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What makes Sports Coaching at Worcester special?

The degree is specifically designed to meet the changing needs of the Sports Coaching profession and will prepare you for a career in coaching. The innovative and flexible approach to the curriculum design enables you to explore a range of different subjects throughout your degree. The content will ensure that you graduate with key knowledge and a keen understanding of your own coaching approaches and philosophy, along with the industry and cultural factors that influence the wider context of sport. You will gain vast practical application of theoretical underpinnings of coaching with access to a range of hands-on coaching environments.

During your first year (level 4) you will study fundamental modules common across Coaching, Development and PE degree pathways. The broad based start to your degree provides opportunity for you to be confident in your choice, as you gain more knowledge and learn about your degree subject. The course design facilitates the flexibility for you to progress onto one of the related degrees at the end of your first year.

The innovative design of the degree also enables you to specialise, if you wish, in your third year (level 6). Specifically, you will have the opportunity to study and research modules in Disability Sport or Performance Analysis. Choosing to specialise in these topics will result in you having the credits to be awarded either BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching (Disability) or BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching (Performance Analysis).

The course is delivered by a team of highly experienced and enthusiastic coaching practitioners, committed to ensuring a quality experience that will provide you with the tools to become an effective and employable graduate. Throughout the course, you will take part in lectures, seminars, practical workshops and work placements, gaining valuable experience with different coaching groups.

Overview

Overview

Key features

  • First year modules common across PE, Coaching, Development pathways offering flexibility on completion of level 4
  • Opportunities to coach in a range of sports which will challenge and develop your understanding of your coaching practice
  • Lecturers are trained and current coaching practitioners within the field of Sports Coaching, who are still actively engaged within a range of sporting environments
  • Opportunity to gain additional qualifications, such as a variety coaching awards.
  • Excellent facilities including state of the art inclusive University Arena, 3G AstroTurf, dance studio, outdoor educational site including lake and outdoor activity centre, S&C suite and gymnasium
  • Opportunities to progress onto routes into teaching or Master's level study
  • Sports-related volunteering and Earn as You Learn opportunities
  • The opportunity to study abroad for one semester
A girl holding a hockey stick is smiling

9th for Student Satisfaction

Our Sports courses are 9th in the UK for student satisfaction in the Complete University Guide 2024.

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Top 25% satisfaction

Our Sports courses are ranked in the top 25% of UK universities for overall student satisfaction (NSS 2022)

"I would like to thank all of my classmates and tutors for their unbelievable support. The staff provided some incredible opportunities to gain experience and progress my career."

Ross Ensor, BSc Sports Coaching graduate.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

104
UCAS tariff points

Entry requirements

104 UCAS Tariff points (for example, BCC at A Level).

An Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is required for this course

Other information

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk for advice.

Further information about the UCAS Tariff can be obtained from http://www.ucas.com

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Course content

Course content

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

Year 1

Mandatory

  • Principles of Sports Coaching and PE 

  • Physical Activity, Health, Wellbeing

  • Scientific Principles in Teaching and Coaching

  • Adapted Physical Activity, Sport and Disability 

Optional

  • Learning to be a Sports Professional

  • Introduction to the Sporting Landscape 

  • Optional modules offered by the Centre for Academic English and Skills/School of Education 

Year 2

Mandatory

  • Coaching Pedagogy and Practice
  • Advanced Scientific Principles in Teaching and Coaching
  • Creating Successful Research
  • Professional Skills in the Workplace

Optional

  • Performance Analysis
  • Sport and Disability
  • Introduction to Strength & Conditioning
  • Teaching and Coaching Athletics 
  • Contemporary Issues in Sport 
  • Optional modules offered by the Centre for Academic English and Skills/School of Education 

Year 3

Mandatory

  • Independent Research Project in Sports Coaching
  • Professional Placement
  • Advanced Coaching Pedagogy and Practice

Optional

  • The Sports Entrepreneur

  • Group Dynamics in Sport

  • Advanced Strength & Conditioning 

  • Applied Performance Analysis

  • Analysing Social Issues in Sport

  • Disability Sports Coaching and Performance 

Felix Hallam

BSc Sports Coaching Single graduate

"The Sports Coaching Science BSc enables you to develop the whole coaching package. With a diverse and flexible range of module options I was able gain an excellent understanding of coaching as a whole, whilst having the option to specialise in certain areas.

