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MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine

Programme information was correct at 23 July 2013.

Programme

 

Qualifications and durations

This is a distance-learning programme.

  • Part-time Postgraduate Diploma (2-4 years)
  • Part-time MSc (3-5 years)

Some units can be taken independently as part of our Continuing Professional Development programme.

Overview

Our Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) programme is internationally renowned for providing high quality distance learning exclusively to doctors. The programme is designed to provide relevant knowledge for doctors involved, or wishing to be involved, in the full or part-time management of recreational and elite athletes. By studying this programme you will develop practical skills that can be applied to both primary and specialist care.

The highly interactive, flexible, online learning and hands-on clinical teaching provide you with expert knowledge and skills, while also enabling you to remain in practice.

Programme features

View a video about this programme »

Programme structure

This is a flexible programme. Our students typically study over three years, however there is opportunity to complete units in up to five years.

Residential teaching events take place at the University and you will be required to attend the following:

  • Sports Science Residential Week - Year One (January)
  • Clinical Residential Week - Year Two (January or June)

Years one and two (Diploma)

  • Sport & Exercise Medicine in Practice - 12 Credits (ongoing throughout Diploma)
  • Sports Doctor - 6 Credits (3 month unit)
  • Exercise Physiology - 6 Credits (3 month unit)
  • Athlete Biomechanics and Sports analysis - 12 credits (6 month unit)
  • Sports Injuries & Rehabilitation - 12 credits (6 month unit)
  • Psychology of Sport and Exercise - 6 Credits (3 month unit)
  • Exercise for Health - 6 Credits (3 month unit)

Year three (MSc)

  • Research Project Design
  • Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Project

View summary table or Programme & Unit Catalogue for further information.

Please note:

  • The programme catalogue and units listed above are applicable for the 2012/13 academic year only and should be treated as an example of the programme content. Students beginning or continuing their studies in 2013/14 and beyond should not assume that later years of a programme will be in the format displayed here.
  • Programmes and Units are subject to change at any time, in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.

Learning and teaching

Our programmes are modular, consisting of self-contained units, taught and assessed on a semester basis. As you progress through each semester and successfully pass the examinations, you will receive credit for the units, thus providing you with a clear indication of your academic progress.

The majority of the content of the programme is delivered online to allow you to engage in flexible study alongside your clinical practice. To complement the online teaching there is a face-to-face induction event at the University and residential teaching weeks in the first and second years of the programme. Reflective, practice-based elements are provided through professional experiential learning and online virtual workshops.

Core teaching staff

Methods of assessment

You will be assessed through written assignments and case studies, a Clinical experience log, the OSCE Examination and a Dissertation. Each unit is assessed individually.

Assignments are delivered online and must also be submitted online. The formative assessment includes moderated online discussions, self-assessment questions and online multiple choice tests.

Summative assessment will vary between units but will typically include some of the following:

  • Compilation of portfolio of evidence [SEM in Practice]
  • OSCE examination [SEM in Practice]
  • Maintaining a reflective practitioner portfolio (log)
  • Essays
  • Case studies
  • Short answer questions
  • Recorded consultations

Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)

If you have a previous qualification, or undertaken postgraduate units from another institution, you may be eligible to transfer credit for this prior learning.

Depending on the programme of study, you can gain APL for up to 50% of the total credits required (this credit must have been obtained within the previous five years).

Claims for APL will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us for further details or view the FAQ page.

If you have completed the Intercollegiate Academic Board of Sport and Exercise Medicine (IABSEM) Diploma in Sport and Exercise Medicine (Great Britain and Ireland), you will be allowed entry to the Postgraduate Diploma in Sport and Exercise Medicine by certain routes.

Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

You may also apply for APEL by submitting a portfolio of evidence, demonstrating that you have successfully achieved the learning outcomes for the specific unit(s) you seek exemption from.

We recommend you discuss this with the Director of Studies first to ensure this is suitable, as creating your portfolio can be very time consuming.

We will not permit exemptions of fractional units, and so the minimum threshold for the applications of APEL procedures will be a single, free standing unit (including three credit units). The maximum threshold for exemption will normally be 50% of the total credits required for a programme of study, for example, a 45-credit exemption towards a 90-credit Masters degree.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

  • A medical degree from a recognised university.

Professional requirements

You must provide evidence of the following in your application:

  • Current unrestricted medical registration certificate (e.g. GMC).
  • A minimum of one year work experience as a qualified and registered doctor before enrolment (as evidenced by CV/employment history).
  • Currently be practicing medicine, preferably in a field that allows exposure to SEM.

English Language requirements

Certificates must be dated to within two years of the start of the programme of study.

  • IELTS 6.5 (with not less than 6.0 in each of the four components)
  • TOEFL 580 (paper-based test) or 237 (computer-based test) with a score of not less than 4 in TWE or 92 (internet-based test) with not less than 24 in each of the components.

If you wish to improve your English proficiency before commencing your studies, pre-sessional language training can be arranged through the English Language Centre.

References

  • One academic or professional reference supporting your suitability for study on a masters level Sport and Exercise Medicine programme.

Read details for how to apply to study.

Financial information

Costs

Potential sources of funding

Deadlines

The induction event at the University of Bath will take place 5-6 September 2013.

Contact

Admissions Officer: Isla Johnston
Email: health-pgt-admissions@bath.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1225 38 5233

Related links

Our Research

Main areas of research

The Department carries out research and teaching in health, medicine, exercise and sport, making significant contributions to national and international health agendas.

