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.
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
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).
Students will develop and undertake a research project of their choosing.
You’ll reflect your personal learning needs, potential future mentors and peak coach experiences to date.
Understand coaching philosophy and coaching behaviours and decision-making.
Developing reflective practices and their use in coaching.
Prepares students to review current research and conduct their own research projects in the area of coaching.
Students will consider current knowledge on how to develop coaches, through a range of coach education strategies.
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.
Students will develop a critical understanding and appreciation of how to work effectively within industry and multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary teams.
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.
You will undertake an extended literature review in an area of your choice, supported by an academic supervisor.
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
Students will develop and undertake a research project of their choosing.
You’ll reflect your personal learning needs, potential future mentors and peak coach experiences to date.
Understand coaching philosophy and coaching behaviours and decision-making.
Developing reflective practices and their use in coaching.
Prepares students to review current research and conduct their own research projects in the area of coaching.
Optional modules
Students will consider current knowledge on how to develop coaches, through a range of coach education strategies.
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.
Students will develop a critical understanding and appreciation of how to work effectively within industry and multi-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary teams.
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.
You will undertake an extended literature review in an area of your choice, supported by an academic supervisor.
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% |
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
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.
Hartpury gym
Find out about costs and details for joining the Hartpury gym.
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.
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.
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.
Top 20
We're a top 20 UK university for postgraduate teaching, engagement, assessment, organisation and support (PTES 2023).
World leading
Our research has been recognised as 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent' (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
“Hartpury University has helped me to grow as an individual both as a coach and person. I have also had opportunities to work with Gloucester Rugby and build contacts with other clubs, and to go and see how England Rugby train. All this has come from being involved in Hartpury and being able to put myself out there.
Going from undergraduate to postgraduate study and working as a coach shows how the opportunities at Hartpury University are endless and has allowed me to create a career, which hopefully will take me on an exciting journey in the future.”
Justin Smith, Hartpury graduate and Performance Analyst and Team Manager, Hartpury Rugby Academy
“Hartpury University has helped me to grow as an individual both as a coach and person. I have also had opportunities to work with Gloucester Rugby and build contacts with other clubs, and to go and see how England Rugby train. All this has come from being involved in Hartpury and being able to put myself out there.
Going from undergraduate to postgraduate study and working as a coach shows how the opportunities at Hartpury University are endless and has allowed me to create a career, which hopefully will take me on an exciting journey in the future.”
Justin Smith, Hartpury graduate and Performance Analyst and Team Manager, Hartpury Rugby Academy
“I combined my studies with coaching and eventually accepted a full-time role as Hartpury’s senior football coach and Elite Sport support officer.
The opportunity to study and coach in the elite sports programmes enabled me to learn from the best and I supported my development through coach education courses and networking. The invaluable experience and contacts I made undoubtedly led to me securing my current role.”
Hartpury graduate and Academy Manager, Cheltenham Town FC
“I combined my studies with coaching and eventually accepted a full-time role as Hartpury’s senior football coach and Elite Sport support officer.
The opportunity to study and coach in the elite sports programmes enabled me to learn from the best and I supported my development through coach education courses and networking. The invaluable experience and contacts I made undoubtedly led to me securing my current role.”
Hartpury graduate and Academy Manager, Cheltenham Town FC
“My research focuses on the sociology of sports coaching and pedagogy, specifically examining the complexity of the inter-active coaching context, and how practitioners manage the power-ridden dilemmas that arise.
As a UEFA ‘A’ Licence coaching practitioner (Hartpury Uni FC Head Coach) and coach educator (FAW B Licence Tutor), I’m able to combine theoretical knowledge with applied experiences to enhance student learning.”
Dr. Martin Longworth, Programme Manager, MSc Sports Coaching
“My research focuses on the sociology of sports coaching and pedagogy, specifically examining the complexity of the inter-active coaching context, and how practitioners manage the power-ridden dilemmas that arise.
As a UEFA ‘A’ Licence coaching practitioner (Hartpury Uni FC Head Coach) and coach educator (FAW B Licence Tutor), I’m able to combine theoretical knowledge with applied experiences to enhance student learning.”
Dr. Martin Longworth, Programme Manager, MSc Sports Coaching
“Hartpury provides a great environment to get better and better – whether you’re competing in sport, coaching it, or learning.
I gained a lot of practical experience as part of the degree and was able to coach one of the Hartpury rugby teams alongside my studies. The lecturers are passionate about their subjects and helping people; it’s like being coached rather than taught, because of the specialist skill sets and real experiences they have.”
Ryszard-Chadwick, Hartpury graduate and Development Manager, Play Rugby USA
“Hartpury provides a great environment to get better and better – whether you’re competing in sport, coaching it, or learning.
I gained a lot of practical experience as part of the degree and was able to coach one of the Hartpury rugby teams alongside my studies. The lecturers are passionate about their subjects and helping people; it’s like being coached rather than taught, because of the specialist skill sets and real experiences they have.”
Ryszard-Chadwick, Hartpury graduate and Development Manager, Play Rugby USA
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.
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