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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Sports Science degree - have anyone's dcs done this?

59 replies

Fredoraly · 26/02/2023 08:20

Dd is studying PE, Psychology and RS A levels and doing an EPQ. She's keen to study sports science. Any experiences? She mentioned Loughborough and Bath who both require A star AA, which may be a stretch. 🤔 She plays sport to a high level but doesn't want to be a teacher...

OP posts:
isthewashingdryyet · 26/02/2023 08:21

Tell her to work out what she can do with this degree and how much can she earn.
then tell her to do do physiotherapy

Commah · 26/02/2023 08:26

What’s she planning to do with this degree if she doesn’t want to be a teacher? It’s not much use for anything else.

Original poster
Fredoraly · 26/02/2023 08:27

Commah · 26/02/2023 08:26

What’s she planning to do with this degree if she doesn’t want to be a teacher? It’s not much use for anything else.

Presumably it's just as much use as any other non-vocational degree.

OP posts:
Original poster
Fredoraly · 26/02/2023 08:28

isthewashingdryyet · 26/02/2023 08:21

Tell her to work out what she can do with this degree and how much can she earn.
then tell her to do do physiotherapy

No she's not particularly interested in the NHS and I think you need Biology to do Physio, although she could possibly apply for a masters after a sports science degree if she changed her mind.

OP posts:
mdh2020 · 26/02/2023 08:36

I met a young man who did a similar degree and was working as a trainer in the students’ gym at his university. I suggest looking at the info from Loughborough to see what others have done with this degree

Ethelswith · 26/02/2023 08:37

Not my DC but I know some who have.

They have mainly gone in to events management, starting with sports events, but can branch out from there. One combines this with being a PT (after a period of bar work round a lot of national level competitive sport)

One is a co-founder of a company that organises running races, and which has gone from strength to strength (some in that field struggled/folded since the start of the pandemic, but this one got stronger)

Nimbostratus100 · 26/02/2023 08:40

These can be very competitive to get into, but a wide range of jobs in fitness and hospitality after

thismeansnothing · 26/02/2023 08:50

Liverpool John Moore's, Manchester Met or Sheffield halam are also good options.

Exit routes there are plenty especially if you do some additional training or relevant work experience along side. If you go onto a national governing body website or jobs in sport have a look to see what they have. Maybe the one for the sport your daughter plays. Theres Anything from performance analyst and insite, roles in welfare, strength and conditioning coaches, strategic leads, performance coach, working in funding, events management. Then there's obviously going into further research in the area that may interest her. You can go down the health route and work in sports development, exercise referral, weight management, cardiac rehab, or community sport coaching or community engagement.

bluefineliner · 26/02/2023 08:57

My DD did sports science undergrad and was quite unfocused on what she wanted to do, but didn't want to teach. One year in to the course she decided she wanted to do physio. She decided to stick with sports science, got a first, then on to a pre reg masters in physio (but that was a funded course at the time she did it, so no more student debt). She progressed quickly in the NHS and moved into MSK physio which I am sure the sports science background helped with. Wish she'd considered physio first but tbh she didn't really knuckle down until after A levels, and overall taking the slightly longer route was no detriment to her career. Many of her fellow sports science students went in to completely unrelated, non degree dependent jobs.

Meganshappyhour · 26/02/2023 09:01

It's a bit of a non degree to be honest.

DinkyDaisy · 26/02/2023 09:02

Have you considered Surrey University?

Original poster
Fredoraly · 26/02/2023 09:11

Meganshappyhour · 26/02/2023 09:01

It's a bit of a non degree to be honest.

What makes you say that? It's not Law or PPE but excellent universities do it and clearly ask for top grades at A level. No less useful than any other degree.

OP posts:
DinkyDaisy · 26/02/2023 09:26

www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/sport-and-exercise-science

My ds was impressed by Surrey though a completely different subject.

Original poster
Fredoraly · 26/02/2023 10:01

DinkyDaisy · 26/02/2023 09:26

www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/sport-and-exercise-science

My ds was impressed by Surrey though a completely different subject.

Thank you!

OP posts:
thismeansnothing · 26/02/2023 10:03

Following on from my post I did sports science. Whilst I was at uni I did 2 terms working in a PE department and realised teaching wasn't for me. I did extra qualifications on top. Got first level coaching awards in tennis, athletics, gymnastics and football. These were heavily discounted as the university was the host venue. I also trained as a fitness instructor and worked in a local gym while I was in my second and third year (and for almost a year after I graduated for experience in other bits n bobs). I went down the health route. I got a decent job in the NHS doing exercise referral, worked in cardiac rehab, got experience of pulmonary rehab. Delivered tier 2 weight management and worked in pilot programmes providing exercise for those wanting bariatric surgery. Then started training in smoking cessation. Unfortunately after 12/13 years all funding was cut and I was made redundant. I'm looking to go back to university to train in occupational therapy.