The Department aims to produce high-quality research with a strongly applied focus. We aim to contribute to promoting the health of the population and to improving the quality and efficiency of the health services that people rely on and pursue this agenda with a variety of partners at local, regional, national and international levels. Our work is organised around the two main themes of population health and healthcare. We are also pleased to offer a range of Research degrees.

Population health

Historically, health policy has focused almost exclusively on sickness services provided by agencies such as the National Health Service. Although this focus on healthcare remains hugely important, it is increasingly complemented by aspirations to improve the health of the population by tackling the social determinants of health such as poverty and pollution and by encouraging people to adopt health promoting behaviours such as healthy diets and increased physical activity and to stop health damaging ones such as smoking. There is also growing national and international concern that improvements in health should be fairly distributed by reducing health inequalities. The Department for Health organises its work related to population health improvement in three main ways. Much the largest element in the population health portfolio is related to sport, health and exercise science, but the School attaches growing importance to tobacco control and health inequalities.

Healthcare

The Department’s expertise in Healthcare focuses on innovation in the design, delivery, organization, and evaluation of healthcare interventions. We have a particular emphasis on disabling and distressing, long term or life-limiting conditions, such as chronic pain, stroke, dementia, rheumatic disease, and severe mental health problems. Current research activity involves collaborations with NHS colleagues in Bath at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases – RNHRD, the Royal United Hospital, the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Care Trust, the Pan Bath & Swindon Primary Care Research Consortium and RehabNET.

Faculties in the Department have significant research expertise and experience in a range of topics including:

  • Addictions and addictive behaviour
  • Alcohol, drugs and the family
  • Assistive technology and rehabilitation
  • Child and adolescent cognitive behavioural therapy
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndromes
  • Dementia care
  • Evidence based pain management
  • Leadership and change
  • Mental health service development and evaluation
  • Spondolarthropathy disease and related disability
  • Stroke rehabilitation
  • Work, health and wellbeing.
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About the Department

Introduction

The School for Health was established within the University of Bath in 2003, to centralise the high profile research and teaching in the health-related disciplines already taking place throughout the university, so creating a single entity through which links with the health sector at national and international level can be channelled, co-ordinated and developed.

In 2010 the School joined the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences and became the Department for Health, providing excellent opportunities for academic teaching and research collaborations with other departments, such as Psychology and Social & Policy Sciences. The Department's postgraduate teaching and research programmes now form part of the Faculty's new Graduate School, also launched in 2010, providing postgraduate students with dedicated support and a strong community in which to base their studies - whether on campus or by distance learning.

In keeping with government initiatives surrounding population health and more general public concerns, the Department divides its activities between two main pillars: Healthcare and Population Health – one focuses on the NHS, healthcare and health services research and the other focuses on population health, healthy living, sport & physical activity and tobacco control; each of these groups, in turn, contain both teaching programmes and research activities. Furthermore, there is a bridging spine between both pillars and which houses the Professional Doctorate in Health, Research in Health Practice and the administrative, finance, learning & teaching development, marketing and support activities of the Department.

The Department’s aims are:

  • To develop a research portfolio that is both of the highest academic standard and has applications in the real world
  • To build on external links with the public services and other bodies concerned with health and society
  • To innovate design and delivery of healthcare services
  • To change corporate approaches to healthy organisations
  • To support government reform of health and social care provision
  • To identify and facilitate opportunities for academic collaboration and new developments.

The Department's postgraduate taught programmes combine academic excellence with flexible and innovative design and delivery; our postgraduate portfolio is distinguished by the provision of a number of Professional Masters and a Professional Doctorate programme designed to be studied part-time by learners working in a wide range of healthcare roles from all around the world. All our postgraduate courses are taught online and this has proved to be one of our unique selling points, with students able to continue within their practice area or working environment whilst gaining a further qualification.

The Department is renowned for its exemplary attention to educational design, integrating knowledge with research evidence and resulting in programmes which are highly relevant to contemporary practice; in addition, the Department boasts some of the most innovative and successful approaches to online and part-time education, recognised through a number of awards.

At all levels, learning and teaching in the Department provides a strong focus on high quality education for real world situations and produces graduates with skills and knowledge relevant to professional roles and in high demand from employers.

Teaching programmes on offer within the Department include:

  • Sport & Exercise Medicine, the world renowned flexible masters programme exclusively for doctors
  • Sports Physiotherapy, a specialist programme designed by physiotherapists for physiotherapists
  • Research in Health Practice, a programme launched in 2008 aimed at health and social care professionals interested in conducting their own research
  • The innovative Professional Doctorate in Health which focuses on both Population Health and Healthcare within the Department, providing a doctoral level programme to develop expert practitioners and researchers in practice.
Facilities, equipment, other resources

Sport and exercise science and medical science laboratories. Close links with the English Institute of Sport and the Department of Sports Development and Recreation.

International and industrial links

There are current links with primary care trusts, strategic health authorities, the two hospitals in Bath and colleagues in industry. The Department works closely with esteemed international academic institutions, and individual health practitioners, in order to meet the regional, national and global challenges facing health and social care.

Careers information

Postgraduate research students gain a wealth of experience to assist them with their next step and are offered personal career advice at the University. The Department has an established research training skills programme for all research students. The taught programmes enable students to extend their health and social care career pathways and to build important networks for further professional opportunities.

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