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BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching

Key information

Why choose this course?

  • 2nd in the East of England for Sports Science (2023 Complete University Guide)
  • 90% satisfaction for teaching on my course (NSS, 2024, based on the average of Q1-4)
  • Opportunity to access coaching awards

If you love sport and want to focus on coaching, this is the course for you. The course has a strong emphasis on practical coaching experiences being applied to the sporting area of your choice. 

Our sports coaching degree gives you the opportunity to explore coaching theory, research and practice. You’ll focus on contemporary areas of sports coaching study, including coach education, learning and practical skills. You’ll also develop your own specialised coaching knowledge, attributes and abilities through a wide range of theoretical and hands-on experiences. Throughout, we’ll encourage you to shape your own professional development journey and achieve the appropriate vocational coaching qualifications to take your career in the direction you want. We’ll also emphasise the importance of developing your academic and research strengths, improving your confidence, credibility and critical writing skills. 

You might be thinking about becoming a high-performance coach, a PE teacher, a performance analyst or coach within your local community, or you could be considering starting your own business. Work experience opportunities are integrated into the programme. So whatever career you decide to pursue, work-related experience combined with academic study and a focus on communication skills will enhance your prospects.  

The University also works closely together with national and international researchers, coaches and athletes, who engage with our facilities and workforce.

We are thrilled to announce our official partnership with Watford FC for the 2024-25 season. As a Herts student, you will have exclusive access to a variety of unique career and educational opportunities with this prestigious football club. Find out how you can get involved.

Benefit from our specialist sports facilities  

You’ll have access to some of the best University sports facilities in the UK. You’ll benefit from our brand new multi-million-pound Institute of Sport Building based at the De-Havilland campus and will be able to join our on-campus Sports Village. Facilities include a 25-metre swimming pool, a 12m high climbing wall and a 110+ station gym. The gym has both strength and cardio equipment, such as rowing machines, cable stations and a free weights area. Facilities also include match-quality courts, sports halls and new generation astro pitches and so much more. There is also a smaller 24-hour gym on the College Lane campus.   

Whether you’re interested in sport on a competitive or casual level, there is something for you. There are opportunities for students to take part, compete and represent the University in a wide variety of sports.  We are also one of the few universities with an Active Students and programme. This means we offer free sports and exercise sessions to all our students and staff. This is something you can tap into as a participant or possibly also as a facilitator.   

What's the course about?

In your first year, you’ll learn the foundations of sports coaching and practical coaching delivery, aspects related to physical activity and sports development, and begin to understand how the sport sector operates within a global world. You will study two sport science modules that support your coaching skills and practice: anatomy and physiology for coaches, and exercise prescription and fitness testing. To help you settle into university life, you’ll take a module focused on developing the academic skills you need to be a successful student.

Your second year builds on what you learnt in the first year. You’ll study coaching pedagogy, periodisation and planning in coaching, performance analysis, process and practice in high-performance sport, and exploring sports ethics. The module on research methods helps you to understand the principles and methods that underpin coaching-based research. You’ll be able to use this to critique and understand the research done in the areas of sports coaching. Your sport experience learning module provides you an opportunity to get applied work experience in the sport coaching industry. In addition, we also offer optional modules for you to choose from such as sport finance or leadership in sport.  

Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or complete a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about, but it will also give your CV a boost. If you would rather go straight to your final year, that’s fine too. You can decide in your second year with us, so there is still plenty of time to think about this. 

In your final year, you’ll be able to develop either your research skills through our research dissertation module or focus on a work experience dissertation within the field of sports coaching. You’ll get a personal supervisor to support you with the research or work experience dissertation that you choose to study. Here, you’ll design and undertake your own project on a topic relevant to your area of study, and more importantly, it will be aligned to an area that interests you. You’ll also be able to study other modules in the final year, and learn in more depth about coaching in the community, excellence in coaching, psychology in coaching, behaviour change for physical activity and sport, and professional practice in sports coaching. In addition, we also offer optional modules for you to choose from such as creating business strategies for sport or contemporary issues in sport.

Applying for this course is easy. Simply add us to your UCAS account by using the institution and course code mentioned in ‘Key information’. There is no interview for this course. We’re just interested to hear why you want to study this subject at degree level. 

