Applied Sport Studies - in Athletics

Applied sport studies with a specialism in athletics is a programme designed for those who are both serious practitioners or coaches and serious students of sport as an academic discipline. Athletics is one of the oldest and most varied of all sports, encompassing track and field events that test the full range of human physical capacity, from sprints and throws to distances that require extraordinary endurance. Coaching and competing in athletics at a high level demands not only physical dedication but also a sophisticated understanding of physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology, and training methodology.

This three-year, full-time programme at Leeds Beckett is intended for athletes competing at national or international level, or those with significant coaching experience, who want to develop their professional understanding alongside continued performance or coaching activity. The academic content draws on exercise science, sport psychology, coaching theory, performance analysis, and sport management, giving you the conceptual tools to understand and improve athletic performance in a rigorous, evidence-based way. The year abroad gives you the opportunity to engage with athletics and sport science in a different national context, which can be particularly valuable for athletes or coaches with international ambitions.

Graduates move into careers in athletics coaching, sports performance analysis, sports science support, sport development, and sport management. Many continue to work within athletics, applying their academic understanding to their own performance or to the development of athletes at club, county, or national level. Others move into broader sport and leisure management, health and fitness, or education roles, using the performance analysis and applied science skills the degree develops.

Further postgraduate study in sport science, coaching, or sport management is a natural extension for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.