Careers

I was able to get a placement at a local school which helped me gain hands-on knowledge of what it would be like to be a PE teacher.

Conor, BSc (Hons) Sport Coaching and Physical Education

Graduate ready to work in the rapidly growing sport and fitness industry.

This course is packed with opportunities to complete placements in local schools and sports clubs; gain work experience in the community; and apply to internship programmes with professional sports teams.

Employers will see you as ‘job ready’, thanks to endorsement from the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) and recognition from the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE).

What can you do with a Sport Coaching and Physical Education degree?

Where have other Sport Coaching and Physical Education graduates worked?

How can ARU help with my employability and career development?

Teaching and modules

The course facilitates a specialisation and discovering what you love, to carve out unique learning journeys towards rewarding careers.

David Turner, Senior Lecturer

Explore different aspects of sport and fitness, from strength and conditioning to nutrition.

Through lectures and practical sessions, you’ll explore how the body performs, and responds to, physical activity. You’ll look at data collection and interpretation, and focus on the role of the coach in talent identification and development.

There are plenty of opportunities to get hands-on experience, delivering real-life sessions and finding your ‘style’ as a coach.

What will I study?

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location. If you have the choice of optional modules, these are indicated with a *.

Year 1 (Level 4)

Multidisciplinary Sport and Exercise Science 1 (30 credits)
Introduction to Sport Coaching and Development (30 credits)
Multidisciplinary Sport and Exercise Science 2 (30 credits)
Practical Delivery of Sport and Physical Education (30 credits)
Professional Development - Level 4
Into ARU
CIMSPA Level 2 Gym Instructor (0 credits) *

Year 2 (Level 5)

Applied Research Skills (15 credits)
Analysing Performance in Sport (15 credits)
Applied Coaching and Teaching (15 credits)
Sport Development (15 credits)
Psychological Profiling for Sport (15 credits)
Ruskin Module (15 credits)
Professional Development - Level 5
Strength and Conditioning (15 credits) *
Nutrition for Health and Exercise (15 credits) *
Perceptual Motor Skills (15 credits) *
Applied Performance Analysis (15 credits) *
CIMSPA Level 3 Personal Trainer (0 credits) *

Year 3 (Level 6)

Long Term Athlete Development (15 credits)
Coaching Philosophy and Ethics (15 credits)
Mentoring and Learning in Coaching (15 credits)
Strategic Sports Management (15 credits)
Undergraduate Research Project (30 credits) *
Advanced Work Placement (30 credits) *
Exercise Medicine (15 credits) *
Contemporary Issues in Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology (15 credits) *
Performance and Exercise Nutrition (15 credits) *
Advanced Strength and Conditioning (15 credits) *
Applied Sports Psychology (15 credits) *

Module details

To prepare you for university study, you can take a foundation year at the start of this course. Find out more about foundation years.

Year 1 (Level 3)

Foundation in Sports Science

Module details

You can choose to take an optional placement year as part of this course. Placements typically happen in Year 3, and your course will take four years overall. Find out more about placement years.

Year 3

Work Placement - Psychology and Sport Sciences (120 credits)

Module details

What happens on a foundation year?

What happens on a placement year?

How is BSc (Hons) Sport Coaching and Physical Education assessed?

What equipment will I need?

Who teaches Sport Coaching and Physical Education at ARU?

At ARU, you’ll learn from expert staff including practising sport therapists, coaches, psychologists, nutritionists and conditioning specialists. There’s the chance to hear from world-leading guest speakers too, through our Excellence in Sports seminars.

Dr David Turner
Senior Lecturer
Verity Allen
Senior Lecturer Practitioner
Katrina McDonald
Senior Lecturer
Dr Harley Jean Simpson
Lecturer
David Stephens
Lecturer

At ARU you’ll be based in our Cambridge Centre for Sports and Exercise Sciences, which houses specialist exercise testing and human movement labs.