There is a fantastic support structure in place with excellent staff members who really aided my development through challenging and guiding me. I also had the opportunity to study abroad for a semester which allowed me to view and experience coaching in a different culture widening my learning opportunities."

Henna Kalviainen

Sports Coaching Science BSc (Hons)

 

“The facilities at University of Worcester are excellent, and the sports tutors are really helpful - they always have time for you.

"I come from Finland, but the University has such a nice, friendly environment that I feel completely at home here.

"This was the only place I applied to, because I came here and thought: ‘This is the place for me’, and I wasn’t wrong!”

Teaching and assessment

Teaching and assessment

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support through the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will enable you to flourish and be successful.

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of interactive workshops, lectures, seminars and practicals. Interactive workshops take a variety of formats and are intended to enable the application of learning through discussion and small group activities. We aim to provide a learning context that will explore the full potential of all participants and encourage excellence in both theory and practice. Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures, and practicals are focused on developing subject specific skills and applied individual and group work.

You will also undertake modules which have mandatory placement elements (of varying durations) to ensure you are provided with the opportunities to apply the subject knowledge learnt within lectures to the practical environment of the coaching industry.

In addition, you will also meet with your personal academic tutors throughout the duration of your studies here at the University of Worcester, which are designed to support your development, learning and career aspirations.

Contact time

The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected. In the final year, you will normally have slightly less formal contact time and will engage in more independent study.

Typically contact time will be a balanced blend of:

  • Practical sessions
  • Theoretical lectures
  • Seminars (in small study groups)
  • Module specific tutorials

Independent self-study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 24-28 hours of personal self-study per week. Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including the Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience, demonstrators and technical officers.

Postgraduate research students who have undertaken teacher training may also contribute to the teaching of seminars under the supervision of the module leader. Teaching is informed by the research and consultancy, and majority of University lecturers have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or 'formative' assignments. Each module has one or more formal or 'summative' assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade. Assessment methods include written examinations and a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations and a final year independent studies project.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical summative assessment approach for each year of the course is:

Year 1

  • 4 Essay/Written assessment  
  • 4 Presentations
  • 1 Practical Delivery  
  • 1 Portfolio

Year 2

  • 4 essays/written assessments  
  • 1 in class test  
  • 1 journal  
  • 1 portfolio
  • 1-2 individual or group presentations

Year 3

  • Major Independent Research Project of approx. 4000-6000 words
  • 2-3 essays/written assessments  
  • 1 portfolio  
  • 1-2 individual or group presentations. 

Feedback

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback on examination performance is available upon request from the module leader. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.

Programme Specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.

Meet the team

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience, demonstrators and technical officers.

 

dr-christian-edwards

Dr Christian Edwards

Christian is a Principal Lecturer in Sports Coaching Science and the Course Leader for the sports coaching degree pathway, and leads on sociological, psychological and research methods modules within the school’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Christian also coordinates the final year independent research project for all sports coaching and physical education degree pathways.

Michelle Morgan

Michelle Morgan

Michelle Morgan joined the University of Worcester School of Sport and Exercise Science full-time in 2011, after fulfilling a number of part-time roles within the School during both her undergraduate and MSc studies. Michelle has a range of experiences in sports coaching (both in the UK and USA) with a Netball specialism as a UKCC Level 3 coach. In her role as a Senior Lecturer for the BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching Science degree, Michelle uses her industry and academic experiences to support and develop students’ understanding of the demands of the sporting industry, including the skills and qualities needed to be employable.  

 

glyn-harding

Glyn Harding

Glyn came to the University of Worcester in 2004 having previously worked as a PE teacher, youth worker and the Assistant Academy Director at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.

Since coming to the School of Sport and Exercise Science, he has undertaken the roles of HND co-ordinator and course leader for Sports Coaching Science and has developed the coaching of disabled athletes, culminating in a unique taught degree pathway in this evolving area of study. As part of his role, Glyn supports and provides guidance to elite athletes in their pursuit of sporting and academic excellence; these have included the GB paralympic blind footballers Ajmal Ahmed and Lee Greatbatch, the Port Vale footballer Robert Taylor and GB downhill mountain biker Jessica Stone.

