Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Dance and Professional Practice

at University of Bedfordshire - Bedford Campus United Kingdom

Your interest in how physical activity, nutrition, health psychology, and professional communication skills can help promote health and treat various clinical conditions could lead you to a multitude of career options.

In addition to developing a firm understanding of the links between physical activity, nutrition and health, this course offers invaluable opportunities to further career prospects during placement and research project units – including the development of practical skills and links with NHS organisations, researchers and clinicians in high-interest areas such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and cancer.

With relevant experience, we will also support you in registering as an Associate Nutritionist or converting to full registration as a Nutritionist/Public Health Nutritionist.

Why choose this course?

• Study in a supportive and innovative environment, on a course covering a unique combination of topics designed to integrate with current public health policy
• Explore potential career opportunities in Public Health and/or Health Promotion and Education with this MSc that will also allow you to apply for membership of the Institute of Health Promotion and Education
• Develop high-level professional standards; understanding your ethical, moral and legal responsibilities as well as acquiring the practical competencies, the ability to apply scientific knowledge to public health settings, and the research skills that will help you access careers in public health, the health and fitness industry or academia
• Gain the opportunity to practise your skills on work placement, or if already in post or accredited, the opportunity to specialise and develop your expertise in physical activity and nutrition
• Benefit from access to a wide range of careers in Public Health, Health Promotion and Education, roles in charities whose aims are to improve the nation’s health and/or continue to further research-based study on MSc by research, MPhil or PhD programmes.

This course is designed for recent graduates who are looking to develop their career in physical education teaching or youth sport coaching.

It will support you in developing the knowledge and skills required to progress to teacher education and/or higher-level employment. It will deepen your critical understanding of the issues facing professionals in physical education and sport settings.

The course undertakes a research-informed and practice-based theory approach. Many of the units require you to draw on observations and activities in work-related environments in order to link experience and theoretical learning.

MA Physical Education and Sport (Pedagogy) is a rigorously designed and intellectually demanding professional education and development programme.

It is studied in order to become a more effective and reflective teacher or coach in school, club and other community settings. Each unit is grounded in the most recent developments in research on physical education, sport pedagogy and youth sport, and draws on your practical experience.

We use intensive, compressed teaching time combined with flexible off-site guided learning to fit around your work in a school or youth sport setting.

This course will also provide the advanced knowledge and research training required for direct access to higher degrees by research (MPhil/ PhD).

Why choose this course?

• Study in a supportive environment, on a course covering a unique combination of topics designed to integrate research with current physical education policy and practice
• Develop an advanced and critical understanding of pedagogy and practice for social justice and youth voice; sport and education policy; action research; and public health concerns in physical education and youth sport environments
• Gain the necessary personal competencies, applied practical skill-sets and subject expertise to become a theoretically informed and reflective practitioner
• Gain a grounding in the theoretical study of physical education and sport pedagogy in your practical workplace experience.
• Develop your personal and professional network and benefit from our links with schools, Sport England, Governing Bodies, and Active Partnerships
• Receive support from peer mentors who are studying on our MA Physical Education and Sport (Leadership) course
• Exchange knowledge with aspiring graduates in sport, physical activity and health industries/institutions by attending units that will also include students from our other MA and MSc courses.
• Gain experience of working with young people, practitioners and employers to investigate and analyse real problems and develop the ability to develop innovative solutions
• Undertake a semester long research project on a chosen topic, working in a physical education, sport or physical activity environment of your choice
• Study using range of learning activities including lectures, seminars, practicals, problem-based-learning and tutorials
• Learn from a team who have a wide range of academic expertise and experience in specific subject areas including critical pedagogy, youth voice, models-based practice, policy, leadership, and the sociology of sport.
• Gain insights from experts through the seminar series coordinated by the Institute of Sport and Physical Activity Research (ISPAR)

If you’re fascinated by the science behind sport and exercise performance, this course gives you a rare chance to be part of a world-leading research team, using high-spec equipment to get to the heart of what makes a great sports performer.

The course combines scientific knowledge and sports performance, covering the core areas of sport and exercise science. Study involves lab work using discipline-leading equipment including online gas-analysis machines, an environmental chamber, light gates and echocardiography. It also offers specialist units in biomechanics, exercise physiology and social psychology, to name a few.

