COURSE CURRICULUM

The MSc Strength and Conditioning programme provides an advanced and practical education designed to prepare graduates for professional careers in athletic performance and sport science. To achieve the MSc qualification, students complete 180 credits through a combination of taught modules and an independent research project, while exit awards are available at Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma levels. The programme develops expertise in research design, data collection, statistical analysis, and reporting through the Advanced Research Methods module, ensuring students can undertake high-quality scientific investigations. Practical experience is a central feature of the course, with the Athlete Performance Management in Practice module requiring students to complete 150 hours of supervised applied work with athletes or teams, helping them develop essential practitioner skills and professional confidence. Students gain an in-depth understanding of the scientific principles underpinning physical adaptation, training prescription, and performance enhancement through the Strength and Conditioning Science module, while also learning to collect, analyse, and interpret athlete data using specialist technologies. Advanced Resistance Training Methodologies builds expertise in contemporary training practices such as velocity-based training, cluster sets, and eccentric loading, enabling students to design and justify evidence-based interventions for a variety of sporting contexts. The Field-Based Conditioning and Monitoring module focuses on speed, agility, plyometrics, metabolic conditioning, and performance monitoring, while exploring the neuromuscular, biomechanical, and physiological principles that support athletic development. The programme culminates in an Independent Research in Sport and Exercise project, where students design and conduct original research under expert supervision, developing advanced analytical and critical thinking skills while contributing new knowledge to the field. Overall, the course combines scientific understanding, applied practice, and research expertise to prepare graduates for careers in elite sport, performance environments, and further academic study.