Course summary

There has never been a more exciting time to study an MSc in Clinical Exercise Physiology. As the NHS and other healthcare providers are put under an increasing burden from long-term health conditions related to physical inactivity, the demand for graduates with skillets in clinical exercise science and physiology is growing. This 1-year full-time master’s course will equip you with the critical research-informed knowledge and understanding, along with the diverse range of applied and practical skills, that are needed to work with patients to optimise health, physical function, and quality of life through physical activity and exercise. The MSc will have a heavy practical emphasis and will develop your practical competencies in a wide range of physiological and phenotypic measurements related to clinical exercise physiology. Throughout the programme, you will learn how to design, conduct and interpret a range of disease-specific health and fitness assessments, as well as designing and delivering evidence-based physical activity and exercise interventions, supporting patients to promote meaningful behaviour change, optimising the prevention, treatment and long-term management of a range of complex health conditions. You will also complete a clinical placement module to gain important supervised experience in applying your skillset in real-world settings. Clinical Exercise Physiology is a fast-growing and essential specialism both in the UK and around the World. With longer life expectancy comes a greater risk of chronic health conditions. And with an increasingly ageing population, the NHS and other healthcare providers are being, and will continue to be, put under increasing strain from the burden of managing these long-term health conditions. As part of the strategy to meet this challenge, there has been an increasing recognition of the important role that skilled Clinical Exercise Physiologists (CEPs) can play as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team, promising strong prospects for graduates of this programme. CEPs can work across a broad range of chronic disease populations, where exercise interventions can demonstrate reduced disease risk and positive health outcomes, improved quality of life, and reduced overall healthcare costs, putting you at the forefront of an exciting movement in healthcare provision, that can make a real difference to people’s lives. Clinical Exercise Physiology is now recognised as an accredited healthcare profession and formal employment pathways have been developed with various disciplines, such as cardiac rehabilitation. As such, there is an increasing demand for graduates with skillsets in Clinical Exercise Physiology, which is likely to grow in the coming years. This MSc in Clinical Exercise Physiology at Swansea University is a first for Wales. You will be taught by world-leading researchers in clinical exercise science, exercise physiology, physical activity and health, and behavior change. The course will have a strong practical emphasis and you will spend much of your time in our state-of-the-art exercise physiology laboratories at Bay Campus, which house a range of specialised equipment, including different exercise ergometers (cycling, recumbent cycling, treadmills etc), online metabolic carts with integrated 12-lead ECG, muscle function testing equipment, vascular ultrasounds, a DEXA scanner, equipment for assessments of lung function, and facilities to collect and analyse capillary of venous blood samples for various biomarkers. Our Sport and Exercise Science programmes are ranked: • Top 20 in the UK for Research Quality (Complete University Guide 2025) • Top 51-100 in the World (QS World University Rankings 2024), and our research has • 100% world-leading and internationally excellent impact (REF 2021)