Strength and Conditioning (With Foundation Year)

This innovative course is designed for those who want to train athletes to maximise their physical potential and improve their performance. You learn from leading professionals who teach you the skills you need to be a confident and well-informed strength and conditioning coach, while covering a wide range of sports science disciplines including anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, sport psychology and nutrition. It is also one of the only courses in the UK to offer around £10,000-worth of additional qualifications at no extra cost.

Foundation Year
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an undergraduate course, taking a Foundation Year can provide a fantastic entry route to a degree-level qualification. The Foundation Year supports you to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy while exploring a range of subject-specific content so you are fully prepared for the core three-year course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your degree.

Course accreditation/industry endorsement
The course is endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), allowing you to gain additional qualifications in gym instructor; personal trainer; working with people with long-term conditions; S&C trainer; and graduate S&C coach. Once you complete your degree, you can apply for professional accreditation with the UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA).

Facilities and specialist equipment

• Purpose-built strength and conditioning facility with Olympic weight room

• Sports therapy and rehabilitation MSK centre with sports injury clinic

• Six CASES-accredited laboratories with cutting-edge equipment such as an environmental chamber, Vald Performance light gates, force plates and a 3D motion-analysis system

• Human Performance Centre, giving students experience of working with athletes

• Gym

• Sports arena; multi-use games areas; and sports pitches

Career-powered links
We are official education partners of Luton Town FC and Bedford Blues RFC as well as other sporting organisations in the region such as Bedford Tigers RLFC, MK Dons, Cricket East and Be Active.

Your student experience
Learn from leading professionals in the field who are UKSCA-accredited coaches. The team has worked with elite sports people, including GB Olympians, national organisations (such as the RFU and the FA) and professional sports teams.

Benefit from opportunities for work experience at our on-campus Human Performance Centre, which offers testing to sports people and the general public; community exercise clinic; Get Active; University BUCS team athletes; and as S&C support with the Talented School Athletes Scheme.

As well as placements with our official partners, Luton Town FC and Bedford Blues RFC, you have opportunities to gain experience with other sporting organisations such as Bedford Tigers RLFC, Northampton Saints, MK Dons, Cricket East, Saracens, Northampton County Cricket Club, North Herts Knights Basketball, Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) and the USA’s National Football League (NFL)

Enhance your learning through field trips to destinations such as St George’s Park, the home of England Football; Northampton Saints Rugby Club; and the anatomy rooms at King’s College London.

Hear from guest speakers and attend our ISPAR seminar series. Previous speakers have included Jack Wells (PGA); Akash Modhwadia (S&C coach at MK Dons); Mark Finney (former head of S&C at Northampton Saints); and Phil Pask (consultant physiotherapist for England Rugby).

Benefit from the support of your own personal academic tutor who will guide you throughout your student journey.

Our Bedford campus is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know you well.

Course modules

This four-year degree starts with a Foundation Year. On the core degree course, you benefit from work experience in Year 2 and a work placement in Year 3. To prepare for your final-year dissertation, you also take two research units: Introduction to research methods (Year 1) and Research methods for sport, exercise & physical activity (Year 2).

Your core subject-specific units are:

Year 1
Introduction to sport and exercise psychology – Discover how psychology can boost sports performance. Principles of nutrition – Learn what your body needs and how nutrients work. Anatomy and biomechanics – Study the basics of the human body and the way it moves. Biomechanics for sport and exercise science – Explore movement and musculoskeletal analysis in sport. Fundamentals of strength and conditioning – Build safe, effective training plans. Developing the coaching environment and practice – Create a positive training space. Human physiology – How the body and its major organs respond to exercise.

Year 2
Biomechanics – Use biomechanics to measure, analyse and assess movement. Performance analysis – Learn to analyse performance and give feedback. Nutrient metabolism – Explore how the body processes food and how it impacts performance. Applied strength and conditioning – Plan and run safe, effective S&C sessions. Pedagogies to promote physical literacy, health and wellbeing through movement - Teaching methods that influence health and wellbeing in sport, PE and coaching. Physical activity and health interventions – Look at ways to promote active, healthy lifestyles. Physiology of exercise and training – Understand how the body reacts to training and different environments. Dissertation preparation – Sharpen your research skills and prepare your proposal.

Year 3
Applied sport and exercise psychology – Practise using psychological strategies to boost performance. Applied biomechanics – Apply biomechanics to improve performance and prevent injury. Applied exercise physiology – Learn how to measure physiology and when to use different methods. Advanced strength and conditioning – Gain the advanced skills to be a safe, effective S&C coach. Work placement project – Complete a project based on your placement. Performance nutrition – Understand the nutritional needs of athletes and active individuals. Clinical exercise – Develop advanced assessment skills for sport rehab and clinical practice. Dissertation – Conduct original research in your chosen area.

Every effort is made to make sure this information is accurate; however, for the most up-to-date information, visit our website.

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

• British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences