Sports Coaching Hartpury

Sports Coaching

MSc, Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate

This programme will support you to take your coaching to the next level by becoming a theoretically informed and evidence-based coaching practitioner.

You’ll benefit from a range of academically stimulating and industry-relevant modules, delivered by lecturers and professors who are also coaching practitioners for international, national and local clubs, as well as our own performance Sports Academy teams.

Key Information

Course Duration: 1-3 years; full-time and part-time options
Level of Study: Master's and PhDs
Typical Offer: 2:1 honours degree (2:2 applicants considered individually)

Course information

The course is ideal for recent graduates, as well as coaching practitioners in high-performance sport and those in development coaching roles, who want to develop in an academic environment, whilst applying theory to practice in real-world employment or extra-curricular settings.

As an MSc student, you’ll undertake a significant piece of research in your final year, contributing new knowledge to an area of your own work or wider coaching environment.

With both full and part-time learning options, you could study alongside existing employment or other commitments.

Academic

2:1 honours degree in a relevant subject. Students with 2:2 and relevant experience will be considered on a case by case basis.

Non-academic

Students with non-relevant qualifications but with sufficient work experience or professional experience will be considered on an individual basis.

International

In addition to the academic qualification an IELTS 6.5 or equivalent is required.

Please contact us for further information.

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To support you to apply theory to practice, we recommend you to be working in a coaching role alongside your studies. Students sometimes secure voluntary roles with our own performance and development sports teams on campus to support their learning, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Career destinations for the degree include:

  • Professional sports coach
  • PhD study
  • School sport coach
  • University or college lecturer
  • Community or developmental coach
Find out more

We're committed to supporting you to fulfil your unique potential while you're here so that you can achieve your personal and professional goals.

Duration

One year, full-time

You can study each of these qualifications full-time and subsequently complete each within one year.

Two-three years, part-time

Alternatively, we offer flexible part-time options to help students to manage their studies alongside other commitments. These options can be tailored to suit your own needs, enabling you to complete your qualification in two or three years. Please enquire for further details.

Your support network

You'll benefit from a strong support network from day one. This will range from your lecturers, supervisors and personal tutor to our specialist academic (Achievement and Success Centre), employability (Innovation, Careers and Enterprise) and wellbeing teams.

Your learning experiences

You'll experience a range of teaching methods to strengthen your understanding of topics, including lectures, workshops and practical sessions.

Course information

Overview

The course is ideal for recent graduates, as well as coaching practitioners in high-performance sport and those in development coaching roles, who want to develop in an academic environment, whilst applying theory to practice in real-world employment or extra-curricular settings.

As an MSc student, you’ll undertake a significant piece of research in your final year, contributing new knowledge to an area of your own work or wider coaching environment.

With both full and part-time learning options, you could study alongside existing employment or other commitments.

Entry requirements

Academic

2:1 honours degree in a relevant subject. Students with 2:2 and relevant experience will be considered on a case by case basis.

Non-academic

Students with non-relevant qualifications but with sufficient work experience or professional experience will be considered on an individual basis.

International

In addition to the academic qualification an IELTS 6.5 or equivalent is required.

Please contact us for further information.

Employability

To support you to apply theory to practice, we recommend you to be working in a coaching role alongside your studies. Students sometimes secure voluntary roles with our own performance and development sports teams on campus to support their learning, but this cannot be guaranteed.

Career destinations for the degree include:

  • Professional sports coach
  • PhD study
  • School sport coach
  • University or college lecturer
  • Community or developmental coach

How you'll study

We're committed to supporting you to fulfil your unique potential while you're here so that you can achieve your personal and professional goals.

Duration

One year, full-time

You can study each of these qualifications full-time and subsequently complete each within one year.

Two-three years, part-time

Alternatively, we offer flexible part-time options to help students to manage their studies alongside other commitments. These options can be tailored to suit your own needs, enabling you to complete your qualification in two or three years. Please enquire for further details.

Your support network

You'll benefit from a strong support network from day one. This will range from your lecturers, supervisors and personal tutor to our specialist academic (Achievement and Success Centre), employability (Innovation, Careers and Enterprise) and wellbeing teams.

Your learning experiences

You'll experience a range of teaching methods to strengthen your understanding of topics, including lectures, workshops and practical sessions.

Qualifications and modules

The course has been designed to engage you in the process of applying theoretical principles to your practice, enabling you to develop as an academically informed reflective practitioner.

