Sport Psychology BSc (Hons) (with Foundation Year)
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UCAS Code: C892|Duration: 4 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Accredited|Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Sport Psychology uses the rigour of science to investigate how people perceive the world, structure their thinking, solve problems, and interact with others, set against the context of sport and exercise. Our Sport Psychology degree is firmly embedded in both the disciplines of Psychology and Sport & Exercise Science. This approach allows you to study important psychological theory and apply this to a variety of sport and exercise settings.
You will take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Sport Psychology, preparing for work as a practitioner in elite sport, exercise, and broader community health settings. The curriculum contains high level, research-informed teaching delivered by skilled lecturers, drawing on their own research and expertise. The degree is designed to deliver a tailored skills-based experience which is underpinned by a foundation in subject knowledge and research skills and experience. You will also learn key transferable skills, enabling you to apply knowledge and undertake your own research, exploring the impact of Sport Psychology across specialist populations and in different contexts.
You will be taught in our excellent research facilities, including labs for experiments in cognition and perception, an Eye tracker lab, an EEG lab, an fNIRS lab, observational, and transcription labs. You will be supported by your lecturers to become an independent learner capable of questioning the world around you, with an emphasis on ethical issues relating to wellbeing, competition, and research.
Course structure
Teaching on this degree is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, seminars of smaller groups of around 15-20 students, and tutorials which typically have no more than 10 students.
During your first year of study, there are approximately 12 teaching hours each week, which reduces to approximately 10 teaching hours in your second and third years. On top of teaching hours, you are also expected to spend a number of hours studying independently each week, as well as studying in groups to prepare for any group assessments that you may have.
Accreditation
Our single honours degree is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and upon completion of your studies you will become eligible for Graduate Basis of Chartered Membership (GBC). This will give you access to the postgraduate training courses of the BPS and will be your first major step in becoming a professional psychologist.
Assessment and feedback
You will complete a number of formative and summative assessments both individually and working in groups. This includes written exams, essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, and assessed laboratory work. In the final year all students complete an individual empirical research project (dissertation).
Written feedback is provided for all coursework, along with the opportunity to discuss this in more detail with your tutor.
Foundation Year
The Foundation Year is a great opportunity if you have the ability and enthusiasm to study for a degree, but do not yet have the qualifications required to enter directly onto our degree programmes. A significant part of the Foundation Year focuses upon core skills such as academic writing at HE level, becoming an independent learner, structuring academic work, critical thinking, time management and note taking.
Successful completion of the Foundation Year will enable you to progress into the first year (Level C) of your chosen honours degree. Further details can be found here.
Year One
Introduction to Sports Psychology
In the first year you will explore What is Psychology to develop an understanding of the historical and conceptual issues related to psychology as a scientific discipline. Here you will learn how to ask questions and consider whether humans are more than a set of psychological processes. Following this, we move to Individual and Group Perspectives that develops an awareness of social psychology, personality, and individual differences. You will study topics such as conflict, attitudes, altruism and prosocial behaviour, and discrimination. You will also study Research Design and Analysis, engaging in research and developing key skills around ethical issues, research design, and methods of analysis.
You will gain a broad knowledge of the key themes that underpin sport psychology, studying the psychology of sport, sport sociology, coaching and teaching, motor behaviour, and sport management. We explore the four main principles of coaching: talent ID, development, children and young people, and community, and consider this from both a coaching and teaching perspective using differing approaches to learning, such as teaching games.
You will study the codification and history of sport, and the development of sport in the community and learn about differing ideologies of sport, as well as the impact of sport on local and national identity. Key theories about motivation, confidence, and personality will be assessed in relation to their impact on participation and performance.
Year Two
Explorations in Sports Psychology
The second year focuses on cognitive and developmental psychology, and continues the training provided in research design and analysis. In Vision and Cognition, you will study topics such as visual perception, memory, attention, and language, and in Developmental Psychology you will cover topics such as maturational changes, biological factors in development, and emotional influences through the lifespan. Research Design and Analysis 2 introduces more complex research designs in quantitative psychology and also covers qualitative methods (eg, observation, thematic analysis) and mixed methods approaches to research. Integral to this is the increased critical awareness of the role of ethics in research.
You will broaden your knowledge of sport psychology by covering themes centred on health and wellbeing and their impact on sport performance, participation, and psychological wellbeing. These include theories of exercise behaviour, body image, and motivation/barriers to exercise. You will learn about motor control and the importance of attention in performance and learning, and will also examine key contemporary issues of globalisation and commercialisation of sport. There is a focus on the role of outside agencies, such as the media and the management and governance of sport, and you will also investigate guidelines and strategies for physical activity.
Year Three
Advanced Studies in Sport Psychology
The final year examines psychological functioning at a biological and cellular level in Biological Psychology and relates this back to societal and individual issues covered in years one and two. The topics covered include brain plasticity, reward circuits, and neuroscientific methods. In Motivation and Emotion, you learn about the principles and processes associated with motivational goals, such as growth mindsets, social-emotional intelligence, and aggression. You also have the opportunity to explore Future Challenges for Psychology, critically reflecting on the future of the discipline and the challenges (and opportunities) associated with identity and wellbeing, an aging population, increased globalisation, and a warming world.
In the final year all students on the BSc Sports Psychology programme complete an independent empirical research project, the Dissertation. Here you will explore in-depth an area that you are passionate about and you will be supervised by a lecturer in Sports Psychology. A series of lectures and workshops support the dissertation, helping to further develop the skills needed to conduct an independent research project.
At this stage there is a focus on psychophysiology and you will examine how areas of motor control can be measured using state of the art equipment. You will learn about psychological skills training, and how this can enhance preparation and sport performance, and study topics such as perfectionism, mental health and wellbeing, and effective career transitions. You will also tailor your degree by choosing to study one from a selection of 12-week Specialist Seminars (topics include Cognition and Wellbeing, Forensic Psychology, Psychology of Addictions, and Perception and Action in Training and Rehabilitation*).
*Subject to change
Entry requirements
There may be some flexibility for mature students offering non-tariff qualifications and students meeting particular widening participation criteria.
Careers
The Sport Psychology degree programme represents the first step towards a professional career in Sport Psychology. As the course is accredited by the British Psychological Society, it allows students to apply for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). Graduates of Sport Psychology go on to work as Sport Psychologists in professional sports, work on health-based exercise intervention programmes, and wider community-based projects. Other career routes of past graduates have included performance enhancement specialists and lifestyle consultants.
Additionally, the degree provides an excellent foundation for postgraduate study, especially for those who are interested in careers in teaching, research, and academia. With their interest in working with people and their good research, problem-solving, and communication skills, graduates of Sport Psychology are also well placed in many other areas such as health and social care, business, management, and marketing.
Enhancement opportunities
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year are £9,535* for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,535*.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
*subject to Council approval.
Additional costs
On top of your tuition fees, you need approximately £200 to cover the cost of any fieldtrips and to buy key textbooks.
There is a small cost for student BPS membership, and once you graduate, there is a registration fee and annual fee thereafter for Graduate Membership – full details of costs can be found on the BPS website.
Many students find it useful to have a laptop during their studies. Any laptop will be fine; however, we do not recommend a Chromebook as this does not support some of the psychology-specific software that you will need in your degree.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2025/26 are £14,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
With Foundation year, this degree is only available to study as a Single Honours course.