Sport Development

Overview

Learn how to help people lead healthy, active lifestyles with UWS’s BSc (Hons) Sport Development programme.

The programme teaches development of sport and development through sport by exploring its contributions to health, communities, economies, and societies on global and local scales.

The programme is unique in Scotland and was developed in consultation with partners from national sport organisations and governing bodies, NHS and the third sector, as well as senior sport development officers and expert coaches.

The programme boasts strong links to industry which are reflected in course and work and employment opportunities available to UWS students.

Programme highlights

• In Honours year, you’ll have the opportunity to tailor your learning to align with your interests and career goals.
• UWS have excellent links with a number of clubs and organisations, who provide work-based learning opportunities including many SPFL football clubs, Active Schools and South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture.
• UWS have excellent links with a number of clubs and organisations, who provide work-based learning opportunities including many SPFL football clubs, Active Schools and South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture.
• This programme is offered at the state-of-the-art Lanarkshire Campus with elements also delivered at the Emirates Arena – a world-class sports facility built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and the home of many Scottish governing bodies in sport.
• Throughout your studies, you will undertake various modules which allow you to achieve endorsement against professional standards set by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport & Physical Activity (CMSPA) for its undergraduate degree programmes in sport. They include recognitions for awards in: Gym Instruction; Safeguarding & Protecting Children; Coaching Assistant; and Working with Inactive People.
• Students have the opportunity to extend their understanding of their degree by undertaking an intensive investigation of a related topic within an international setting. An elective module takes students to an international destination to experience first-hand what it is like to operate in a successful sports-related industry in another country.

Careers

The programme will not only prepare you for a successful career in sport development but also roles in sport, leisure and education settings. It will equip you with the knowledge and skills to find opportunities in a wide range of roles, including:

• Local authorities
• Active Schools
• Enterprise and management
• Sport, physical activity and health and education programmes
• Sport coaches
• Health and well-being officers
• Fitness club managers

Many graduates go on to postgraduate courses in PE teaching, including the PGDE (Secondary) Physical Education and Postgraduate Certificate in Primary Physical Education at UWS Ayr, or the MSc Sport and Exercise at UWS Lanarkshire. Others take part in or lead funded research projects with partner organisations.

Throughout the course, a variety of topics will be covered starting from a basic understanding of sport development, sport coaching, and sport and exercise science. You will then develop your understanding of sport policy, coaching practice, and psycho-social aspects of sport and physical activity.. In later years you will begin to specialise in sport development, putting theory into practice through placements. You will study modules including social issues in sport, sport management and enterprise, as well as modules exploring key domains of public health and physical education. Your final year will consolidate the theory you have learned with sport-related modules including global issues in sport development and operational aspects of sport and physical activity while offering a range of optional modules for you to explore your specialist interests These include sport development and the outdoors, interventions in sport and physical activity, adapted and inclusive sport, and mental health in sport and physical activity. You will complete your studies by presenting a dissertation on a topic of your choice.

This degree will be taught through a combination of learning methods including tutor-led lectures, tutorials and seminars, practical workshops and exercises in a simulated work environment, small group teaching and group project work. Independent, online and peer-to-peer learning is an important element of this course.

The BSc (Hons) Sport Development degree uses a variety of assessment methods. The below list provides a guide to the types of assessment methods you can expect:

• group and individual work
• multiple-choice exams
• reflective practice reports
• essays
• case study deconstruction
• practical examination
• research production
• journal reviews