BSc (Hons) in Strength and Conditioning University of Winchester

• Enjoy high-quality teaching in a friendly learning environment
• Gain scientific knowledge, practical expertise and coaching experience
• Excel in your studies and favourite sports at our cutting-edge sports and exercise facilities
• Follow a programme syllabus aligned to UK Strength and Conditioning Association competency document
• Approved and recognised program with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)

This dynamic degree prepares you to flex your physical and intellectual muscles in a career in the fast-growing field of sports and fitness. Our course is a front-runner in its field and equips you with the graduate skills necessary to enter and positively contribute to the sports (strength and conditioning) and fitness (health and fitness) industries through evidence-based practice, as well as producing impactful research into these areas.

Centred around our state-of-the-art sport and exercise facilities, which include our own stadium complete with an eight-lane athletics track and a large sports hall on-campus, this innovative, science-based programme allows you to focus on the disciplines of whole-body system physical training, biomechanics and research methods within the field.

Expert teaching combined with bespoke amenities such as biomechanics and physiology laboratories ensures you have the knowledge base to critically evaluate and engage with contemporary sport and exercise research and practice.

By the end of this degree, you are able to undertake a comprehensive needs analysis for team sports, individual performers and individual exercisers. Using this information, you can plan and implement training programmes designed to elicit specific physiological adaptations and develop programmes to enhance broader health and well-being.

This course comprises three key strands:

• Strength, Conditioning and Fitness. This strand develops your understanding of the applied practice and your ability to teach a range of specific activities designed to enhance strength, speed, power, mobility, and aerobic fitness. This strand specifically addresses whole-body system integration and looks at factors such as metabolism, nutrition, trainability and adaptation, as well as hormonal and cardiorespiratory responses.
• Sports and Exercise Biomechanics. This strand centres on the mechanical analysis of human movement with a focus on reducing injuries and improving performance within both competitive sporting and recreational exercise settings. You study mechanical principles of motion, kinematic and kinetic concepts, develop anatomical knowledge as well as explore a range of quantitative measurement techniques.
• Research Methods. This strand seeks to develop a familiarity with both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and apply these to various sporting and exercise contexts. The supervised dissertation then provides an opportunity to carry out an independent piece of research in an area you are particularly interested in.

Strength and Conditioning is a booming industry, providing work opportunities not just for elite athletes, but also for sports teams, the army, the police force and specialist groups. Graduates work as strength and conditioning practitioners, personal trainers, fitness instructors or sport and exercise scientists. Others enter careers in teaching, leisure, tourism, education, research and health.

Accreditation

This programme has become an approved and recognised program with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) in the United States.

Year 1 (Level 4)

• Sport Matters 10
• Developing Graduate Employability Skills: Raising Self-Awareness 5
• Human Anatomy 15
• Essential Biomechanics 15
• Fundamental Movements 15
• Introduction to Scientific Research 15
• Human Physiology 15
• Initial Athlete Assessment 15
• Plyometric Agility and Speed 15

Year 2 (Level 5)

• Data Analysis in Sport 15
• Physiological Responses to Exercise 15
• Control and Co-ordination 15
• Training Adaptations 15
• Developing Effective Relationships 15
• Physiological Assessment for Sport 15
• Biomechanical Assessment 15
• Periodisation 15

Year 3 (Level 6)

• Dissertation 30
• Nutrition in Sport and Exercise 15
• Advanced Training Techniques 15
• Performance Placement 15
• Youth Training 15

Optional Modules

• Sport Entrepreneurship and Innovation - 15 Credits
• Professional Placement - 15 Credits
• Study Abroad - 15 Credits
• Advanced Physiological Assessment - 15 Credits
• Rehabilitation Biomechanics - 15 Credits
• High-Performance Biomechanics - 15 Credits
• Psychology of Injury - 15 Credits

Graduates work as strength and conditioning practitioners, personal trainers, fitness instructors or sport and exercise scientists. Others enter careers in teaching, leisure, tourism, education, research and health.

Students develop a wide range of transferable employability skills including the ability to communicate effectively and work both independently and collaboratively. These skills are valued in a range of graduate careers, including those not directly related to sports and fitness. Many students also continue to study for postgraduate qualifications to further enhance their employability. New innovative masters-level programmes are constantly reviewed to ensure that they are at the forefront of contemporary study.

The University of Winchester ranks in the top 10 in the UK for graduates in employment or further study according to the Graduate Outcomes Survey 2021, HESA.

Pre-approved for a Master's

If you study for a Bachelor's Honours Degree with us, you will be pre-approved to start a Master's degree at Winchester. To be eligible, you will need to apply by the end of March in the final year of your degree and meet the entry requirements of your chosen Master's degree.