Master of Science in Physical Activity, Nutrition and Behaviour Change

at University of Bedfordshire - Bedford Campus United Kingdom

Coaching is a great way to express your passion for sport. Great Britain is now seen as a leading competitor in world sport and there are increasing opportunities to make a career out of coaching. There has never been a better time to become a coach.

This course offers you the opportunity to specialise in the academic study of sports coaching, gaining the qualifications and practical skills to be a successful coach.

It combines a thorough understanding of sport and exercise science with knowledge of the range of roles and contexts within which a coach works. Theoretical, vocational and practical elements are included to help you gain a comprehensive understanding of sport science, which underpins coaching practice.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from internationally-recognised staff in the fields of science, exercise and sport
• Study a challenging and enjoyable course which prepares you for employment – 90% of students in work/study 6 months after finishing
• Gain from the opportunity to work with staff who were closely involved with the London 2012 Olympic Games and interact with support services for elite and top-class athletes
• Develop your skills through coaching in partnership with local clubs and teams
• Explore the development of sporting participation or ‘sport for sports sake’ (at all levels) and the role and delivery of sport as a social instrument for change
• Benefit from using state-of-the-art facilities including muscle cell and molecular biology labs for a range of sports science experiments and studies

This bespoke top up course is for you if you have completed a related foundation degree or HND and wish to gain a full bachelor’s degree in one year.

You will gain deeper understanding of sport science and coaching as well as relevant experience through work placements/internships at sports organisations, schools and within a coaching environment, preparing you for a successful career.

By linking closely to your previous studies and work experience it provides seamless progression to university-level study with the added benefit of a targeted initial induction and a week-long summer school to help support your academic development.

Why choose this course?

• Study key areas of sport science (coaching) including coaching for performance, sports physiology and psychology as well as research methods and employability units.
• Develop your coaching skills and build partnerships with local sports clubs and teams with help from our excellent links with industry including Sport England and the Football Association.
• Learn from our team of experts in fitness, personal training and strength and conditioning.
• Gain a sound training, skills and knowledge of sport science (coaching) together with the transferrable skills needed for a range of careers.
• Build your employability through relevant work placement/internships at sports organisations, schools and within a coaching environment where you can also carry out a research project.
• Benefit from specialist teaching laboratories and sports facilities at our School of Sports Science and Physical Activity as well as world-class teaching from a team with research expertise in environmental physiology, health and metabolism and movement within sports science field.

Make the most of our high-spec facilities and equipment, world-leading research team and strong employer connections to become an expert in understanding the impact nutrition and exercise can have on health and fitness.

We know eating well and taking exercise are key factors in promoting good health. For this degree, you explore the science that lies behind this, covering specialisms such as physiology; nutrient metabolism; health psychology; and the prescription of nutrition and exercise. Other study areas include nutrition across the lifecycle; public health nutrition; exercise and behaviour change; and exercise and fitness testing.

You learn about the prevention and treatment of chronic conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and have the opportunity to apply your knowledge working with these patient groups within our clinics.

Why choose this course?

• Study with a world-leading research team in community and other settings as well as in our sport and exercise science laboratories, with their state-of-the-art equipment
• Benefit from our well-established employer links with the NHS and local community health programmes, which allow you to put your learning into practice and ensure the course stays ahead of the curve with current practice
• Gain accreditation by the Association for Nutrition, which allows graduates to apply for direct entry onto the Register of Associate Nutritionists
• Accreditation by the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) is also embedded within the course, with graduates awarded Level 3 Personal Training and Level 3 Exercise Referral
• Develop transferable skills in communication; research methods; and researching, preparing and producing your own projects
• Take the course over four years and include a fee-free year in industry (see below), gaining experience and making contacts for the future
• On graduating, your career path could take you into the food, health or fitness industries; health promotion; lifestyle education; and public health

This MA is designed for practising professionals, or those interested in research, in teaching and learning or educational leadership – usually in schools, the lifelong learning sector and universities.

