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Sport and Exercise Psychology MSc

Course code

C600PSPRTEXP

Start date

September

Subject area

Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences

Mode of study

1 year full-time

2 years part-time

Fees

2024/25

UK £12,650

International £23,615

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Overview

The Brunel Sport and Exercise Psychology MSc provides graduates the first stage of training towards becoming a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited sport and exercise psychologist.

You’ll examine the key psychological factors that affect both sports performance and exercise participation and learn how to assess client needs and formulate tailored programmes for them.

In your sport specialisation, you’ll learn techniques and strategies to help athletes of all levels, ages and genders develop the mental skills needed to tackle inhibitions and achieve peak performance, as well as to overcome the emotional consequences of serious injury or prolonged loss of form.

These mental skills are equally applicable to coaches wanting to build positive team dynamics and referees dealing with the stresses of the job.

In your exercise specialisation, you’ll focus on applying psychology to increase exercise participation and motivational levels among the public and to encourage people to adopt more active lifestyles.

On completion of the course, you can progress to Stage 2 training, which leads to chartered psychologist status with the BPS and registered practitioner status with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Throughout your studies you’ll be able to take advantage of our modern physiology and biomechanics laboratories and some of the best sports facilities in the UK.

You can choose to study full-time over one year or part-time over two years.

Dean’s International Scholarship: This course is eligible for a £2,000 fee waiver, per academic year, subject to availability. This Scholarship is for full-time international students only. Find out more.

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Course content

This course is designed to give graduates the Stage 1 practitioner training needed to become a BPS accredited sport and exercise psychologist. It will also prepare you for The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) accreditation as a Sport and Exercise Scientist (Sport Psychologist), should you choose this route.

The Sport and Exercise Psychology MSc consists of compulsory and optional modules and a 15,000 word dissertation.

Full-time students should complete four modules per term, excluding the dissertation. Part-time students should complete two modules per term, excluding the dissertation.

This course can be studied 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time, starting in September.

Year 1

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

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Careers and your future

With sport and exercise participation growing at a healthy pace, employment opportunities in the field of sport and exercise psychology are on the rise too. The expert knowledge and skills you’ll gain from your Brunel Master's, including those highly transferable skills related to implementing goal-setting strategies, will stand you in good stead for a range of rewarding jobs.

As the course is BPS accredited this could be your next step on the way to becoming a psychologist, be it in sport and exercise or otherwise. In addition, this course will prepare you for BASES accreditation as a Sport and Exercise Scientist (Sport Psychologist), should you wish to take the BASES route.

You’ll also have the skills and expertise for a wide range of other careers. For example you may wish to become a university lecturer, a consultant in elite sport or maybe lead a national sport psychology service for an organisation such as the English Institute of Sport.

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UK entry requirements

  • A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree in Psychology or Sport Science. Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS) is no longer required before taking this course; however, students wishing to enrol on Stage 2 practitioner training must have GBC either by virtue of their undergraduate degree, or successfully completing a BPS accredited conversion course.

Students who hold a good Honours degree in an unrelated subject, who have successfully completed a BPS accredited conversion course (e.g. Graduate Diploma in Psychology) are also eligible to apply.

In the UK, GBC is attained either by completing a BPS accredited undergraduate degree in Psychology (minimum lower 2nd class Honours) or by completing a BPS accredited conversion course. If you have completed a degree in Psychology outside of the UK the BPS will consider applications for GBC on an individual basis. The Society will consider whether you hold a degree from a recognised university or comparable institution and if it is of an equivalent standard to a British bachelor's degree at a minimum lower second class Honours level (in addition whether your degree includes at least 50 per cent psychology).

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EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas)
  • Pearson: 64 (59 in all subscores)
  • BrunELT: 68% (58% in all areas)
  • TOEFL: 98 overall (min 20) 

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

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Fees and funding

2024/25 entry

UK

£12,650 full-time

£6,325 part-time

International

£23,615 full-time

£11,805 part-time

More information on any additional course-related costs.

Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase. 

See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.

Scholarships and bursaries

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Teaching and Learning

How the course will be delivered

Required equipment

How you'll learn on your course

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Assessment and feedback

Modules are assessed by combinations of essays, case studies, contribution to seminars, oral presentations, poster presentations, laboratory report writing, computer-based tests and formal written examinations.

In the final year you must submit, and pass, a research dissertation.

 

Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.

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