BSc (Hons) Strength and Conditioning
Train to become a strength and conditioning coach with guidance from industry experts.
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UCAS Code
C630
Start Date
September 2027
Location
Pontypridd
Campus Code
A
UCAS Points
112
International students: £17,600*
UCAS Code
Start Date
September 2027
Location
Pontypridd
Campus Code
A
UCAS Points
112
Course Overview
You’ll gain hands-on experience at USW Sport Park and earn Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity qualifications to help you step confidently into elite sport coaching.
Study Strength and Conditioning and learn how to help people move better, perform confidently, and stay healthy. Develop practical coaching skills and open career pathways across sport, fitness, health and wellness, and performance environments.
Designed for aspiring strength and conditioning coaches, this BSc combines sport science, practical training, and expert guidance to build real experience, confidence, and a clear pathway into careers in sport, health, wellness, and performance.
Partnerships and Recognitions
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We’re in partnership with and have been recognised by the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the International University Strength and Conditioning Association (IUSCA).
Why study this course?
What you'll study
Your first year builds the foundations of coaching.
You’ll explore human science, develop practical skills, and gain the confidence to design safe, effective, and inclusive training that helps people progress.
Develop the coaching, communication, and leadership skills needed to plan and deliver inclusive, engaging strength and conditioning sessions. Reflect on your practice, apply evidence-informed approaches, and build confidence for a career in sport.
Explore how the body and mind work together to shape movement, performance, and wellbeing. You’ll study anatomy, biomechanics, and sport psychology to support future roles in health, fitness, and sport.
Gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to plan, deliver, and evaluate safe, effective exercise programmes, understand fitness, nutrition, and psychology, and take your first step toward a career in health and performance.
Learn the foundations of performance training, including programming, movement screening, and developing strength, speed, and endurance. Build hands‑on coaching experience and use data tools to train safely and effectively.
In your second year, you’ll put coaching and performance science principles into action.
You’ll refine technical skills, work with real athletes, and grow the confidence, judgment, and creativity needed to support safe, effective, meaningful training.
Learn how to coach effectively, motivate athletes, and plan inclusive, progressive training sessions. Build technical knowledge, reflect on your practice, and develop leadership, critical thinking, and professional skills for sport success.
Learn to design, deliver, and evaluate safe, evidence-based rehabilitation programmes for musculoskeletal injuries. Understand tissue healing, movement mechanics, and recovery strategies while developing practical skills and applied research for real-world practice.
Learn to design and run sport‑specific tests, collect high‑quality data, and interpret results using tools like Excel and AI. Build skills in profiling, reporting, and evidence‑based performance analysis.
Develop your ability to improve strength, speed, and power using science‑based training methods. You’ll coach key movements, analyse performance, and apply data to create safe, effective training programmes.
In your final year, you’ll apply advanced coaching, rehabilitation, and performance monitoring in real environments.
You’ll lead programmes, use data and technology to guide decisions, and develop the professionalism and adaptability for your future career. grams, use data and technology, and build leadership, teamwork, and professional confidence.
Build advanced strength and conditioning skills by designing inclusive, evidence-based programs. Apply science to real-world athletes, reflect on your coaching, and develop leadership, teamwork, and professional confidence for diverse performance environments.
Learn to design, deliver, and evaluate sport-specific rehabilitation and injury prevention programmes. Apply evidence-based strategies, monitor progress, and make informed decisions to support safe return to play, performance, and long-term athlete health.
Learn how to use advanced sport science tools to monitor performance, interpret data, and create meaningful reports. You’ll develop digital fluency and turn insights into informed decisions that support training, recovery, and long‑term athlete health.
Master advanced S&C methods by designing and evaluating athlete‑centred programmes. You’ll use performance data, wearable tech, and evidence‑based strategies while developing leadership, adaptability, and professional confidence through working in a multi-disciplinary team.
