Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science with Foundation Year

at University of Wolverhampton - Walsall Campus United Kingdom

The BSc (Hons.) Football Coaching and Performance degree will give you the skills and experience to help gain employment in the football industry as a coach within an academy, performance, community or grassroots setting, as a football performance specialist. You will also be well prepared for a range of coaching and related roles within the wider sport and physical activity sector. 
The course has been designed through consultation with West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall FC, as well as The Football Association (FA) Coach Educators to identify the skills and qualities needed to work in the football industry. Our unique coaching course combines a football specific degree with the opportunity to apply your knowledge in industry through our excellent placements with our partner clubs, at home or abroad. 

You will study all disciplines of football coaching, covering modules in; pedagogy, coaching science, and performance analysis, all of which are taught both theoretically and in a range of practical contexts.

What happens on the course?

• Placement modules allow you to gain hand on experience and receive mentorship within professional environments, including opportunities with some of our key partners such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Walsall FC, West Bromwich Albion and WLV Sport FC.
• The first two years of our football coaching degree will prepare you to complete the Football Association (FA) Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications (although completion of these qualifications will require additional tasks outside of the degree programme).
• This degree is delivered by academic staff who are Union of European Football Association (UEFA) qualified coaches, coach educators, and who have extensive applied knowledge and experience from grassroots to international level.
• Our employability modules enable you to explore careers in football coaching and engage in career development planning that prepares you for graduate-level employment in the football industry or elsewhere.
• Each year you will have opportunities to participate in career development activities and network with employers from sports businesses, sport development and performance sport.
• The course has been designed in line with The International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) coaching degree standards. On completion of this course you should, therefore, have the knowledge and skills required to meet the sector standards for employment in certain specific roles, as well as a range of other related roles.
• You will have the opportunity to transfer to a sandwich placement year in a coaching or football related context, with a partner club or organisation. Our sandwich placement option allows you to take a full-year work placement, which can be undertaken abroad. A number of students in our department have been successful in securing places on these schemes in countries such as Spain, France, Canada and the US.

This exciting Sport Business Management programme has been developed alongside industry partners and endorsed by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). The course has been mapped against the Professional Standards of a General Manager, meaning that you will be equipped with the competencies and skills needed to meet the requirements of potential employers.

The programme will provide opportunities to explore different strands of sport business management including marketing, strategy, policy, finance, economics, and sport event management. Studying these key areas will prepare you to enter a range of careers including sport development management, governing body management, insight and data management, facility management and business management.

The BA (Hons) Education Studies with Foundation Year provides you with the knowledge and skills to work in a range of educational settings, as a teacher or with a range of other career options open to you. Our Foundation Year programme has been designed to prepare you for studying at undergraduate level and provide you with the required skills and knowledge to transition effectively into level 4 study. During your foundation year you will develop skills appropriate to your university studies, such as finding and using information, working collaboratively with others, challenging and debating ideas, and expressing yourself with greater confidence. The foundation year helps you to become familiar with university life and to feel at home on campus.

The course is suitable for people new to this area or experienced staff searching for career development. If you are considering becoming a teacher, we offer the guarantee of a PGCE interview upon completion of this degree (providing you are on track to achieve a 2:2 or above and meet the course entry requirements). We also have excellent progression opportunities on to our Master’s in Education.

During your course, you, as an Education Studies student will have opportunities to consider a range of issues and perspectives relevant to educational contexts. You will consider contemporary issues in relation to education and children’s lives, including exploring issues around climate change, Black Lives Matter, mental health, social media, the impact of Covid-19 on education, and LBGT student experiences. You will also explore the role of education in relation to social justice, education policy, curriculum, and the types of education provided in the UK and internationally, as well as much more. You will draw upon a range of perspectives and disciplines to develop your familiarity with the complex and varied nature of teaching and learning, and will examine diversity and inclusion in relation to education. We work with our students to explore and challenge a wide range of educational ideas and developments, and we value learners’ own perspectives and diverse experiences of education. We encourage independent thought and curiosity, and a belief in the potential of education as a tool for improving people’s lives.

Work experience placements are an integral part of the course and can be negotiated in a variety of settings such as schools, colleges, children’s centres, charities, pupil referral units, prisons, youth centres, and other relevant settings.

We recognise that you will have a unique learning journey and we will maximise your potential through a wide variety of assessment choices such as presentations, written assessments, reflective journals, report writing, peer mentoring, and written plans. Our course does not include any exams and we work hard to make our assessments inclusive and relevant to your career goals.  We usually teach in smaller classroom-based student groups, as opposed to larger lecture theatres, to give you a supportive and personalised learning experience and our staff work hard to help develop the confidence of our students.

This innovative, hands-on sport and exercise therapy course is accredited by the Society of Sports Therapists.

The course involves the prevention of injury and rehabilitation back to optimum levels of functional, occupational and sports specific fitness for a wide range of patients. The course uses the principles of sport and exercise sciences, and the study of health, injury, and disease, to prepare patients for training, competition, or work.

The course is endorsed by the Charted Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA), ensuring that you meet the requirements of potential employers. Course content aligns with the employer-set proffesional standards of a gym instructor, and will equip you with all the skills and comptencies you'll need to stand out from the crowd.

Throughout the course, you will develop the skills required to provide the immediate care of injuries and basic life support in recreational, training and competitive environments. You will learn how to assess and treat musculoskeletal injuries, and, where appropriate, refer on for specialist advice and intervention. Working as part of a professional team in a real-world environment, you will gain applied practical skills in sport and remedial massage, and plan and implement appropriate rehabilitation programmes.

