Course summary

Lancaster University’s BSc Sports and Exercise Science is one of the first in the UK to be delivered by a medical school. Lancaster Medical School is recognised for its subject expertise, supportive community and satisfied students. This is your chance to study sports and exercise science within an academically rigorous environment and to combine scientific knowledge with professional practice. You will explore the science behind human performance in sports, exercise and health. The course balances scientific focus with employability, so you will study anatomy, physiology, biomechanics and psychology alongside subjects such as nutrition, digital technologies in sport and exercise, and data analysis. The mix of lectures, workshops and laboratory sessions also includes valuable experience of sports and exercise science research. You may find yourself analysing warm-up strategies to prevent injury, developing effective training and nutritional approaches for high-performing athletes, or assessing the effects of exercise for weight loss in obese people. You will also be encouraged to consider the increasing prominence of exercise and physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle, and to engage with current debates on public health and disease management. You will be taught by Lancaster Medical School’s research-active academics with expertise in sports and exercise science, plus specialists ranging from bioscientists and clinicians, to sports nutritionists and public health experts. Our brand-new Human Performance Laboratory gives you access to specialised sports facilities featuring cutting-edge technology used by today’s elite athletes. You will learn anatomy using Lancaster Medical School’s life-size anatomical models and benefit from access to Lancaster University’s new £4m life science teaching laboratories. Using our state-of-the-art equipment, you will gain the skills to capture and analyse physiological and biomechanical data to better understand human performance and activity. You will learn how to act to enhance performance and activity - whether for competition or disease management - and how to provide feedback to an athlete, a patient or member of the general public. In your first year, you will begin to explore the science behind human performance in sports, exercise and health through a broad range of core modules. The degree content covered in year one offers you the opportunity to complete an industry-recognised gym instructor qualification and a personal trainer qualification. This enables you to become a qualified fitness professional at the end of your first year and gain experience of working with people in an exercise and fitness environment over the following two years of your degree, boosting your employability. In your second year, you begin to tailor your degree to your own interests or career aspirations by choosing to study an optional module in either Exercise Medicine (health performance) or Sports Medicine (athletic performance). You will spend your third year studying at one of our overseas partner universities building your global outlook and connectivity. Returning to Lancaster for your final year, you will choose two core modules from the subjects of physiology, biomechanics and psychology and an optional module in areas such as maximising elite performance or optimising health outcomes. You will also make a contribution to sports and exercise science research and undertake a research project on a topic of your choosing. In addition, you will finalise your professional practice programme by delivering an activity at a sports and exercise science public engagement event.