We regularly review our courses to keep pace with changing skills and employer needs. If a review leads to significant changes, we’ll contact you to explain what’s changing for the coming year.
Teaching and Assessment
You’ll learn the exact procedures used in industry and complete the course with all the knowledge and skills you need to go straight to work on an aircraft. We’ll assess your progress through assignments, coursework, ongoing class tests, practical work and exams.
Assessment is practical, applied, and focused on developing real coaching and performance skills. You’ll complete tasks such as designing training programmes, analysing performance data, and delivering evidence‑based interventions. In Year 1, assessments build core scientific and coaching foundations through written work, quizzes, and structured practicals. In Years 2 and 3, you’ll take on more complex, challenge‑based projects, case studies, and reflective portfolios. Ongoing formative feedback from tutors, peers, and coaching simulations helps you grow with confidence. By graduation, you’ll have the professional skills, critical thinking, and ethical awareness needed for strength and conditioning practice.
Work placements are a key part of building your professional expertise in strength and conditioning. The course embeds practical experiences, including internships and opportunities to work with real-world performance data. These placements let you apply your learning, develop in-demand skills, and gain the experience that teams and employers in the industry are looking for, preparing you to step confidently into your career.
Train in professional facilities at USW Sport Park, including a strength and conditioning centre, FIFA Pro-standard 3G pitch, and performance labs. Use industry technology to analyse and improve performance, while building practical skills, confidence, and experience for a career in sport.
Course Leader
Nathan Evans
Meet Nathan Evans, Lecturer in Strength and Conditioning and Course Leader for the BSc (Hons) Strength and Conditioning. Nathan leads the course with a strong focus on applied practice and employability, drawing on experience across performance sport, health and wellbeing, and academic research. His teaching connects evidence‑based learning with real‑world strength and conditioning, from athlete development to physical preparation. Students benefit from industry‑relevant practice informed by research and professional standards. Questions about the course or career pathways? Nathan is happy to help—get in touch via email.
“It wasn’t just about learning in lectures. We were encouraged to apply our knowledge practically, which prepared me immensely for the professional world.”
Sam Thomas, Strength and Conditioning graduate
Entry 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 Workforce and Child Barring List and subscription to the DBS Update Service is required. (Overseas equivalent required for non-uk applicants).
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.
How to applyContextual admissions policyAsk us a question112 UCAS points or above
Typical qualification requirements
A Level:
BBC to include a Science subject or PE and to exclude General Studies
Welsh BACC:
C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BB to include a Science subject or PE and to exclude General Studies
BTEC:
Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit in a relevant subject
Access to HE:
Pass the Access to HE Diploma in Sport/Science with a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points
T Level:
P (C and above)
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.
International studentsPre-Sessional EnglishEnglish 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 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component 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.
Fees and Funding
Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).
*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.
Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy. We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.
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
DBS*
This fee includes £40 for the enhanced DBS certificate, the Post Office Administration fee and the online administration fee. £55.42
DBS Updating Service*
Subscription required for each year of the course for a yearly fee of £13. Please note the service has to be joined within 30 days of receipt of your enhanced DBS certificate. £13
Placement*
In Year 2 and 3 students will need to fund their travel and subsistence costs when on placement. Cost is dependent on placement location.
Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).
*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.
Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy. We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.
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
DBS*
This fee includes £40 for the enhanced DBS certificate, the Post Office Administration fee and the online administration fee. £55.42
DBS Updating Service*
Subscription required for each year of the course for a yearly fee of £13. Please note the service has to be joined within 30 days of receipt of your enhanced DBS certificate. £13
Placement*
In Year 2 and 3 students will need to fund their travel and subsistence costs when on placement. Cost is dependent on placement location.
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How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS
You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time).
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Apply direct
Strength and Conditioning
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Full-time, 3 years
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September
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Pontypridd
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Apply direct
Strength and Conditioning
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Part-time, 6 years
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September
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Pontypridd
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If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
Explore our facilities
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Related stories and highlights
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