Sports science (just because it isnt medicine or law) is no less of a degree

lljkk · 26/02/2023 10:06

Neighbour's DD did SS at Lboro, now has a science PhD.

ItsRainingTacos79 · 26/02/2023 10:12

Can she do what she wants to do career-wise without a degree? Degrees are very expensive so I would approach a degree in sports 'science' cautiously. I have a DN who did it at one of the 'reputable' universities you mention OP. Lucky for him he had a family business to enter upon graduation. It's a very narrow/niche field where salaries are not great considering the financial outlay of studying this at degree level.

Original poster
Fredoraly · 26/02/2023 10:15

ItsRainingTacos79 · 26/02/2023 10:12

Can she do what she wants to do career-wise without a degree? Degrees are very expensive so I would approach a degree in sports 'science' cautiously. I have a DN who did it at one of the 'reputable' universities you mention OP. Lucky for him he had a family business to enter upon graduation. It's a very narrow/niche field where salaries are not great considering the financial outlay of studying this at degree level.

I really don't think it's any different to any non vocational degree. By that I mean you could use it to get on to any graduate training scheme. At a good university it will be very science based and rigorous.

OP posts:
EwwSprouts · 26/02/2023 12:44

DN did a sports science degree at Southampton and loved it. He did go on to a PGCE and is now a primary school teacher.

Oblomov23 · 26/02/2023 13:05

Interesting. I need to look into this.

thing47 · 26/02/2023 14:10

@Fredoraly ignore the naysayers it's absolutely a respectable degree if you want to go into something sports-related (DH and DS both work in sport so I do have some knowledge of what I'm talking about). People who think it's not a suitable subject for a degree probably don't know much about high-level sport and/or don't appreciate that these courses are now rigorous and science-based (maybe that didn't use to be the case).

It's a massively expanding field as individual sports clubs, national teams and all governing bodies are increasingly seeing the merits of employing experts in sports science. In addition to the excellent suggestions from @thismeansnothing there's also mental health and sports psychology, which are areas of growing concern, injury prevention and recovery, and logistics, depending on where your DDs' particular interests lie. It's a high-tech area too now, and high-level sport is at the cutting edge of technology for measuring every aspect of performance, from how far players are running, to the impact of repeated concussions on the brain, to the use of equipment to speed up post-match recuperation and so on.

bluesky45 · 26/02/2023 14:25

My DH did this degree 10 years ago. He does not work in any related field now. He really enjoyed the degree and found it interesting and did well in it. But it doesn't really lead anywhere except for a few, especially where we live. If she wants to study it for the interest and will go on to have a different job, then I guess it's the same as any other degree such as history of English or any other non-vocational degree. It is quite academic so I don't see why you couldn't use it to go on to any number of other jobs.

tuckedaway · 26/02/2023 14:57

Meganshappyhour · 26/02/2023 09:01

It's a bit of a non degree to be honest.

What makes you say that? I'm guessing you actually don't know anything about it and are basing your view on assumptions and a bit of snobbery. Care to tell me your thoughts on a sociology degree?

OP if your daughter has a passion for sport then it's a great degree to do. As you have sensibly said, it's as useful as any other non-vocational degree in that she'll learn skills in research and critical thinking even if she does not end up in a sport or fitness based career. Loughborough is an amazing uni but is very hard to get into.

Figgygal · 26/02/2023 15:00

No idea as to the course but i do know The sports facilities at Bath are amazing

ItsRainingTacos79 · 26/02/2023 15:05

@Fredoraly Absolutely, if she is interested in a non vocational degree and then looking elsewhere for further study and career plans.

One point to note though: english/history/sociology may be non vocational but they will hone analytical skills, writing style etc which are easily transferable where as skills gained from sports science will be niche.

Universities are a business at the end of the day and will offer whatever courses people want to pay for? Whether they add value or not.

As I said, DN got great A level grades but chose to study Sports Science at Bath despite our reservations. Unfortunately the work he thought he would get into ended up being nowhere near as glamorous as he had hoped (if you look at one PP mentioning a whole host of areas of work - technology in sports sounds amazing but the reality is that those industries want don't want someone with a sports science background, they want computer science and engineering grads). Sports science skills are not as transferable as people think.

If she's doing it because she enjoys sports then fine, take it for what it is.