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This Master's degree is designed to support students in developing into outstanding Strength and Conditioning coaches. 

  • St Mary's MSc in S&C was the first distance learning course of its kind in the UK
  • The course is distinct from many others in the sector in emphasising the development of coaching skills
  • Be taught in a state of the art, £250,000 Performance Education Centre

Why study Strength and Conditioning (Distance Learning)?

To be an excellent strength and conditioning coach requires a wide knowledge across several domains and a number of different skill sets. These include:

  • An extensive "toolbox" of training exercises and interventions
  • An understanding of movement and the ability to teach movement
  • An understanding of how the body adapts to training and how to organise training to maximise desirable  adaptations
  • An ability to coach
  • The ability to understand various sources of evidence (including scientific evidence) and use it to inform your  practice

Our Master's degree in Strength and Conditioning has been designed with these demands in mind and aims to support students in developing as excellent strength and conditioning coaches.

Why St Mary's?

We're widely recognised as an international leader in strength and conditioning education. We were the first UK institution to offer an undergraduate degree in strength and conditioning, and this Master's programme was the first part-time, distance learning strength and conditioning course in the UK.

In recent years the University has invested £250,000 in a state of the art Performance Education Centre, which is unrivalled as a facility for strength and conditioning education.

Our staff includes both highly experienced coaches and expert sport scientists. All of the course material is designed specifically for the strength and conditioning degree, ensuring that the practical relevance of the scientific evidence to the strength and conditioning coach is always fully explored.

The distance learning nature of this course has several advantages for professionals. Principal among these is the opportunity to combine study with practical work experience, allowing the translation of science into practice. In addition, you can organise your study around your own personal schedule. You can download lectures and watch them at times that suit you.

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Course lead

Dr Dan Cleather headshotDr Dan Cleather
Programme Director - Strength and Conditioning

Entry requirements

2:2 Previous degree

A 2:2 in an undergraduate degree, preferably in Sport Science or a related field.

Additional requirement information

Experience in the strength and conditioning field amounting to at least ten hours per week is also required. This can be either paid or voluntary work.

Some flexibility in requirements is possible for those achieving lower degree classifications where they can demonstrate substantial industry experience and that their current commitment to study has progressed from the time of their first degree.

Non-degree entrance

There's also a non-degree entrance pathway for those meeting one of two entry requirements:

  • At least five years of experience working in sport in roles related to physical preparation of athletes.
  • Full-time employment and at least five years of experience in a role relating to the physical preparation of military personnel.

Suitability for non-degree entrance is assessed through the completion of two entrance essays that should be completed and submitted along with your application. Details of the entrance essays can be downloaded here.

If you're offered a place on the non-degree entrant's pathway, you'll be restricted to two modules in your first year (meaning that the quickest you can complete the degree is in three years). In addition, you will study a non-credit bearing study skills module designed to help you quickly upskill in the areas necessary for Master's level study.

 

International requirements

International students should check our country-specific pages for equivalents. If English is not your first language you will need to achieve an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in any section (or equivalent).

We now accept IELTS Indicator test results as proof of your English language level.

Further information

For more information about entry requirements please email apply@stmarys.ac.uk.

Course content

Modules are studied in the order listed below:

Modules

  •  Core
  •  Core
  •  Core
  •  Core
  •  Core
  •  Core
  •  Core

Please note: it is possible that a module listed on the website will not be able to run due to reasons beyond our control. For more information please refer to our course information disclaimer.

Career opportunities

In today’s marketplace, employers are seeking to employ staff who are suitably qualified to undertake their roles and responsibilities. As such, there is an increased need for postgraduate programmes to be vocationally orientated, with an emphasis on training students in the theoretical underpinnings and relevant practical areas to work in the sport industry.

The MSc / PG Diploma programme focuses on disciplines pertinent to the field of strength and conditioning. The programme has been designed to reflect the competencies required for professional accreditation with the UKSCA and NSCA.

It is necessary for applicants to understand that the most important quality valued by employers is experience. It's therefore, a condition of entry to the course that students arrange experience opportunities in strength and conditioning prior to entry. For those using the course as CPD for another career pathway (e.g. physiotherapists) this condition does not apply.

The Careers Service has more information on graduate careers and part-time work available during your course.

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How the degree is taught

Teaching methods

You'll be taught on our beautiful and historic campus located in Twickenham (London) and online through our virtual learning platforms.

Course content is delivered via online lectures and online reading. Students are also required to take part in online discussions and regular video posting is also a requirement to encourage the development of practical and coaching skills.

Each module ends with an on-site period where face-to-face content is delivered (including practical skills, laboratory work and assessments).

Assessment methods

The programme makes an extensive use of non-traditional assessment methods, alongside more traditional methods of assessment.

Non-traditional modes of assessment include the posting of video blogs, practical coaching vivas, lab report (timed) and production of a website. Traditional modes of assessment include essays, case studies, presentations and viva voce examination.

On-site teaching

The course is predominantly delivered as distance learning, however, attendance at the on-site inductions at the start of September is mandatory.

In addition, there is a summer on-site at the end of June that is also compulsory - this typically requires 7-10 days attendance in your first year (but is dependent on how many modules you are taking).

Facilities

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Fees and funding

Tuition fees

September 2023

  • Home: £10,500
  • International: £10,500

The tuition fees listed are for the duration of the course. Students will be charged for the modules undertaken per academic year. Module prices are calculated as a percentage of credits against the total credits and cost of the degree. Please see clause 5.15.2 of the Tuition Fee Regulations for further information.

Tuition fees are subject to an inflationary increase each year, meaning if your course runs over more than one academic year you may pay an increased fee per module for each subsequent year of study. Tuition fee increases for returning students will be capped at the higher of 5% per annum or the rate of Consumer Price Index inflation in the United Kingdom.

Alumni discount

A 20% tuition fee discount is available for our alumni (undergraduate and PGCE) planning to study this Master's degree. Those studying for a PGDip of PGCert are not eligible for the discount.

Funding

Government-funded loans of over £11,000 are available to many home postgraduate students. Home and international students may also be eligible for external sources of funding.  International students should check their eligibility for our International Scholarship.

For more information, please look at our postgraduate funding page.

Additional costs

Your tuition fees will cover the cost of all mandatory elements of your programme. Additional costs could be incurred depending on optional modules chosen and other projects undertaken.

For further information about additional costs please see our additional costs webpage

Teaching staff

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Further information

Previous dissertations

Published dissertations

The following dissertations have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals: