Sport & Exercise Science - BSc (Hons) Degree

This degree can be studied as a three-year full-time degree or a four-year degree that includes a year of foundational study. Our Foundation Year in Sport is intended to prepare you for your subsequent years of studying, offering you the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence.

The Foundation Year in Sport will be relevant to:

• Students who have not achieved the required A-level points (or equivalent) score to enter the first year of the degree programme.
• Mature students who have been out of the formal education system for some time.

Find out more about the Foundation Year in Sport.

Please note: You will need to apply using a specific UCAS code if you wish to undertake the 4 years including foundation.

The BSc (Hons) Sport & Exercise Science degree is built around two main pillars: developing knowledge in the underpinning scientific disciplines of physiology, biomechanics and psychology, and applying these skills to real-world sport and exercise contexts. Over three years, you’ll progress from learning in supportive environments with your peers to applying your knowledge independently in authentic, real-world settings. Along the way, you’ll explore the spectrum from performance sport to exercise and physical activity, preparing you for a range of careers or further study.

Year 1 (120 credits)

In your first year, you’ll be introduced to the core disciplines of sport and exercise science and begin to apply fundamental knowledge and skills in a supportive environment. You’ll also develop key research, academic and practical skills to support your progression through the degree.

Modules (all compulsory):

• Professional and Academic Development (40 credits)*
• Biomechanics of Human Movement (20 credits)
• Fundamentals of Sport and Exercise Physiology (20 credits)
• Fundamentals of Sport and Exercise Psychology (20 credits)
• Skills for a Sport and Exercise Scientist (20 credits)

Year 2 (120 credits)

Your second year builds on the foundations of Year 1 with compulsory modules that deepen your knowledge across the three scientific disciplines and begin to integrate them to address sport and exercise problems. You’ll also have the chance to explore optional modules to shape your learning around your interests:

Compulsory modules (100 credits):

• Project-Based Learning (40 credits)*
• Sport and Exercise Biomechanics (20 credits)
• Sport and Exercise Physiology (20 credits)
• Sport and Exercise Psychology (20 credits)

Optional modules (choose 20 credits)**:

• Nutrition: Macro and Micronutrients (20 credits)
• Fundamentals of Strength and Conditioning (20 credits)
• Personal Training for Public Health (20 credits)
• Sport Ethics (20 credits)
• Sport, Health and Society (20 credits)
• Sport Performance Analysis (20 credits)
• Sport Development: Context and Challenges (20 credits)
• Sustainable Development and Sport (20 credits)
• Creating Sport Content – Video for Social Media (20 credits)
• Dance Education (20 credits)
• Models-Based Practice (20 credits)
• Athlete Learning: Coaching with Sport Science Data (20 credits)

Year 3 (120 credits)

Your final year focuses on independent learning and applying your knowledge in real-world contexts. You’ll undertake a major research project, specialise in advanced disciplinary modules, and choose further options aligned with your career ambitions in performance sport, exercise, or health. Mentoring and practical experiences will support your transition into employment or further study.

Compulsory module:

• Final Project (40 credits)*

Degree-specific options (choose 20 credits):

• Physical Activity for Public Health Prevention and Rehabilitation (20 credits)
• High Performance Sport (20 credits)

Discipline-specific options (choose 40–60 credits):

• Sport Biomechanics (20 credits)
• Biomechanical Approaches to Injury, Health and Rehabilitation (20 credits)
• Sport Performance Physiology (20 credits)
• Exercise Physiology for Health (20 credits)
• Sport Psychology (20 credits)
• Exercise Psychology (20 credits)

Additional optional modules (choose 20 credits if only 40 credits selected above)**:

• Strength and Conditioning Coaching (20 credits)
• Nutrition in Sport and Exercise (20 credits)
• Exercise Practitioner (20 credits)
• Ethical Issues in Sport (20 credits)
• Sociology of Sports and Physical Cultures (20 credits)
• Sport Development in Action: Policy, Process and Practice (20 credits)
• Digital Voice: Communicating Sport Through Podcasting (20 credits)
• Applied Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)

*Available through the medium of Welsh.

**We believe your education should reflect your interests, ambitions, and future goals. That’s why on this degree we are offering you a bank of option modules from which to select, enabling you to shape your learning journey. Having a bank of options from across a range of sports related disciplines in year two and three will let you personalise your degree, deepen your expertise, work with students and staff from different degrees, and build a wider range of skills for a changing world. Whilst we are offering you a choice of optional modules these will delivered subject to demand and availability.

Effective learning, teaching and assessment methods underpin the educational aims and the learning outcomes of all our programmes and modules. Throughout our undergraduate degrees we focus on providing the authentic learning experiences to both challenge and develop all our students. Authentic learning is a learner-centred approach in which you’ll develop your knowledge and skills by engaging in, and addressing, real life problems that demand the use of higher order thinking skills, real world resources and tools while thinking and acting like an expert within the context of your degree. Across the range of undergraduate sport degrees, you’ll experience “project and practice ways of working”, where you’ll experience working on real challenges, projects or problems set by people and communities that value to support and solutions that you can offer and acknowledge the value of learning through real experiences.

To facilitate authentic learning, we utilise a diverse range of learning and teaching methods that may include lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials and practical sessions. All of these are supported by our Virtual Learning Environment which is an integral but flexible aspect of the learning package that supports your needs. Typically, lead lectures introduce key topics, concepts and challenges, whilst seminars, tutorials, workshops and practical sessions focus on the application of key concepts with the aim of enhancing your student experience and engagement. We work hard to provide authentic, student-centred learning opportunities that deliver a high quality and flexible learning environment but focuses on enabling you to develop into a flexible, highly employable graduate of the future.