Glyn has been a key pioneer in the development of the Brazil-UK Football Development Course undertaken in partnership by the University of Worcester and the University of São Paulo.

dr-jennifer-joyce

Dr Jennifer Joyce

Dr Jennifer Joyce is the course leader for the Sport and Exercise Science course and her passion lies in nurturing the talents and aspirations of her students to ensure they reach their full potential. She is deeply committed to supporting students in their personal and professional growth and enjoys supporting students to develop the resilience needed to succeed in their academic journey.

David Mycock

David Mycock

David consults and researches in the field of coaching science and coaches externally in elite level football. He has helped evolve the game of blind futsal and is a qualified FA Tutor. David is the Head Coach of Worcester Blind FC and has previously coached the England and Great Britain Blind Futsal teams at major tournaments, and is currently the Head Coach of the Czech Republic National Blind Football team.

David has a variety of NGB Awards and as an ex-professional football player is a member of the Professional Footballers Association. His role at the University has grown since 2006 and he is now the Link Tutor for the SSES Partnership programmes with Masaryk University in the Czech Republic.

alexandru-radu

Alexandru Radu

Alexandru Radu joined the School of Sport and Exercise Science in May 2010 after lecturing at Northumbria University, where he gained an MSc in Sport Management UK/European and the APT Award (Applauding and Promoting Teaching Award). As well as teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, Alex is actively involved in coaching basketball – Romania Women National Team, Romania U20 Women National Team, Worcester Wolves (BBL) men team, Cardiff Archers (WBBL) women team and Wales U18 Men's National Team are amongst some of the teams he coached (as either Head Coach or Assistant Coach).

The books Basketball Coaching - Putting Theory into Practice (2015); The Science of Basketball (2018) and Basketball: Skills, Drills and Session Plans (Technical Drills for Competitive Training) (2023) are three of his key publications.

Dr Don Vinson

Professor Don Vinson

Don's specialist area is sport coaching. He is driven by balancing his roles as teacher, researcher and practitioner, applying his expertise in learning and pedagogic theory to all areas of his work. Don has written extensively in the area of sport coaching, performance analysis, leadership and higher education pedagogy. In particular, his recent research focuses on Coach Developer learning through the perspective of Landscapes of Practice in various contexts.

Don is a member of the International Council for Coach Education (ICCE) Research Committee, founder-member and Secretary of the Cluster for Research into Coaching (CRiC) Executive Board and is the UK representative for the International Advisory Board for the Teaching Games for Understanding Special Interest Group. Don is currently the Lead for the Coach Developer and Performance Analyst Research Group.

Don has worked with a large number of National Governing Bodies (NGBs) including the Football Association, Europe Netball, British Cycling, British Gymnastics, British Rowing and the British Equestrian Federation. Don has also consulted for many influential bodies within the sport sector such as UK Sport, UK Coaching and the League Managers’ Association.

Don is passionate about most sports and, in addition to hockey, can also be regularly found playing squash, badminton and golf.

dr-julia-west

Dr Julia West

Julia West has a keen interest in sport and performance. She played football for a number of years in the Women's premiership as goalkeeper for different clubs and earned her England University caps against America, Scotland and Wales.

As a keeper, Julia's perspective on football may be slightly different, if not interesting and she is happy to discuss this with all comers. Julia read her BSc in Sport from Brunel University, where she also successfully achieved an MSc in Sports Coaching. Having completed her PhD in situational motivation, which arose from observations within her goalkeeper coaching, Julia has now turned her attention to all things goalkeeper related. 

Craig Williams

Craig Williams

Craig successfully blends his passion for student learning and employability in his roles at the University of Worcester where he is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching Science, Course Leader for the BSc Cricket Coaching and Management degree and the Coach Education and Development Manager. As well as a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching Science, Craig is an affiliate tutor with the Football Association delivering courses from Level 1 to 3 (UEFA B) and a qualified and active Cricket Coach.  