You learn in a high-performance environment with a leading research team specialising in exercise physiology; molecular exercise physiology; and exercise and health. You can be part of the team working on prestigious projects for elite sports teams, governing bodies and government initiatives.

Why choose this course?

• It is endorsed by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES)
• There is a fitness qualification, endorsed by Skills Active, embedded into the course, allowing you to enter onto the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) Level 2
• Gain employability skills with specific, industry-proven guidance and participation in the latest sports science research
• Explore your area of interest with a final-year research project of your choice
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year’s placement in industry (see below), gaining experience and making contacts for the future
• If you are looking to step up into higher education, take the degree with a Foundation Year which guarantees entry to the Undergraduate course (see below)

An inspirational primary school teacher can help young children make sense of their world and prepare them for life in the 21st century. This course, with recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), equips you with the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to take on this important role.

With this DfE-accredited degree, you learn through taught sessions and supported teaching practice, where you are encouraged to apply the theory you have learnt in areas such as child development, teaching and learning.

Mentors and University liaison tutors support you while on placement as you begin to develop the core skills for teaching children aged 5-11. You start with one-to-one and small-group teaching practice before moving on to whole-class teaching. A placement coordinator provides briefings, support meetings and guidance as well as overseeing target setting and CEDP completion.

Units include literacy and reading; mathematics and science; meeting the needs of individual children; multidimensional classrooms; planning for learning across subjects; and exploring core subjects.

Why choose this course?

• Gain hands-on experience of teaching via three teaching placements: one per year, each in a different term to give a good insight into the whole academic year
• Take up three ‘Broadening Experience’ placements (one per year) in Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) so you know where children have come from; at Key Stage 3 (KS3) so you know where they are going on to; and a final personalised placement
• Work with experienced tutors with a wealth of experience in building trainee competence and confidence across all subjects
• Learn to teach a reflective, reactive curriculum, with sessions responsive to the needs of individual cohorts, helping to ensure progression in skills, knowledge and experience
• Develop leadership and management skills, along with an ability to communicate effectively with children, parents/carers, colleagues and other professionals
• Benefit from conference days with guest speakers talking on subjects ranging from employability to SEND provision, wellbeing to lesson planning
• Take learning outside the classroom with trips to places of educational interest such as local museums and our Forest School

If you believe all the world’s a stage, our degree will prepare you to land that leading role by giving you the training, techniques and entrepreneurial skills you need to succeed in a competitive business.

Using a range of approaches from plays and multimedia performance to physical and musical theatre, you develop your skills and gain wide experience through both performing established repertory and devising exciting new works. You are also given a foundation in drama theory and trends in performing arts, and are encouraged to think, write and talk about how this theory informs your work.

Each year, you perform in a large-scale work made with professional directors, which could be anything from Shakespeare to a cutting-edge contemporary multimedia production. You will also prepare for graduation by forming a company and creating your own work to show in our professional 280-seat theatre.

Why choose this course?

• Gain performance experience in our state-of-the-art rehearsal studios and 280-seat professional theatre
• Benefit from being taught by our highly experienced teaching team as well as learning from visiting actors and directors active in the industry
• Create a major piece of work for the annual student showcase and performance festival
• Take advantage of extra-curricular activities including cultural exchanges, societies and trips
• Learn entrepreneurial skills to help you find and audition for work in the theatre and performance industries as well as apply for arts funding
• Take the course over four years and benefit from a year’s placement in the industry (see below), where you gain experience and make contacts for the future
• If you need a step-up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year which guarantees entry to the degree course

This course is designed to give you high-quality profession-specific training to prevent, assess, diagnose and treat sports and physical activity-related injuries. Centered around developing competency within a vocational topic area utilising industrial standard equipment and techniques and thereby preparing you for your future career.

Teaching and assessment within the course is centered on significant practice-based learning including extensive use of case studies, work-based placement with industrial experts including course graduates, internal commercial experiences as well as student learning trips. Embedded within the course are wider transferable skills to enables you to successfully enter graduate level employment across a much wider scope of opportunities following their completion of the course.

Why choose this course?

• The BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation course aims to provide graduates with the skills and knowledge to progress into a career as a Graduate Sport Rehabilitator (GSR) on the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) accredited register held by the British Association of Sport Rehabilitators and Trainers (BASRaT).
• Throughout the course students apply their knowledge and skills while completing a minimum of 400 hours of practice placement in a range of different environments while benefiting from guidance from both practicing sport rehabilitation professionals as well as academic staff.

