Health and Exercise Science

Health and exercise science is the study of how physical activity and nutrition affect the human body and how that knowledge can be used to improve health, performance, and wellbeing across the population. It is a discipline that sits between sport science and public health, drawing on physiology, anatomy, biomechanics, psychology, and nutritional science to understand the complex relationship between physical activity and health outcomes, and to develop the evidence base for policies and programmes that promote active, healthy lives.

At the University of Bath, this three-year, full-time programme is designed to give you a deep understanding of how the human body responds to changes in physical activity and nutrition, how to positively influence people's engagement with healthy behaviours, and how governmental policies and public health initiatives shape health and wellbeing across populations. You will develop both the scientific knowledge and the practical and analytical skills to work in a field that spans clinical, community, and policy contexts. Bath's research strengths in sport and health science, and its connections to elite sport, rehabilitation, and public health, enrich the programme with a professional perspective that goes beyond the classroom.

Graduates go on to careers in health promotion, exercise referral, public health, sport science support, occupational health, and the design and evaluation of physical activity programmes. Many pursue postgraduate study or further professional training to work in clinical settings as physiotherapists, dietitians, or sport and exercise physicians. Others move into research, policy, or health service management.

The combination of physiological knowledge, behavioural science, and public health understanding the degree provides is increasingly valued as the importance of physical activity to population health is more widely recognised.