Sport Engineering

Sport engineering is a discipline that applies the principles of mechanical, materials, and electronic engineering to the design, development, and testing of sports equipment, facilities, and performance technologies. It asks how bats, rackets, clubs, helmets, running shoes, swimming suits, and bicycles can be made lighter, stronger, safer, or more performance-enhancing within the rules of sport, and it draws on aerodynamics, biomechanics, materials science, and computer-aided design to answer those questions. The field sits at the intersection of engineering rigour and the practical demands of sport.

This four-year full-time degree at Nottingham Trent University includes a foundation year in which mathematics and science form your core focus, giving you the quantitative and scientific foundations required to succeed on the engineering programme that follows in year two. The foundation year is carefully designed to prepare you for the rigours of engineering study, building the knowledge and skills that are the building blocks of a great engineer. Once in the main degree, you will develop your understanding of engineering principles alongside the specific applications to sport, covering materials, mechanics, design, and the testing and validation of sports products.

Graduates of sport engineering programmes work in sports equipment design and manufacturing companies, sports technology startups, elite sport performance centres, and testing and standards laboratories. The engineering skills they develop also transfer into broader roles in product design, manufacturing, and mechanical engineering. The growing field of performance sport and sports technology creates demand for engineers who understand both the technical and the sporting dimensions of their work.

Postgraduate study in engineering, sports technology, or materials science is an option for those who wish to specialise further or pursue research.