Psychology with Sport and Exercise with foundation year

Explore the psychology behind sport, exercise and performance, gaining insights into motivation, resilience and well-being. Prepare yourself for a career in elite sport, exercise and physical activity, mental health, business, education, research and more, developing expertise for diverse settings, from leisure facilities to healthcare.

Our degree with foundation year could be the stepping stone you need to achieve your goals. The foundation year aims to prepare you for degree-level study and is a great way to build the confidence, skills and knowledge needed to succeed on your degree course. Please note that the foundation year is taught at CU Coventry.

Foundation year

The foundation year course offers an introduction to your chosen subject and helps you develop the necessary skills for degree-level study. In addition, you will also explore key skills such as research methods, scientific fundamentals and promotion techniques.

• Core themes: course content is designed to develop your innovative thinking to prepare you to help shape the emerging needs of athletes and the wider sports and exercise industry.

• Research and analytical skills: equip yourself with the skills and knowledge for independent, ethical research practice, applying them to design, collect and analyse data in projects aligned with your interests.

• Employability: prepare for the world of work in a variety of multi-disciplinary settings including sport, physical activity, fitness and leisure, mental health, business, education, research, human resources, marketing, healthcare, criminal justice system and social services.

Why you should study this course

• British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited course1: BPS accreditation makes you eligible for graduate membership – the first step to becoming a chartered psychologist, and necessary for further postgraduate study in psychology (including professional doctorates). See accreditation section for more information.

• Broad career options: this course is ideal for applicants interested in a career in sport and exercise psychology. Whether you aim to work with athletes across all levels—from youth and amateur to semi-professional and elite—or want to support individuals in improving their physical activity and exercise habits, this course provides the foundation for a rewarding professional path in the field.

• Career-focused assessment: this course provides a range of assessment methods. These include case studies and real-world applications.

• Psychology in action: through problem-based learning, engage in real-world, meaningful projects. Work on complex problems, create tangible solutions and develop essential skills like critical thinking, collaboration and communication. This should showcase your expertise and readiness to make an impact in the real world.

• Dedicated technicians: our skilled psychology technicians are available to assist with experiment design, data analysis and the use of lab equipment to support your studies. They can also help you with accessing and using psychology-specific programs, including statistical and research methods software.2

Please visit our website for the most up-to-date information.

Course Modules

Foundation Year:
The foundation year offers an introduction to your chosen subject and supports you to develop the skills required for degree-level study.

Modules:
Skills for Professional Development
Psychology of Learning and Development
Health and Disease
Promoting Health and Wellbeing

Year One:
This course has a common first year.

The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.

If you discover an interest in a specific subject you have studied, upon successful completion of your first year, you could swap degrees with another course in your common first year (subject to meeting progression requirements).

Common first year courses:
Psychology with Forensic Applications BSc (Hons)
Psychology BSc (Hons)
Psychology with Counselling BSc (Hons)
Psychology with Education BSc (Hons)
Psychology with Sports and Exercise BSc (Hons)

In the first year, the curriculum is shared across related psychology courses allowing you to gain a broad grounding of psychological perspectives and research methods in the discipline before going on, in the second and final years, to specialist modules in sport and exercise psychology.

Year Two:
Modules
Developing Self and Identity in the Social World
Science of the Mind
Applied Sports and Exercise Psychology
Psychology in Motion: Tracing the Path of Sport and Exercise

Sandwich Year:
There’s no better way to find out what you love doing than trying it out for yourself, which is why a work placement2 can often be beneficial. Work placements usually occur between your second and final years of study. They’re a great way to help you explore your potential career path and gain valuable work experience, whilst developing transferable skills for the future.

Final Year:
Modules
Project Planning and Ethics in Psychology
Independent Research Project
Multi-disciplinary Sport and Exercise Psychology
Optional Modules:
Change in Sport and Exercise Psychology
Neuropsychology in Sport and Exercise

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

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

• British Psychological Society