training, recovery from exercise, exercise nutrition, sport psychology, injury prevention and rehabilitation for a specific sport.

The Human Performance Unit team analyse Jake Lowe's running performance in preparation for the London Marathon. As part of our Running Package, his blood lactate and heart rate were tested in the below video.

Strengthen your CV

As part of the course, you’ll have the chance to gain additional sport and exercise science professional qualifications which are recognised and highly valued by employers. These include National Governing Body coaching awards and the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) Higher Professional Diploma. All will develop your confidence and leadership skills. We’ll also prepare you for National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) certification, if this is of interest to you. We’re one of only four universities in the UK to act as an accredited centre for the association’s Certified Strength and Conditioning (CSCS) awards.

Specialist facilities

Our Sports Centre facilities include the main hall, fitness gym with strength and conditioning area, studios, squash and badminton courts, an internal climbing wall, sprint track, changing rooms and treatment rooms. It complements our existing facilities such as floodlit all-weather pitches and tennis courts.

Build your skills in a well-equipped sport and exercise centre, with a separate biomechanics laboratory containing equipment for testing and measuring the parameters of health and fitness. In addition, we use a range of computer software packages for statistical and movement analysis. If you follow the strength and conditioning pathway, you’ll use some of the best lifting equipment available and develop your practical skills by using technology in our strength and conditioning suite.

You’ll also be well catered for if you want to take part in recreational sport – whether as a first timer or as an elite performer. We have a new 44-station fitness facility at our Kedleston Road site, equipped with up-to-the-minute Technogym and Wellness system technology.

How you will learn

You’ll learn through lectures, practicals, and seminars.

Assessment

We have received particular praise from external reviewers on our innovative use of practical assessments, which take place in our new specialised facilities. These are carried out alongside written coursework, verbal presentations, and examination-style assessments to create a well-balanced assessment portfolio.