MSc Sports Therapy

Why study this subject?

Sports Therapy is a rapidly developing area of healthcare, with the public and sporting population becoming increasingly more aware of the requirements to care for their bodies from a health and exercise perspective. This means that there is also a higher risk of injury. Studying this course will provide you with opportunities to join the profession and work with elite athletes, in the NHS, or as part of your own Sports Therapy business.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

Here at BNU, we aim to break the mould when it comes to studying. Our central theme centres around our Sports Therapy family approach where our students are made to feel part of something fun, rewarding and inspiring.

Students come to us to feel part of a course where like-minded, driven individuals can come together to learn and apply themselves in an innovative and friendly environment. Studying is a challenge, but like everything else in life, it always feels easier when you have the support of friends and family around. That's what we aim to achieve for everyone who studies Sports Therapy here.

Our staff offer a broad spectrum of talents, skills and experiences to ensure all of our students will identify, strive for and achieve their goals within Sports Therapy.

This course is fully accredited by the professional body, ‘The Society of Sports Therapists’ and through studying with us you'll have student membership paid for by the University. Membership brings lots of benefits to both your studies and your professional development and, following graduation, you'll be eligible for professional registration with the society which will boost your legitimacy as a practitioner.

Sports Therapy placements are the backbone of this course. The course team recognises that it's not only what you know and learn in the classroom, but also what kind of work experience you complete that'll enhance your employment opportunities. Because of this we've developed partnerships with a variety of elite, professional and semi-professional sports teams like Watford FC, Wycombe Wanderers FC, England Handball, Wasps RFC, as well as hospitals and more traditional clinical settings like Wycombe Hospital, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the Halsa Clinic. We also offer placements within the university’s very own Sports & Wellbeing Clinic.

What facilities can I use? 

When our third year students have passed all their required assessments and treatments, they are given the opportunity to perform real treatment practice to members of the public under the supervision of staff at the University’s Sports and Wellbeing Clinic.

As a student on this course, you'll also have the use of our state-of-the-art Human Performance lab, the on-site gym and our Sports Therapy teaching room.

What will I study?

This course covers the five pillars of competency in Sports Therapy, as defined by The Society of Sports Therapists:

• prevention
• recognition and evaluation
• management, treatment, and referral
• rehabilitation
• education and professional practice issues.

You'll learn how to deal with an injury from the point of trauma (you'll receive a trauma management qualification) through to assessment and diagnosis, followed by development of a full therapeutic treatment and exercise rehabilitation plan to return the patient back to their previous level of sport or exercise.

We welcome many visiting lecturers from within the industry to provide further specialist knowledge. Their backgrounds and specialisms include disability sport, transplant sport, sport psychology, coaches, physiotherapists, radiologists, orthopaedic surgeons, paediatric specialists, professional athletes and many more.

This course will help you:

• gain the skills, knowledge and attributes needed to practice as a Sports Therapist
• develop a critical understanding, evaluation and synthesis of the concepts, theories, principles and practices of Sports Therapy
• enhance your technical, supervisory and management skills, with sports therapy milieu.

You'll be equipped with the therapeutic knowledge and skills to train and become a fully qualified Sports Therapist, working in the ever-expanding healthcare sector.

How will I be taught and assessed?

This is a heavily practical-based course and so, naturally, the majority of teaching and assessment is also practical. The practical elements are underpinned by lecture theory, background reading and seminars to help students consolidate their learning.

Thanks to the course team’s knowledge and experience, both in the practical environment and in Higher Education, we boast some of the highest teaching hours for this type of course due to the unique nature of the skills being taught.

When designing the assessment strategy, the course team ensured that demonstration and verbal discussion about the theory and application of knowledge is at the forefront of the process. The course doesn't have any written exams, instead learning is assessed through the practical's or demonstrated via coursework and presentations.

A range of specific learning and teaching methods will be utilised throughout the course, including:

• seminars and lectures
• practical and laboratory-based sessions
• visits to and from industry partners
• client-focused practical and reflective projects
• tutorials and workshops.

You'll be assessed through a variety of assessments including presentations, reports, practice document and work related assessments, oral and practical exams, reflective essays, case studies, and portfolio production. You'll also be required to complete a minimum of 200 recorded hands-on supervised clinical practice hours during the course.