Entry requirementsEntry requirements Normally either a good honours degree in a relevant discipline or an alternative qualification with an appropriate concentration of relevant experience If you don’t have standard qualifications then our course leader and/or academic members of the course management team will interview you to discuss your individual case. If we accept you may need to successfully complete a tailored programme of required reading before you can join the course. If your first language is not English you must normally produce evidence of competence in English such as TOEFL 260 or 620 or IELTS 7.
Academic titleMSc/PgDip/PgCert Physical Activity for Health
Course descriptionWe designed this course to meet the needs of the exercise or health professional working in corporate, community or exercise referral settings.
We use a multidisciplinary approach covering physiological, nutritional and psychological aspects of exercise and wellness programmes.
It offers practical and research-based skills fundamental to developing effective lifestyles. These skills cover • communication and behaviour change • nutritional programming • wellness screening and exercise prescription • exercise referral • corporate wellness schemes.
The course benefits from the specialist expertise of our staff in the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science (CSES) who provide research and consultancy services for exercise and health. These include
• grant-funded research projects on the benefits of upper-limb exercise for patients with peripheral arterial disease
• the effects of exercise therapy on physical fitness and psychological wellbeing in breast cancer survivors
• changing exercise behaviour in clinically obese adolescents
• exercise and stopping smoking
• delivering, monitoring and evaluating exercise referral schemes
• providing corporate wellness services to local and national businesses
Associated careers
Careers in the exercise and health-related area include • exercise specialists in primary care trusts • exercise referral schemes • community and corporate wellness programmes • physical activity development officers.
Course content
Postgraduate certificate
• research methods: planning and design
• principles and practice of exercise prescription: screening and monitoring
• physical activity and health behaviour change
• nutrition for physical activity and health
Postgraduate diploma
• research methods: analysis and presentation
• principles and practice of exercise prescription: programme design
• physical activity for disease prevention and rehabilitation
• community and workplace wellness