Economics and Sport & Exercise Science

Economics and sport and exercise science is an unusual combination that brings together the analytical discipline of economics with the scientific study of physical performance and health. Economics examines the major forces shaping the world, from globalisation and trade to inequality, climate change, and financial systems, developing quantitative and analytical skills alongside theoretical frameworks for understanding how markets and institutions work. Sport and exercise science investigates how the human body responds to physical demands, covering physiology, biomechanics, and psychology in the context of exercise, performance, and health.

Together, the two disciplines open a genuinely wide range of career possibilities.

At Liverpool Hope University this three-year full-time programme develops your economic reasoning and analytical skills alongside training in the sciences of sport and exercise. You will study major global economic challenges and the frameworks economists use to address them, while also developing your knowledge of exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports nutrition, and the psychology of physical activity. The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, giving you professional experience in relevant settings and the opportunity to study in an international context.

This combination prepares you for careers across the sport and leisure industry, public health, sports development, fitness and coaching, economic analysis, and policy. The economic perspective on sport is increasingly relevant as professional sport becomes a larger and more complex industry, and roles in sports economics, commercial analysis, and sports business are a distinctive destination for graduates of this combination. Others move into sport science roles in gyms, health services, schools, and performance settings, or into economics and research careers.

Postgraduate study in either economics or sport science is a common path for those who want to develop specialist expertise.