You will have opportunities to work with some of our key partners such as British Judo, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Walsall FC, to develop industry skills relevant to a career in sport and exercise therapy.

Placement and employability modules allow you to gain hands-on experience in an applied context, including a clinical placement at Level 6. Employability modules enable you to explore sport and exercise therapy career pathways and engage in career development planning that prepares you for graduate-level employment in a competitive industry.

This course will allow you the opportunity to develop key competencies in Strength and Conditioning coaching, and challenge you to develop your theoretical knowledge, applied experiences and research skills towards becoming an evidence-based S&C practitioner.

We have longstanding partnerships with a number of sporting organisations which add value to our educational programmes, including guest lectures from experienced applied practitioners and opportunities for students to gain applied experience.

This course has been developed in consultation with The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity and aligned to the professional standards developed by CIMSPA in collaboration with the UK Strength and Conditioning Association. Graduates of this course will have met the professional standards for the Strength and Conditioning Trainer and the Graduate Strength and Conditioning Coach roles.

The BMus (Hons) Popular Music degree at the University of Wolverhampton prepares you for a career in the music industry. 

A popular music degree opens the door to a fulfilling and varied career that enables you to follow your interests and talents. Performing professionally as a solo artist, a member of a band or as a session player is a natural progression for many students. Careers as a songwriter, arranger, transcriber, programmer, instrumental teacher or musical director are other pathways you can pursue as a graduate. A sustained career in popular music however, will most often be a portfolio of these roles and a degree in popular music from the University of Wolverhampton will provide you with the range of skills you need for an established career in a field that you already love.

You will engage with a range of workshops, lectures and seminars that develop instrumental skills, performance and stagecraft, songwriting and music production. An experienced staff of performers, composers and producers will encourage and stimulate your interest and passion for popular music and will help sharpen your musical development over three years of study.

The BA Drama and Musical Theatre course at Wolverhampton offers a unique opportunity to develop performance skills as a ‘singing actor’ in a department at the cutting edge of international musical theatre research and drama practice.  Our staff members have professional industry experience as directors, musical directors, performers, dramaturgs and writers, and this is reflected in the breadth of the course.  The course is vocationally-led and aims to enhance your future employability so that by the end of the course, you will have the know-how to develop your professional skills further.  The balance of practical and academic work in the programme allows for a wide range of career choices upon graduation.

What happens on the course?
Our course prepares students for employment in all areas of theatre and beyond.  The practical element of the course focuses on developing singing and performance skills, with a particular emphasis on the role of the ‘singing actor’ and the application of theatre in different educational settings.  There is a particular focus on the use of text and physical theatre alongside contemporary musical theatre, and students are encouraged to enhance and expand their chosen repertoire through weekly individual singing lessons with professional vocal tutors.  Practical work is supported by an outstanding academic programme that investigates how identity shapes our experience of musicals as creatives, performers and audience members through the lenses of gender, race, nationality, sexuality and class.  The continued dialogue between practical and academic skills make our graduates particularly versatile for future employment prospects, as evidenced in our 100% graduate employment rate.   

If you have an interest in young people, families and communities then this course will develop your skills and knowledge required for a range of careers working with young people, families and the communities where they live.

Whether you are new to this area or you have experience and you are looking for career development then this course will suit you. There is an increasing need for graduates to work in the field of family support and community work as well as increasing opportunities to work directly with young people and this course is designed to prepare you for these roles.

National Student Survey 91% Student Satisfaction for BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies (2016)

If you have an interest in childhood this course will develop your skills and knowledge required for a range of careers working with children, their families and the services that support them. The course will draw on a range of disciplines such as history, psychology, education, sociology, welfare and social policy.

Whether you are new to this area or you have experience and you are looking for career development then this course will suit you. The course takes account of the ecology of children’s lives in studying the complexities of family life and of children’s development from conception onwards and the significance of childhood across cultures and societies.

The University of Wolverhampton is to be one of 3 universities to pilot the new Early Childhood Studies Degree network’s Graduate Practitioner Competencies. The new Graduate Practitioner Competencies are a proactive approach to shape the identity of the early childhood workforce and strengthen the professional practice aspect of the Early Childhood Studies degree. Graduate level practice creates a paradigm shift, making the distinction between level 3 and 6 practice explicit for students, practitioners and employers. The competencies have been developed by the ECSDN members in conjunction with students and employers. The competences are far reaching and reflect the wider national and internationally early childhood sector.  The graduate practitioner competencies are underpinned by the QAA Benchmarks. For students joining the Early Childhood Studies degree at the University of Wolverhampton there will be a choice of pathways:

• Early Childhood Studies with Placement (not assessed)
• Early Childhood studies with Assessed Practice (Level 3 full and relevant equivalent)
• Early Childhood Studies with Assessed Practice (Graduate Practitioner Competencies)

The BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy course enables you to develop the knowledge and skills to become a safe, competent and effective physiotherapy practitioner. Upon successful completion of the course you can apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council to practice as a physiotherapist.

What happens on the course?

• Our physiotherapy programme will allow you to study a range of subjects that provide the foundations of effective physiotherapy practice.
• At its core are the biological, physical, clinical and behavioural sciences. Together with the fundamentals of the therapeutic process such as physical assessment skills and clinical reasoning, and a repertoire of safe, effective prevention and treatment skills, you will be trained to meet the needs of people of all ages.
• You will also explore multifaceted aspects of public health, as well as develop vital research and clinical skills.
• During the course you will have the opportunity to participate in physiotherapy practice, under the supervision of a physiotherapist, in a variety of settings.
• All theory is delivered at our friendly Walsall Campus for classroom study.