HEALTH, EXERCISE AND SPORT
Combine your passion for sport and exercise with professional skills to help support, improve and protect the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. Kick-off a rewarding career and transform lives in the sport and physical activity sector with a Health, Exercise and Sport degree from UA92.
HEALTH, EXERCISE AND SPORT OVERVIEW
The BSc (Hons) Health, Exercise and Sport combines modules from physiology, psychology, nutrition, public health, and health promotion.
You’ll learn how exercise and sport can help encourage positive and sustained lifestyle changes and how nutrition can transform and protect health. You’ll review health conditions including diabetes, obesity and cancer and explore how a healthy diet can make a difference. Developing practical skills throughout, you’ll interpret nutritional and physiological data to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and the development of healthy communities.
You’ll explore how public health and health promotion campaigns can encourage communities to move more, eat differently, and improve their long-term health and wellbeing in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
Further to this, you will also:
- Gain an understanding of the principles of, human anatomy and physiology, sports and exercise psychology and nutrition.
- Explore how exercise and sport can be used to encourage positive sustained lifestyle improvements or changes.
- Provide nutritional assessments and learn about the nature of common health conditions that may require dietary manipulations or adaptations.
- Understand common research methods and learn to form evidence-based perceptions of contemporary and emerging issues.
- Evaluate the policies and procedures that currently guide the public health landscapes, including locally and nationally.
All UA92 degrees are awarded by Lancaster University.
KEY INFORMATION
Duration
- 2 - 4 Years
Intakes
- September
- November†
- January
- February
- April
- June
Location
- Manchester - Old Trafford Campus
You can complete your degree in as little as two years, depending on your starting point and study preference. For example:
- Standard degree – three years to complete*
- Accelerated degree – two years to complete*
- Foundation with standard degree – four years to complete
- Foundation with accelerated degree – three years to complete
†Not applicable for two year accelerated degree
*Entry via Integrated Year One or direct entry. Accelerated route for this degree will commence from September 2023
Page Section
The International Foundation Programme will be taught at the UA92 Business School
- Academic and English Skills
This module is designed to provide students the grounding ready to undertake Level 4 study. It focuses on developing students’ knowledge, communication, analytical, critical thinking and key transferable skills which support undergraduate study. It includes a planned combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars, peer support activities, and blended learning to enable candidates to achieve these essential skills. There is an emphasis on student-driven learning and student engagement and participation in the design and evaluation of the module.
- Introduction to Numerical Techniques
This module will introduce students to basic maths theory and concepts to prepare them for studies in the first year of a degree. It includes a planned combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars, peer support activities, and blended learning to enable candidates to achieve these essential skills. There is an emphasis on student-driven learning and student engagement and participation in the design and evaluation of the module.
- Introduction to Research
This module is designed to provide students with the necessary research skills to be able to succeed at Level 4 study and beyond. It will enable students to understand, generate, analyse and interpret data and to draw valid conclusions from data. It develops students research skills, how to conduct effective research supported by a clear research plan and data analysis techniques. It includes a planned combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars, peer support activities, and blended learning to enable candidates to achieve these essential skills. There is an emphasis on student-driven learning and student engagement and participation in the design and evaluation of the module.
- Introduction to Media and Communications
This module is part of a planned pedagogic approach to ensure students are prepared to achieve and succeed in undergraduate study. It focuses on developing students’ knowledge, communication, analytical, critical thinking and key transferable skills which support undergraduate study. It includes a planned combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, practical work, peer support activities, and blended learning to enable candidates to achieve these essential skills. There is an emphasis on student-driven learning and student engagement and participation in the design and evaluation of the module.
Coaching Active Lifestyles
Motivate and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to embrace a life-long active lifestyle. Learn how to develop activities and programmes that are inclusive, engaging and promote long-term healthy participation in physical activity and sport. Advocate for the importance of physical activity in promoting individual and community well-being, across a range of ages and in various populations, including those with additional needs.
Introduction to Sports and Exercise Psychology
Sports and exercise psychology helps you understand how your thoughts, feelings, and motivations affect your sporting performance and/or enjoyment of physical activity. You’ll dive into the world of psychology itself and its position as an evidence-based science. This lays the foundation for understanding how these principles apply to individuals and groups across education, physical activity, health and sport settings.
