Sport and Exercise Therapy
Combining medical expertise with the sports and exercise environment, this course offers budding Sport and Exercise Therapists the perfect balance of theory and hands-on experience.
Apply Through UCAS Apply Direct Book an Open Day Chat to UsPrepare to work in the medical, performance, sports and exercise industries with our accredited degree at the unique Sport Park Campus. Learn to diagnose and treat injuries, work first-hand with athletes, and come away with vocational awards throughout your degree.
DESIGNED FOR
Aimed at students with an interest in working with sports and exercise injuries, this degree offers a holistic approach to musculoskeletal injury management. Gain practical experience through industry placements to give you a head start on your career and consolidate your learning.
Accredited By
- The Society of Sports Therapists
Career Paths
- Sport therapist for professional/semi-professional sports teams
- Private practice/clinics
- Sports and exercise therapist
- Exercise rehabilitation instructors
- Rehabilitation assistant
- Teaching
Skills Taught
- Pitch-side first aid and sports trauma management
- Soft tissue treatment and manual therapy
- Clinical assessment and diagnosis of musculoskeletal injuries
- Rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries from early to pre-discharge stages
- Proficiency with statistics and data
- Research
Course Highlights
Module Overview
Our program nurtures your skills in assessing, diagnosing, treating, rehabilitating and preventing injuries. You'll develop critical thinking, evidence-based practice, and teamwork in a variety of professional settings, readying you for a career in dynamic clinical and sports environments.
Year one
Introduction to Sports Therapy Assessment
Introduction to Screening, Prevention and Recovery
Exercise Physiology*
Measurement and Evaluation of Human Performance
Exercise Prescription (Non-Referred Populations)
Sports Therapy: A Patient’s Perspective
Year two
Clinical Assessment of Musculoskeletal Injuries
Treatment of Musculoskeletal Injuries
Rehabilitation of Sports and Exercise Injuries
Exercise Physiology II*
Research Methods
Sports Injuries and Biomechanics (Optional)
Exercise for Special Populations (Option)
Year three
Professional Practice
Sports Trauma Management
Advanced Rehabilitation of Sports and Exercise Injuries
Dissertation
Exercise Physiology III (Optional)
Muscle Function and Biomechanics (Optional)
Strength and Conditioning (Optional)
* This module is available to study fully in Welsh
You’ll start your clinical studies with pitch-side first aid and basic life saving, functional anatomy, plus an introduction to clinical assessment, screening and soft tissue techniques. You’ll gain experience working with our university sports teams and through our popular sports massage clinic.
Introduction to Sports Therapy Assessment
Learn to assess a range of movement, test muscle strength, palpate anatomical landmarks and develop a working knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy and pathology.
Introduction to Screening, Prevention and Recovery
Learn movement screening theory and practice, sports injury prevention, and recovery methods. Develop basic first aid skills and soft tissue injury management.
Exercise Physiology*
Develop anatomical language and deepen your understanding of human musculoskeletal anatomy, crucial for exercise physiology and biomechanics.
Measurement and Evaluation of Human Performance
A deep dive into areas of measurement, data retrieval, analysis and interpretation, health and fitness assessment, and exercise prescription.
Exercise Prescription (Non-Referred Populations)
Gain expertise to design, deliver, and assess gym-based exercise programs for healthy populations. This module leads to CIMSPA Level 2 Gym Instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer certifications.
Sports Therapy: A Patient’s Perspective
Familiarise yourself with patients' perspectives on sports-related musculoskeletal injuries, developing empathy and teamwork skills within a multidisciplinary setting.
Measurement and Evaluation of Human Performance
A deep dive into areas of measurement, data retrieval, analysis and interpretation, health and fitness assessment, and exercise prescription.
Exercise Prescription (Non-Referred Populations)
Gain expertise to design, deliver, and assess gym-based exercise programs for healthy populations. This module leads to CIMSPA Level 2 Gym Instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer certifications.
Sports Therapy: A Patient’s Perspective
Familiarise yourself with patients' perspectives on sports-related musculoskeletal injuries, developing empathy and teamwork skills within a multidisciplinary setting.
* This module is available to study fully in Welsh
At level five, you’ll learn how to assess and diagnose injuries to the spine and peripheral joints, use several treatment methods to reduce pain and improve range of movement and function. By the end of your second year, you’ll be competent in early to intermediate-stage rehabilitation.
Clinical Assessment of Musculoskeletal Injuries
Master clinical assessment. Interpret findings using subjective and objective methods, specialist musculoskeletal testing and functional assessment.
Treatment of Musculoskeletal Injuries
Build knowledge of safe and effective treatment methods for musculoskeletal injuries. Learn manual therapy for joint issues, advanced soft tissue techniques, and neural techniques.
Rehabilitation of Sports and Exercise Injuries
Develop an understanding of early and intermediate rehabilitation for common musculoskeletal injuries. Topics cover tissue mechanics, stress-strain curves, and exercise selection/prescription.
Exercise Physiology II*
Explore the interplay between exercise and the cardiovascular system. Gain insight into cardiovascular physiology measurements and proficiency in performing them.