Learning and teaching methods will also emphasise and facilitate the development of your critical reasoning and encourage the integration of practice and theory. Throughout your studies, you will experience both tutor-led learning and self-directed methods of learning, increase independence and reflection and encourage you to develop a positive attitude toward lifelong learning. Along the way you’ll have the support of a Personal Academic Tutor who is there to support you pastorally and academically during your time at Cardiff Met.

Specific features of the learning experience on the Sport & Exercise Science degree include:

• Internationally renowned researchers that are integral to the learning package offered to our students.
• Excellent sport and exercise science laboratory facilities and equipment to enhance your student learning experience.
• All aspects of Learning and Teaching utilise the most recent research literature and professional standards (e.g., CASES, CIMSPA).
• Widely recognised as an applied sport and exercise science degree and endorsed by CASES, the professional body for sport and exercise science.

The assessment strategies for each module vary to ensure that most appropriate method is implemented for your area of study. Modes of assessment are designed to both enhance but also challenge your learning experience whilst ensuring that you have fulfilled the learning outcomes linked to each module. Assessment also ensures that you have achieved the standard required to progress to the next stage or to qualify for an award. The modules are designed to support your learning experience by providing opportunities for you to engage in formative and summative assessments to test your knowledge, ability, skill, and critical understanding. The undergraduate modules are assessed using a diverse range of assessment methods. For example:

• Written coursework
• Group challenges
• Oral presentations
• Portfolios of work and evidence
• Seen and unseen exams
• Practical skills
• Viva voce examinations
• Professional discussions
• Industry placements and situational learning
• Other activities designed to assess, develop, and enhance academic and employability skills

You will be expected to complete a final project as part of the assessment of your honour’s degree. Final projects are major pieces of work that may be a research, innovation, consultancy or community project.

The nature of the sport and exercise science degree requires you to demonstrate both theoretical (evidence-based practice and critical thinking) and applied (practical, intervention development and referral skills), and therefore assessments within sport and exercise science modules include both theoretical assessments and practical assessments in applied settings.

All undergraduate sport degrees are underpinned by the Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences employability framework. This framework has been developed as a holistic curricular and extra-curricular approach to embedding employability across the undergraduate portfolio, and ensures programmes recognise and develop opportunities to enhance your employability by blending the following elements:

• Disciplinary knowledge
• Work based learning
• Work related learning
• Career development planning
• Entrepreneurship and enterprise education
• Graduate skills and lifelong learning
• Developing professional identity

During your first year of study, you will get the opportunity to undertake professional development activities across a diverse range of industry relevant areas including sport coaching, exercise training, and health and safety. These opportunities will ensure that you have the appropriate qualifications and experience to progress with your studies and, where your programme requires it, apply for one of the many work placement opportunities on offer both on and off campus. We will also support you to seek opportunities to work or study abroad or engage in a year in industry.

Recent graduates from Sport & Exercise Science are now working with professional sports teams, academy sports teams as well as with national governing bodies of sport. Many students also pursue opportunities in private practice, clinical environments or in the military, emergency services and fitness industry settings. Other students have continued onto further master’s level study in the field of sport and exercise science or related disciplines such as sports nutrition, sports performance analysis, physiotherapy or strength and conditioning. Others have then further progressed to doctoral level studies towards careers as researchers or academics.

Typical Offers

The following requirements are based on typical offers relevant to entering Year 1 of the degree.

If you do not meet these entry requirements, we also offer a Foundation Year which allows progression to Year 1 upon successful completion.

• Tariff points: 120-128
• Contextual offer: See our contextual offers page.
• GCSE: Five GCSEs at Grade C / 4 or above to include English Language / Welsh First Language, Mathematics / Mathematics – Numeracy and Science.
• English Language Requirement: Academic IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in all elements, or equivalent.
• A level subjects: Three A levels. Grades BB to include Science.
• Relevant subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, PE / Sport Studies, Psychology, Mathematics or Social Biology considered as the equivalent Science. Welsh Advanced Skills Baccalaureate considered as a third subject.
• BTEC National / Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma: DMM-DDM in Science or PE.
• T Level: Distinction in a Science subject.
• Access to Higher Education Diploma: 15 Level 3 credits at Distinction and 30 Level 3 credits at Merit.
• International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: 1 Higher Level Grade 6 and 1 Higher Level Grade 5. H6 in Science.
• Irish Leaving Certificate: 3 x H2 to include Science. Higher level subjects only considered with a minimum grade H4.
• Scottish Advanced Highers: Grades CC to include Science. Scottish Highers are also considered, either on their own or in combination with Advanced Highers.

Combinations of the above qualifications are accepted if they meet our minimum requirements. If your qualifications aren’t listed, please contact Admissions or refer to the UCAS Course Search.

Further information on Overseas qualifications can be found here.

If you are a mature applicant, have relevant experience or RPL that you would like us to consider, please contact Admissions.

How to Apply

Further information on how to apply can be found here.

For general enquiries, please contact the Admissions Team on 029 2041 6044 or email askadmissions@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

For course specific enquiries, please contact the Programme Support Team:

• Email: CSSHSLTSE@cardiffmet.ac.uk