Nutrition for Health, Exercise and Sport
This introduction to nutrition module is designed to help you understand the food and fluids that fuel and support your body’s functions. We’ll break down the science of nutrition including different food groups, exploring how nutrients work and their role in a healthy well-balanced diet. You will learn how to talk in food terms and prepare food which is suitably aligned to government guidelines like the Eatwell Guide and wider sports nutrition recommendations for a range of populations.
Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology
Level up your anatomy and physiology knowledge, essential prep for the rest of your degree studies. This module is designed to help you grasp a basic knowledge of human anatomy (skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory) and physiology (muscular, cardiovascular and respiratory), in order to understand how your body functions and moves in and out of sport and physical activity settings.
Interactive Learning and Communication Skills (Integrated Year One only)
Designed for international students, this entry point will develop a greater understanding of the skills you will need to develop in order to successfully and confidently progress with your UK degree.
The additional module has been designed to help students develop their academic literacy, and research and communication skills in preparation for undergraduate study. The areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening will be covered. The Integrated Year One will also help students understand the institutional culture, practices and core terminology of UK higher education.
Integrated Year One students will study all academic modules with direct Year One entrants. Additional support and guidance, designed for international students, will also be provided.
The Integrated Year One accepts students with a lower academic level than the standard Year One.
Physiology and Nutritional Demands of Human Activity
This module will further develop your knowledge about how your body works and what it needs to keep moving and functioning well. We’ll delve into the science of physiology and nutrition, exploring how your body functions at rest, during and post exercise. Explore key physiological and nutritional considerations for special population groups and/or those with long-term health conditions. This knowledge is key for success in a variety of careers, from sports science to public health.
Sports and Exercise Psychology
In this module you will dive further into the world of sport and exercise psychology. You’ll level up your understanding by exploring key theoretical concepts in more depth, such as behaviour change. As a result, you’ll be able to help participants identify and address any psychological barriers, across education, physical activity, health, and sport settings, which might be holding them back. They’ll also be opportunity to develop your applied practitioner skills.
Nutrition and Metabolism for Health, Exercise and Sport
In this module you will get to grips with nutritional assessments. You’ll learn how to assess someone’s nutritional health, from individuals to entire populations. Utilise data to create personalised nutrition plans that optimise health. Explore different assessment methods used to collect, analyse, and interpret information on the nutritional status of individuals and groups. This will help you identify specific dietary requirements, malnutrition, overconsumption, or optimal nutritional status, giving you the skills to recommend adaptations for health and/or performance gains.
Public Health and Policy
Inspire communities to lead healthy and active lifestyles. This module will introduce you to the world of public health. You’ll explore the impact of behaviour change programmes, investigate strategies used to improve public health and how to influence and/or support the roll-out of government policy. You’ll focus on prevention and promotion – how to keep people healthy before they get sick! By the end of this module, you will have an understanding of the health landscape and how you can work with key stakeholders to create and maintain healthier communities.
Exercise and Health Promotion
This module focuses on health promotion and how to put it into action. Get ready to transform theory into real-world practice, drawing upon relevant models and frameworks to guide your planning and actions. You will learn how to consider and address the biology, psychology, and social factors that all play a role in the health of individuals and groups. By understanding these connections, you’ll learn how to support the promotion of sustainable healthy behaviours, and even help people change their habits for the better.
Advanced Nutrition for Health, Exercise and Sport
This module will explore the powerful relationship between food and health! You’ll explore how diet can positively or negatively influence common health conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and more. You’ll continue to learn how to safely prepare food which considers the dietary needs of specific population groups. For example, those who maybe faith observing, adhering to other special dietary requirements or people with additional needs. This advanced module will take your nutrition knowledge to the next level!
Contemporary Issues in Sports
Learn how to apply research techniques and real-world experiences to solve problems in your chosen field. Dive into cutting-edge issues in your chosen area, and build your own arguments based on real evidence. You’ll learn to analyse different types of research (qualitative and quantitative) and use them to explore a specific topic of personal interest. You’ll also hone your skills in making clear, persuasive arguments that will later inform your decision making, including your research project questions.
Final Projects
You will complete a final project to demonstrate your academic experience, knowledge, and skills. This project is an opportunity to apply what you have learned to a real-world problem or challenge.
A Health, Exercise and Sport degree will set you up with the skills to specialise in a range of areas across the sport and physical activity sector, including nutrition, fitness and public health.
You could work in exercise and fitness, leisure operations or community sport. You could go into a job as a health promoter, health navigator, wellbeing champion, group exercise instructor, or become a community health champion for the NHS, a charity, research centres or rehabilitation centre.