Industry-informed and relevant modules will support you to develop a deeper understanding of coaching, coach education and high-performing coaching environments, focusing on the practical nature of the discipline.

You’ll be encouraged to focus on your existing coaching context, with opportunities to tailor your assessments to help meet the demands of your professional role.

These qualifications form part of and are at the same level as the full master’s degree. They provide the ideal opportunity for you to develop your professional expertise via shorter part-time qualifications to fit around commitments, whilst allowing flexibility to progress each qualification through to the next level, including the full master’s degree.

Postgraduate Certificate

The Postgraduate Certificate includes the initial group of core modules.

Postgraduate Diploma

The Postgraduate Diploma includes these core modules alongside focused research in a coaching context that could reflect your current role or future ambitions.

Explore the compulsory modules for this course. You’ll also be able to choose from a range of optional modules to suit your interests and career goals.

Optional modules change each year in line with student, industry and research demands.

Module credits

Upon successful completion of your modules you’ll gain academic credit that accumulates towards your award. The marks you gain may contribute towards your final master’s degree differential award (pass, merit or distinction).

Postgraduate Dissertation (MSc)

Students will develop and undertake a research project of their choosing.

Professional Development Portfolio (all levels)

You’ll reflect your personal learning needs, potential future mentors and peak coach experiences to date.

Coaching Craft (all levels)

Understand coaching philosophy and coaching behaviours and decision-making.

Reflective Practice (all levels)

Developing reflective practices and their use in coaching.

The Scientific Coach (PGDip, MSc)

Prepares students to review current research and conduct their own research projects in the area of coaching.

Coach Education in Context

Students will consider current knowledge on how to develop coaches, through a range of coach education strategies.

Coaching Work Based Learning Portfolio 3

This module allows postgraduate students to complete a work-based project defined by a learning contract and negotiated between the learner themselves, a university tutor-facilitator and often the student’s employer.

High Performing Environments

Students will develop a critical understanding and appreciation of how to work effectively within industry and multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary teams.

Pedagogy in Practice

This module focuses on the use of learning theories and pedagogic principles as a conceptual lens through which to view practice. It provides practitioners with an opportunity to increase their understanding of the field of pedagogy in order to develop a conceptual base from which to refine and critique their practice. Students enrolled on this module will be required to design and deliver a presentation to provide practitioners with underpinning knowledge that will allow them to develop more pedagogically aware practice.

Postgraduate Independent Study

You will undertake an extended literature review in an area of your choice, supported by an academic supervisor.

Postgraduate Industry Placement Experience

This module will bridge the gap between the student’s academic preparation and the real world environment. Students are required to source and complete 200 hours of industry- based placement in a pre-approved environment.

Qualifications and modules

MSc degree

The course has been designed to engage you in the process of applying theoretical principles to your practice, enabling you to develop as an academically informed reflective practitioner.

Industry-informed and relevant modules will support you to develop a deeper understanding of coaching, coach education and high-performing coaching environments, focusing on the practical nature of the discipline.

You’ll be encouraged to focus on your existing coaching context, with opportunities to tailor your assessments to help meet the demands of your professional role.

Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma

These qualifications form part of and are at the same level as the full master’s degree. They provide the ideal opportunity for you to develop your professional expertise via shorter part-time qualifications to fit around commitments, whilst allowing flexibility to progress each qualification through to the next level, including the full master’s degree.

Postgraduate Certificate

The Postgraduate Certificate includes the initial group of core modules.

Postgraduate Diploma

The Postgraduate Diploma includes these core modules alongside focused research in a coaching context that could reflect your current role or future ambitions.

Modules

Explore the compulsory modules for this course. You’ll also be able to choose from a range of optional modules to suit your interests and career goals.

Optional modules change each year in line with student, industry and research demands.

Module credits

Upon successful completion of your modules you’ll gain academic credit that accumulates towards your award. The marks you gain may contribute towards your final master’s degree differential award (pass, merit or distinction).

Compulsory modules

Postgraduate Dissertation (MSc)

Students will develop and undertake a research project of their choosing.

Professional Development Portfolio (all levels)

You’ll reflect your personal learning needs, potential future mentors and peak coach experiences to date.

Coaching Craft (all levels)

Understand coaching philosophy and coaching behaviours and decision-making.

Reflective Practice (all levels)

Developing reflective practices and their use in coaching.