  For a full list of modules, see the section under ‘What will I study?’ .

de Havilland Campus

You’ll share this campus with students from business, law, sport, and education subjects. The student housing is close to our Sports Village which includes a gym, swimming pool and climbing wall. You can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner in our on-campus restaurant or bar (in the newly built Enterprise Hub) on days you don’t feel like cooking. You can also use the common room to play pool, video games or just to hang out with friends.  Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.

What will I study?

Degree programmes are structured into levels, 4, 5 and 6. These correspond to your first, second and third/final year of study.  Below you can see what modules you’ll be studying in each.     

Modules are assessed in a variety of ways via coursework, debates, presentations, viva and practical. The type of coursework is varied, depending on the module and includes reports, reflections, write up of practicals, portfolios, posters and presentations. 

Alumni headshot

Alumni Stories

Annabelle Bullock

Meet Annabelle Bullock, a BUCS gold medallist, who studied Sports Studies alongside her athletic pursuits. As an athlete she competed in target shooting and as a member of the women's Lacrosse team.

Read more stories BSc (Hons) Sports Studies MA Education
Current job roleEducation Liaison Coordinator
Year of graduation2018 / 2019
Course of studyBSc (Hons) Sports Studies
MA Education
Bella Bullock

University experience and support

The University supported Annabelle by making her one of its sponsored athletes providing her with greater flexibility and access to sporting facilities and opportunities. This helped her develop a broad and transferable set of skills and experience.

Annabelle says, 'Being an athlete and studying was challenging, but the University and my lecturers were so supportive. Being made a sponsored athlete also came with a bunch of perks. All this support and the opportunities that the University provided helped me to build the skills and confidence I needed to be truly successful in my job today.'

Annabelle currently works as one of the Education Liaison Coordinators at Herts. Having established fantastic contacts within the University, her student activities meant she could seamlessly progress into a professional role that complimented many of her skills and interests.

'I always assumed that I would do something within sport, but when it came to my final year in BSc Sport Studies, I had found my passion for Coach Education. During my MA in Education at the University, I discovered another passion for helping others and working with student athletes.'

Opportunities to explore

The University is committed to recognising talent in its students and offering any exciting opportunities that can enrich their studies and further their careers. Annabelle's lecturers' encouraged her to explore her passion for research which inspired her to continue with postgraduate study. Most impressively, the University helped her win its first BUCS gold medal in target shooting, which she says 'felt amazing as I was the only one in the team!'

Annabelle's advice for new and current students is to 'Do things that are out of your comfort zone because the skills and experiences you develop may just be the thing that your employer is looking for. Take all of the opportunities you can. I thought I was going to be an athlete forever, then I discovered coaching. I am very lucky that my first "proper" job is something that I absolutely love but I am still able to continue coaching. This summer I am helping coach a target shooting national team in the biggest junior, under 21, competition in the country.'

Alumni headshot

Alumni Stories

Gavin Beard

Meet Gavin Beard who has taken his love for sports into industry. Since graduating he has worked his way up the career ladder and is now the Head of Marketing for Norwich Football Club.

Read more stories
Current job roleHead of Marketing
Year of graduation2013
Course of studyBSc (Hons) Sports Studies
Gavin Beard

More than a degree

Gavin graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with more than a degree; his university experience helped him to gain valuable insight to several disciplines and allowed him to narrow down his career choices.

He says, 'My degree allowed me to study various disciplines, including coaching, science and business. Having exposure to these different areas helped me understand what I favoured, and it was clear that business (and in particular, marketing) was an area I felt I could forge a career in.'

After successfully completing his degree Gavin began moving up the career ladder, working at many well respected companies such as Coral, BT Sport and currently Norwich City Football Club. Gavin puts a lot of his success down to the degree he studied and the support provided by the university.

He comments, 'The variety of modules and the exposure to different disciplines within my course were extremely useful. This was crucial in helping me determine my path. After year one, I knew I liked marketing, so I worked with the ERASMUS team to find a pathway to help me study this abroad. I then studied business in Valencia for a year and it was an experience I’ll never forget.'

Aspirations for the future

Gavin is still really enjoying his career in leading the Marketing team at Norwich City Football Club. He says, 'It’s an incredibly varied role; one day I could be leading the campaign to promote the new kit, the next it’ll be marketing the Take That gig at Carrow Road!'

Gavin is hopeful for the future and says 'Given my experience, my future roles will continue to be in marketing, hopefully I will help Norwich to become an established Premier League team. Then who knows!'