Sports Coaching and Physical Education with Integrated Foundation Year
Sports coaching and physical education is a degree that prepares graduates to work at the intersection of two important professional fields. Sports coaching is concerned with how individuals and teams develop their physical and mental capacities to perform better, drawing on sports science, psychology, biomechanics and pedagogy to design and deliver effective training programmes. Physical education is concerned with the teaching of movement, sport and health within educational settings, from primary schools through to secondary and further education.
Together they address the full pipeline through which people develop a relationship with physical activity across their lives.
At Sunderland, this four-year programme begins with an integrated foundation year, which provides the academic grounding needed for degree-level study and is particularly suited to those entering from non-traditional backgrounds or who need additional preparation. A year abroad is also included, giving you the opportunity to study sports coaching or physical education in a different national context and to experience different cultural approaches to sport and movement.
Across the programme you will develop your understanding of sports science, coaching theory, pedagogy, curriculum design, sports psychology and the sociology of sport, alongside the practical coaching and teaching skills that professional roles demand. You will engage with a range of sports and physical activities, developing the versatility that working across different settings and with different populations requires.
Graduates work as sports coaches, physical education teachers, sports development officers, performance analysts, school sport coordinators and fitness professionals. Many graduates pursue further professional qualifications in teaching through the PGCE route, or develop specialisms in particular sports or coaching contexts. Postgraduate study in sports science, coaching or education is a natural option.