Sport, Health And Exercise Sciences

Sport, health and exercise sciences is a degree that takes the science of human physical activity and applies it across two related domains: the pursuit of athletic performance and the promotion of health and wellbeing throughout the population. Understanding how the body responds to exercise is relevant both to the elite athlete looking for marginal performance gains and to the policy-maker trying to increase physical activity levels in a sedentary society, and this degree prepares you to work intelligently in both contexts.

At Edge Hill University you will study across three years on a full-time programme, with a sandwich year for professional experience, a year abroad for international study, and work placement integrated throughout. The degree is designed for students who want to combine a genuine passion for sport and physical activity with a scientific approach to understanding and promoting health. The curriculum spans exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology, and the public health dimensions of physical activity, developing both the technical knowledge and the practical skills to assess, design, and evaluate physical activity interventions.

Laboratory and field-based practical work is central to the degree, and the placement elements give you professional experience in settings such as professional sports clubs, community health programmes, gyms, and exercise referral schemes, connecting academic learning to real practice.

Graduates work across sport, exercise, and health sectors. Roles as sport scientists supporting professional and amateur athletes, as strength and conditioning coaches, as exercise referral specialists in NHS or community health settings, and as health and fitness instructors or managers are all common directions. Public health roles in local government and health organisations draw on the population health dimension of the degree.

Teaching physical education at secondary level is a further pathway for those who complete the relevant teacher training. Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in areas such as physiotherapy, sport and exercise nutrition, clinical exercise physiology, or sports medicine.