Research Methods
Build on your research skills, expanding your understanding of qualitative and quantitative methods. Deepen your appreciation for various research approaches.
Sports Injuries and Biomechanics (Optional)
Develop your understanding of sports and exercise injuries and biomechanical elements to movement for angular kinematics and kinetics.
Exercise for Special Populations (Optional)
Understand the physiological and medical issues of special populations’ physical activity. Design and assess personalised exercise programs for diverse needs.
* This module is available to study fully in Welsh
Complete an independent research project alongside a range of placements to gain valuable industry experience. Expand your rehab knowledge and develop sports trauma management skills. Combine clinical study with BASES-endorsed modules to develop broad and transferable skills.
Professional Practice
Gain 250 hours of supervised clinical practice. Assess strengths, plan your career, prepare for applications and interviews, developing into an autonomous practitioner.
Sports Trauma Management
Learn to address life- and limb-threatening sports injuries. Study advanced trauma life support, airway manoeuvres, bleeding management, cervical spine injury assessment, and emergency action planning.
Advanced Rehabilitation of Sports and Exercise Injuries
Boost your practical skills in late-stage rehabilitation and understand how to make objective return-to-play decisions. Focus on prescribing speed, acceleration and plyometric exercises as well as injury prevention strategies for individual and team sports.
Dissertation
You’ll have the freedom to design and conduct an independent study and critically evaluate scientific data and literature.
Exercise Physiology III (Optional)
Explore the exercise-cardiovascular system relationship. Gain an understanding of cardiovascular physiology measurements and proficiency in conducting them.
Muscle Function and Biomechanics (Optional)
Combine Newton’s laws with angular kinematics/kinetics and walking/running mechanics. Develop your technical and analytical skills using biomechanics software.
Strength and Conditioning (Optional)
Learn the essential scientific knowledge for delivering effective strength and conditioning programs.
Course Highlights
How you’ll learn
In our accredited course, you'll demonstrate your clinical skills through practical learning and exams. Alongside those, you'll tackle written exams, coursework, portfolios, and presentations. In your final year, you'll complete 250 hours of placement, with 110 of these within our in-house injury clinic. Led by staff with clinical expertise, you'll work with real patients, making it easier to meet your placement requirements.
Teaching staff
We're not just academics; we're practising sports therapists. Our course focuses heavily on practical sessions, held in clinical rooms or modern sports facilities. With up to 20 hours of weekly sessions, including placements and tutorials, you'll get stuck in with essential experience to boost your employability. Supported by personal tutors, module tutors, program directors, and clinical supervisors, you'll also have access to tutorial support and a peer mentoring system.
Your education will be underpinned by an evidence base and supported by the latest research from our Performance, Injury, and Sport Therapy research group, enabling you to learn from academics in the field.
Placements and work experience
Work placement is central to all levels of this degree. At level 4, you’ll support university sports teams as pitch-side first aiders and practice your new skills in our massage clinics. You’ll gain valuable experience on placements with partners at level 5 and 6, supervised by experienced therapists. Extra opportunities have included covering events like the London to Paris cycle, with all expenses paid. Our staff's experience with professional, semi-professional and international sport and other professional clubs provides valuable industry connections.
Facilities
The Sports and Exercise Therapy degree at USW boasts British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) endorsed facilities, including state-of-the-art sports and strength/conditioning spaces and dedicated clinical teaching spaces.
Situated in Treforest, USW Sport Park Campus features an indoor FIFA standard 3G football pitch with Catapult ClearSky Indoor GPS System, 16-bed clinical teaching space, Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill, VALD Performance testing equipment, all-weather/outdoor 3G pitches, and multi-use grass pitches. Used by local and professional clubs, it's an ideal training base.
90% of our BSc (Hons) Sports and Exercise Therapy students were satisfied with their course. (National Student Survey 2024).
Top in Wales
Sport Science at USW is top in Wales for Teaching Quality
(Guardian University Guide 2025)-
90% of our BSc (Hons) Sports and Exercise Therapy students were satisfied with their course. (National Student Survey 2024).
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS Points: 112 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: BBC
- Welsh BACC: Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BB at A Level to include one A Level in Science, Mathematics, Physical Education, Public Services or Psychology but to exclude General Studies
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit in a relevant subject
- Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points
Additional Requirements:
The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on the Child & Adult Workforce and Child & Adult Barring List and subscription to the DBS Update Service is required. (Overseas equivalent required for non-uk applicants).
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch and we'd to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£785
per 20 credits*ADDITIONAL COSTS
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
*Obligatory
The course will include working with children and vulnerable adults, and so you will be required to complete an enhanced DBS check. Having a criminal conviction may not exclude you from joining the course but we may not be able to facilitate placements for applicants who have convictions for violent offences, or offences against children or vulnerable adults. A criminal conviction may also mean that professional membership to The Society of Sports Therapists is not possible.
If you have any concerns regarding a criminal record, please contact the course leader before applying for the course.
Cost: £47.20
DBS automatic update service – annual renewal, must be purchased within 30 days of DBS application.
Cost: £13
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
Life at USW
Halls are a big part of your student experience and there’s accommodation at all three of our locations. If you don’t want to live near the campus, there are great transport links to keep you connected.