Its modular structure allows you to personalise your choice of units and progress at a pace that best suits you, with a final phase focused on educational research via a dissertation.

The MA Education engages you with key issues in education and aims to encourage your evidence-based practice, as you make direct and meaningful connections between the course and your own experiences and aspirations.

The course helps you to broaden your knowledge of educational ideas and research findings, as you identify and justify recommendations for further action. This places you in a better position to develop your work as a classroom practitioner or school leader.

Why choose this course?

• Study on a modular course designed for existing and aspiring education professionals, that allows you to accumulate credit at a pace that suits you, with assessments based around needs specific to your role in your educational organisation
• Explore the process of teaching, learning support and/or educational leadership, focusing on personal, academic and vocational interests relevant to your educational context
• Develop your understanding of assessment formats with a negotiated focus in support of both individual and organisational needs
• Undertake primary research that informs your current practice, as well as acquire the necessary research skills to engage in future research and progress to a PhD or EdD programme
• Progress your study in education, e.g. following your Initial Teacher Education (ITE) course
• Develop your work in educational contexts
• Support developments within the organisation where you work
• Beprepared for further study at doctoral level (PhD and EdD).

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

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

This course aims to further develop your professional knowledge and understandings in specific areas of education and welfare.

It is based upon a critical concern for social justice and the ways this is understood and implemented through policy and practice to affect the lives of disadvantaged children and young people as well as poor and marginalised groups and communities.

The MA Education (Social Justice) aims to

• Increase awareness of, and access to, a range of academic ideas and research findings in relation to issues of education and  social justice
• Promote personalisation of broad themes around the challenges posed by changing global political, social and economic landscapes and to meet the needs and interests of students while providing a focused line of study
• Promote vocationally relevant and varied assessment formats with a negotiated focus to support individual and organisational needs
• Promote engagement with key issues in education and social justice, involving critical examination of a wide range of key sources and texts
• Encourage evidence-based practice and reflexive practice-based understandings through engagement with work-based settings allowing student to integrate theoretical ideas with practical implications

Why choose this course?

• The MA in Education (Social Justice) is designed to develop a breadth of understanding of the theoretical debates that underpin the process and practice of education and social welfare and will enable you to analyse and reflect on research that contextualise the complexities of working with disadvantaged and marginalised groups across community, local authority and voluntary sector settings.
• The course will strengthen your ability, and equip you to apply for jobs (or further training) in a wide range of educational settings as teachers, community workers, social workers, police, probation officers, education welfare workers, home school link or family welfare workers and professionals working across the voluntary sector.
• This Master's degree will also enable you to progress to doctoral study in specific specialist areas.

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

If you live to perform, this course will prepare you for a career in the spotlight, developing your movement and vocal skills while you explore the world of performance, from musicals to physical theatre.

Our approach is to foster each student’s unique talents so the course provides many opportunities for you to grow as an individual and find out what path within performing arts leads to your future.

We cover all core aspects of performance, including industry insight, digital performance and professional practice. You can also select to develop your skills in specific areas such as choreography, acting, dance technique, and musical theatre.

You perform work by professional directors and/or choreographers as well as creating your own performances, which are shown in our professional theatre. You gain experience teaching and/or directing, and are encouraged to think, write and talk about how performance theory informs your work.

Why choose this course?

• Learn from our highly experienced teaching team, specialising in different areas of performing arts
• Benefit from a range of workshops and talks from visiting directors, choreographers and companies
• Gain performance experience in our modern rehearsal studios and professional 280-seat theatre
• Showcase your work in our degree show
• Learn entrepreneurial skills that will help you find, apply for and create your own opportunities to work in the exciting and diverse field of performing artswww.instagram.com/uob_acting_performingarts
• Take the course over four years and include a year’s placement in industry (see below) to gain experience and make contacts for the future
• If you need to step-up into higher education, start with a Foundation Year (see below) which guarantees entry to the Undergraduate course
• Our graduates are now running their own companies; working in theatre; in the holiday entertainment and music industries; teaching; and using the leadership skills they gained in the wider cultural industries

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)