Sport and Exercise Psychology

The MSc looks at the links between physical activity and mental health, how athletes perform under pressure and wider strategies for handling stress. You’ll also cover group dynamics and leadership - giving you the skills to help others - as well as data analysis and the fundamentals of sport psychology professional practice. If your goal is to become a sport and exercise psychologist, the course also counts as the first stage of your training as it’s accredited by the British Psychological Society (depending on your undergraduate degree programme). During our accreditation, the BPS awarded us four commendations for our outstanding work in student support, delivering a high quality student experience, excellent assessment feedback, and research collaborations between staff and students. We place a key focus on combining theory and practice, so you’ll get to put what you’ve learnt into action through various interactive tasks such as role plays and group debates. As the course is taught entirely online, you can fit your studies around other commitments and from anywhere in the world. Alongside video lectures, weekly tasks and discussions with other students, there will be regular drop-ins and networking opportunities. We also have links with professional sports teams and a range of sport and business organisations that allow us to welcome exciting guest lecturers as well as potential for research collaborations. Their staff bring a wealth of research expertise too, ensuring teaching is informed by the latest knowledge and research is at the heart of what you learn. They have presented at worldwide conferences and built international reputations. Their specialist areas range from social identity and leadership, applied practice, career transitions in sport, psychophysiological responses of human performance, action observation and motor imagery amongst others. The innovative assessment process will involve recording and uploading presentations, producing reports and responding to case studies. Although the MSc is completed through distance learning, you can also visit us on campus and use our specialist labs and other facilities. There is plenty of flexibility as well, with options to study full-time over one year or part-time over two years.