The course involves the detailed study of the physiological consequences of chronic debilitating diseases and highlights the changes that these different diseases cause during exercise testing.

This unique course gives you a solid grounding in theory and application of physiological tests in clinical populations including: graded cardiopulmonary exercise testing; cardiac ultrasound; vascular ultrasound; and muscle function analyses.

Throughout the course you will actively participate in practical sessions designed to increase your skills, with supervised practice sessions working alongside University sports teams in our BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Science Laboratories. Integration of theory and practice ensures you will meet developing statutory professional requirements of practice-specific knowledge, understanding and skills.

 Why choose this course?

• Study on a unique course with a multi-disciplinary approach to teaching, with access to world-leading staff expertise and research
• Explore areas including: research design; exercise testing and diagnosis; exercise testing and prescription; physical activity, nutrition and metabolic health; laboratory skills; research methods; advanced exercise testing and diagnosis
• Develop the high-level professional standards demanded of members of a health care team; understanding your ethical, moral and legal responsibilities as well as acquiring the practical competencies, theoretical knowledge and research skills that will help you access careers in health and fitness or academia
• Gain from the opportunity to practice your skills on work placement, and shadow experienced staff
• Benefit from gaining the necessary skills to become a Health Promotion Specialist; Clinical Exercise Physiologist; Clinical Technician or researcher, and/or continue to further research-based study on MSc by research, MPhil or PhD programmes.

This course will allow you to enhance previous study in the early education subject area and complete a full UK ratified BA degree course in Early Years Education.

It will allow international and UK based early childhood education to be compared and evaluated. The degree is delivered by a highly experienced, research active team of staff, who also have extensive experience as practitioners. We have been delivering degree courses in Early Years or Early Childhood Education for over 10 years at the University of Bedfordshire and graduated hundreds of students who have gone onto work as leaders in the early years sector in the UK.

Many alumni have gone on to qualify as teachers in the primary sector in the UK. In order to familiarise you with the UK system we also offer a unit prior to the start of the course that will familiarise you with the UK early years sector. It will allow you to compare it to your own country and assist in your transition onto the early part of the degree course. The course can be entered at Level 5, with two years subsequent full time study, or Level 6 with one year of study. The level of entry will depend on your previous qualifications.

Find your individual voice and put your passion into practice on a course that will see you graduate as a versatile and highly employable dance artist, ready to forge a portfolio career within the dance sector.

The course comprises daily technique classes including contemporary, ballet and commercial; fitness sessions; choreography and creative sessions; workshops in digital technologies, dance-teaching skills and community dance practices. You will also be encouraged to think, write and talk about how dance theory informs your work.

There are many opportunities to perform in works by professional choreographers for the University Dance Company, as well as works created by your fellow students. Performances are presented in our professional theatre.

The emphasis is on professional practice, technical competence, creativity and teamwork, a combination that supports students to be versatile, adaptable and employable.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from our highly experienced teaching team specialising in different areas of dance
• Develop your skills through visiting dance artists and choreographers
• Create your own work for performance, including a major piece for the annual student showcase and dance festival
• Gain performance experience in our up-to-the-minute dance studios and professional 280-seat theatre
• Explore extra-curricular activities including cultural exchanges, dance societies and trips
• Take up opportunities for internships and participation in external dance projects

If your ambition is to enter an Early Years profession and you have a Foundation Degree or equivalent, this top-up course will bring you up to a full Honours degree in just one year.

The Applied Early Years Studies BA (Hons) is a top-up (progression) course which builds on knowledge and skills gained from a previous relevant Foundation Degree or a similar 240-credit course.

Your studies take a whole-child approach to learning; early education; the needs of the child; and child development within the family and society, locally and globally. Your learning builds on your experience in the workplace and the course content adapts to suit your interests and circumstances.

 Why choose this course?

• Develop your understanding of the importance of education research and enquiry
• Choose a research dissertation topic and carry out research in your own area
• Gain practical skills by undertaking work placements
• Benefit from a course that provides a clear route into a professional graduate role, through Early Years teacher status, Primary initial teacher training or leadership and management