Since 2001, Craig has created a vocational coach education programme that has provided over 16,600 opportunities for University students and community coaches to secure accredited coach education and relevant coaching and officiating CPD. These qualifications and opportunities provide University of Worcester students with the necessary skills and qualifications to secure coaching and officiating opportunities.

 

Dr John Francis dressed in sports attire smiling at camera

Dr John Francis

Drawing on his wealth of applied performance analysis practice and his emerging research portfolio, Dr John Francis is passionate about enhancing the learning and employability opportunities for all undergraduate and post-graduate performance analysis students. He has provided performance analysis support to a variety of teams during eight European Championships, four World Championships, two World Cups and a Paralympic Games as part of his ongoing applied performance analysis work. Producing impactful and insightful research that informs future practice is important to his research interests and is particularly proud of how his work is shaping the future of performance analysis and the role of the analyst.

Michael Bateman

Michael Bateman

Mike joined the University of Worcester in January 2017 following a career as a Performance Analyst in professional football. Mike had worked closely with the University before becoming a member of staff by developing placement and internship programmes for both undergraduate and postgraduate pathways.

His passion continues to focus around the importance of performance analysis within the coaching process and utilises his knowledge of the applied field to assist in the education of students. He also supports the University of Worcester franchise teams, utilising technical expertise to help bridge the gap between the applied and theoretical world of performance analysis.

richard-pepperell

Richard Pepperell

Richard is an experienced PE teacher and sports lecturer and joined the University of Worcester in 2017. He has been working in education since 2002 and is the Course Leader for PE and Sports Coaching at Worcester since 2018.

He continues to work in rugby coaching, as a standards verifier for Pearson’s suite of PE and Sport BTEC programmes, an external examiner at two other institutions and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

chris-hughes

Chris Hughes

Chris completed his undergraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University in 1995 specialising in Biomechanics and Notational Analysis, and stayed in Liverpool to progress to a teaching assistantship and eventually completing an MPhil in The Effects of Forefoot Morphology on the Kinetics and Kinematics of Locomotion. From Liverpool he moved to the University of Gloucester before settling in Worcester. Prior to his career in Sports Science he completed a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at Southampton University, which explains his interest in the mechanical aspects of sport, from not only the body but through to the testing machinery and the equipment used.

Find your passion

Careers

Careers

Employability

Our degree provides you with an excellent foundation for a wide range of careers, including: sports development and management, sports coaching, fitness instructor, match and performance analysts, teaching, research, the armed forces and public services.

Alongside your degree, you'll also have the chance to work towards coaching and industry qualifications. We give you the time, space and subsidies to choose from a range of national governing body coaching awards. This allows you to build your experience through paid coaching in the community.

We have a proven track record of providing placements to a range of local clubs ranging from community to professional in both coaching and performance analysis. Placements typically are evening and weekend along with in term curriculum time.

Our students have successfully found summer jobs in a range of countries in Europe and the North America. These jobs can be used to generate evidence to be used against academic areas of study.

Graduates gain employment across the spectrum from professional club academies to running their own sporting camps. We are developing a reputation in coaching and teaching athletes with a disability from the playground to the podium and currently are aware of over 25 graduates who have gained employment in this important area.

Two students are walking next to each other and smiling

Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential

Studying Sport at Worcester

Costs

Fees and funding

Full-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £9,250 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £16,200 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Part-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fees for part-time UK and EU students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the academic year 2024/25 are £1,156 per 15-credit module, £1,542 per 20-credit module, £2,312 per 30-credit module, £3,083 per 40-credit module, £3,469 per 45-credit module and £4,625 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

All Physical Education and Sports Coaching students are expected to wear School of Sport and Exercise Science branded sports kit. This includes a polo top, t-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt and costs approximately £85.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Hall' at £131 per week to 'En-suite Premium' at £221 per week (2024/25 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.

Sports Scholarships

At Worcester we are committed to supporting elite and talented sports performers who are dedicated to both sporting and academic success. Our sports scholarships are available for a range of team and individual sports. For further information, visit our sports scholarships pages.

How to apply

How to apply

Applying through UCAS

Single Honours:
Sports Coaching BSc (Hons) - C601

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application.

UCAS Code

C601

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

Debra Price

Admissions tutor

Dr Christian Edwards

Admissions tutor