Entry requirements

Standard entry requirements

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

Other equivalent qualifications may be accepted for entry to this course; please email [email protected] for further information. Applicants to undergraduate courses can also check our information about undergraduate entry qualifications.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

We don't accept AS level qualifications on their own for entry to our undergraduate degree courses. However for some degree courses a small number of tariff points from AS levels are accepted as long as they're combined with tariff points from A levels or other equivalent level 3 qualifications in other subjects.

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course.

International students

English language requirements

Contextual offers

Fees and funding

UK students

£9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

If you're a UK student, you don't need the money to pay for university now.

If you accept an offer to study at university, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your course fees.

Both full-time and part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Part-time students should be studying more than a quarter (25% intensity) of a full-time course each year.

You'll start repaying the loan in the April after you graduate.

If you start a course on or after 1 August 2023, you won't repay anything until you earn more than £25,000. This is called repayment Plan 5. At this point, you'll repay 9% on everything you earn over £25,000. After 40 years (from the April after graduation), all remaining debt is wiped.

If you started a course on or before 31 July 2023, you won't repay anything until you earn more than £27,295. This is called repayment Plan 2. At this point, you'll repay 9% on everything you earn over £27,295. After 30 years (from the April after graduation), all remaining debt is wiped.

For example for students who are on repayment Plan 5:

If you earn £25,500, you'll repay £45 a year or £3.75 a month
That's because £25,500 is £500 above the threshold, and 9% of £500 is £45.

What you repay depends on how much you earn after university. The more you earn, the more you pay back.

For more information about student loans, see our undergraduate student finance page.

This information also applies to:

Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from citizens’ rights under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.

£9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

If you're a UK student, you don't need the money to pay for university now.

If you accept an offer to study at university, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your course fees.

Both full-time and part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Part-time students should be studying more than a quarter (25% intensity) of a full-time course each year.

You'll start repaying the loan in the April after you graduate.

For example for students who are on repayment Plan 5:

If you earn £25,500, you'll repay £45 a year or £3.75 a month
That's because £25,500 is £500 above the threshold, and 9% of £500 is £45.

What you repay depends on how much you earn after university. The more you earn, the more you pay back.

For more information about student loans, see our undergraduate student finance page.

This information also applies to:

Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from citizens’ rights under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.

£9,535 UK students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

If you're a UK student, you don't need the money to pay for university now.

If you accept an offer to study at university, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your course fees.

Both full-time and part-time students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Part-time students should be studying more than a quarter (25% intensity) of a full-time course each year.

You'll start repaying the loan in the April after you graduate.

For example for students who are on repayment Plan 5:

If you earn £25,500, you'll repay £45 a year or £3.75 a month
That's because £25,500 is £500 above the threshold, and 9% of £500 is £45.

What you repay depends on how much you earn after university. The more you earn, the more you pay back.

For more information about student loans, see our undergraduate student finance page.

This information also applies to:

Irish nationals living in the UK or Ireland
EU, EEA and Swiss nationals benefiting from citizens’ rights under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.

£1,400 Placement year (2024-25)

International students

£17,500 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will ask for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter

Find out about paying your fees.

£17,500 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will ask for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter

Find out about paying your fees.

£17,500 International students starting 2025/26 (full-time, per year)

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will ask for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter

Find out about paying your fees.

Placement year fee

Living costs

Bursaries, sponsorship and working

Apply for Sport Coaching and Physical Education

Clearing places available

UK students, apply through Clearing for a September 2025 start

Apply through Clearing

Apply by phone

UK students, call our Clearing line

01245 686868

UK students

Apply through UCAS for 2026

Apply through UCAS

International students

Apply direct

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Sport Coaching and Physical Education

BSc (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

Careers

Teaching and modules

BSc (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

Facilities

Entry requirements

BSc (Hons)

Important additional notes

With foundation year

Important additional notes

With placement

Important additional notes

International students

English language requirements

Fees and funding

BSc (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

BSc (Hons)

With foundation year

With placement

Apply for Sport Coaching and Physical Education

Clearing places available

Apply by phone

01245 686868

UK students

International students

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