The Scientific Coach (PGDip, MSc)

Prepares students to review current research and conduct their own research projects in the area of coaching.

Optional modules

Coach Education in Context

Students will consider current knowledge on how to develop coaches, through a range of coach education strategies.

Coaching Work Based Learning Portfolio 3

This module allows postgraduate students to complete a work-based project defined by a learning contract and negotiated between the learner themselves, a university tutor-facilitator and often the student’s employer.

High Performing Environments

Students will develop a critical understanding and appreciation of how to work effectively within industry and multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary teams.

Pedagogy in Practice

This module focuses on the use of learning theories and pedagogic principles as a conceptual lens through which to view practice. It provides practitioners with an opportunity to increase their understanding of the field of pedagogy in order to develop a conceptual base from which to refine and critique their practice. Students enrolled on this module will be required to design and deliver a presentation to provide practitioners with underpinning knowledge that will allow them to develop more pedagogically aware practice.

Postgraduate Independent Study

You will undertake an extended literature review in an area of your choice, supported by an academic supervisor.

Postgraduate Industry Placement Experience

This module will bridge the gap between the student’s academic preparation and the real world environment. Students are required to source and complete 200 hours of industry- based placement in a pre-approved environment.

The modules contain a mixture of scheduled learning – lectures, workshops, practical sessions and online delivery – alongside independent learning. Students are expected to dedicate at least two to three hours of independent study per contact hour.

The course is taught in English.

  Contact learning Placement learning Independent learning
MSc degree 11% 0% 89%
Postgraduate Diploma 15% 0% 85%
Postgraduate Certificate 14% 0%

86%

Teaching contact time
Teaching contact time and method will vary depending on the module that you are studying.

You'll be assessed through a mixture of practical exams and written assignments. Many of the modules will be marked based on a mixture of assessment types, whilst others will be based solely on one type of assessment.

Feedback will be given in written form, with the option to discuss all feedback with academic staff.

  Written exam Practical exam Coursework
MSc degree 0% 31% 69%
Postgraduate Diploma 0% 34% 66%
Postgraduate Certificate 0% 19% 81%

This master’s course is made up of two semesters, within which you’ll study compulsory and optional modules on different topics.

Semesters normally consisting of 12 weeks of scheduled teaching and then assessment weeks, with an overview below:

  • Scheduled teaching generally takes place across block weekends (Friday – Sunday)
  • Delivery on the teaching weekends is normally scheduled between 9.00am – 5.00pm
  • Part-time students typically study for fewer block weekends across an academic year
  • Attendance dates and timetables are available before enrolment to support the arrangement of annual leave where required
View term dates

Please visit our student finance page for information on tuition fees and student loans, as well as non-repayable grants, bursaries and scholarships, eligible to different groups, to support with study costs.

Studentship scheme

Our Postgraduate Studentship Scheme provides a fantastic development opportunity, enabling you to complement your postgraduate study with important real-world research within a paid position at Hartpury.

Performance Sports Academy membership

Find out costs and details for joining one of our performance Sports Academy teams.

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Hartpury gym

Find out about costs and details for joining the Hartpury gym.

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Accommodation and living costs

Please visit our student accommodation page for details.

For further details about this course, including the programme specification and module descriptions, please visit our document library.

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Fees & Funding

It's a good idea to think about fees and funding around your course as early as you can. We can help you to understand and take control of your finances. Here’s everything you need to know at a glance.

Postgraduate Fees Funding Hartpuy University (1)

Facilities

Our specialist facilities match our specialist nature. Students benefit from access to some of the most advanced facilities in the world at an educational institution.

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Find out more about our courses, professional learning environments and commercial industry connections. Learn about our world-class facilities and speak with our academic teams about how our qualifications could help to change or progress your career.

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Top 20

We're a top 20 UK university for postgraduate teaching, engagement, assessment, organisation and support (PTES 2023).

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World leading

Our research has been recognised as 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent' (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Develop hands-on expertise and undertake research in our over £10 million Sports Academy, enabling our students to learn using some of the most advanced technologies in the UK.

Develop your practical skills using industry-standard equipment that’s utilised by professional coaches to enhance strength, power, speed and injury prevention qualities.

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Important information

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information, however our programmes are reviewed and developed regularly. Changes or cancellation of courses may be necessary to ensure alignment with emerging employment areas, to comply with accrediting body requirements, revisions to subject benchmark statements or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make necessary changes and will notify all offer-holders of changes as and when they occur.