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Sport and Exercise Psychology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

7Dec
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Want to take your first steps on the path to becoming a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist or Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Practitioner Psychologist? On this BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Psychology degree course – accredited by the BPS – you’ll use the latest equipment and techniques in our comprehensively equipped laboratories, and be taught by our team of BPS Chartered and HCPC Registered psychologists.

  • Use psychology and sports science facilities including a psychology laboratory (with interview room and media suite), biomechanics and kinanthropometry labs, and immersion pool and climatic chambers – for manipulating temperature, humidity and altitude
  • Get your hands on specialist equipment like PLATO Liquid Crystal Spectacles and our ASL Mobile Eye System, which you can use to measure performance and get the most out of athletes
  • Be taught by BPS Chartered and HCPC Registered psychologists who have extensive professional experience and access to the latest sport psychology research
Accredited by: This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). Careers and opportunities Sport and exercise psychologists help athletes, teams and amateur sportspeople deal with the mental demands of their sport. They work to improve the mindsets, behaviours and patterns of thinking that influence people involved in sport, while also aiming for progression in personal development and sporting performance. You'll be eligible to apply for Chartered Membership of the BPS on a graduate basis (GBC) – the first step to becoming a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist or HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologist. To become Chartered, you'll also need to do further academic training for up to 5 years, including an MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology. What jobs can you do with a sport and exercise psychology degree? Roles you can do after the course include:
  • sport and exercise psychologist (with further training)
  • sport and exercise scientist
  • management roles in national governing bodies
  • teacher/lecturer
  • researcher/scientist
  • health promotion worker
Graduate roles Roles our previous graduates have gone on to work in, include:
  • PE teacher
  • personal trainer
  • wellbeing access worker
  • special educational needs and disabilities mentor
Placement year Either before or following your third year, you have the option to choose a work placement year to gain valuable longer-term work experience in the industry. A placement year gives you the opportunity to apply your knowledge in a real workplace, boosting your employability and making you stand out to employers after the course. You can work for a company or organisation here in the UK or overseas, or you could go independent by setting up and running your own business with other students. Whichever route you choose, you'll receive support and guidance. Our specialist team of Science and Health Careers advisors can help you with finding a work placement and improving your employability skills. They'll provide you with a database of placement vacancies, support with your job search – including help with applications and interviews – and support throughout your placement year. Potential placement destinations Recent students have completed placements at:
  • Bristol City FC
  • Chichester and Selsey Ladies FC
  • The Richmond Group
  • Neurokinex
  • Other professional sports clubs, sports injuries clinics, schools, the NHS and within universities

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Conducting Research in Sport and Exercise Psychology (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Sport and Exercise Psychology (40 credits)
  • Psychosocial Perspectives On the Management of Sports and Physical Activity (40 credits)
  • The Evolution of Sport and Exercise Psychology (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Biological & Cognitive Psychology (20 credits)
  • Individual Differences & Psychometrics (20 credits)
  • Preparing Research, Innovation Or Enterprise Projects (20 credits)
  • Principles of Skill Acquisition (20 credits)
  • Psychology of Sport and Exercise (20 credits)
  • Social & Developmental Psychology (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Placement year On this course, you can choose an optional placement year between your 2nd and 3rd year of studies or after your 3rd year. During the study abroad placement year, you'll experience life at a university in another country. Alternatively, you can spend a year developing your experience in industry in the UK or abroad with the work placement year. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year. You'll have to take one of these optional modules to complete your placement year. SHES Sandwich Year (Study Placement) – 120 credits SHES Sandwich Year (Work Placement) – 120 credits Year 3 Core modules in this year include:
  • Applications of Sport and Exercise Psychology (20 credits)
  • Applied Skill Acquisition (20 credits)
  • Biopsychosocial Approaches to Physical Activity and Health Promotion (20 credits)
  • Project (40 credits)
Optional modules in this year include:
  • Issues in Clinical and Health Psychology (20 credits)
  • Neuroscience (20 credits)
  • Practical Applications of Performance Analysis (20 credits)
  • Social Construction of Disability (20 credits)
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through essays, laboratory reports, presentations, projects, exams, reflective accounts. You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

  • Year 1 students: 47% by written exams and 53% by coursework
  • Year 2 students: 64% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 28% by coursework
- Year 3 students: 25% by practical exams and 75% by coursework

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • British Psychological Society

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
69%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
90%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2024/25): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship) International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Sport and Exercise Psychology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS