Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity

Sport, exercise, and physical activity is a broad and applied discipline that examines the role of movement, exercise, and sport in human health, performance, and wellbeing. It draws on physiology, psychology, biomechanics, and public health to understand how physical activity affects the body and mind across the lifespan, and how participation in sport and exercise can be promoted, supported, and sustained in communities and organisations. The discipline encompasses both the science of high performance and the public health agenda of increasing physical activity levels across the population, and practitioners in the field work in settings from elite sport to schools, gyms, hospitals, and community development.

At Durham University, this three-year programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year with work placement, and a year abroad, giving you an unusually rich combination of scientific grounding, professional experience, and international perspective. Durham has a distinctive environment in which sport is taken seriously both academically and in terms of participation, and the programme benefits from strong connections to sporting organisations and research. You will study physiology, biomechanics, sport and exercise psychology, public health and physical activity, research methods, and coaching and pedagogy, developing both scientific understanding and practical application skills.

Graduates work in a diverse range of settings. Strength and conditioning and performance support roles in professional sport, exercise referral and rehabilitation in health settings, coaching and coach education, physical education teaching in schools, sport development roles with local authorities and national governing bodies, and physical activity promotion in public health contexts are all natural career paths. The sandwich year placement often leads directly to graduate employment, and many graduates find that their professional contacts from the placement year are central to their career development.

Postgraduate study in sport science, physiotherapy, sports medicine, or public health is a further option.