Clinical Exercise Science MSc
MSc Clinical Exercise Science
See how you'll be taught in 2021/22 in our Covid information for applicants.
Overview
On this MSc Clinical Exercise Science course, you'll develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to support people with long-term health conditions to improve their quality of life, through safe and effective activity and fitness programmes.
You'll learn about medical management, fitness assessment, exercise prescription and behaviour change, and develop your professional skills in exercise and physical activity. You'll learn how to support people with long-term conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal disease, arthritis and cancer.
When you complete the course, you'll be set for a career providing clinical exercise physiology services and have the option to work towards becoming a clinical exercise physiologist.
Entry requirements
MSc Clinical Exercise Science Master's degree entry requirements
Qualifications or experience
- A minimum of a 2:1 honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject. Professional experience and other qualifications may be taken into consideration for applicants not meeting this requirement.
English language requirements
- English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 7.0 with no component score below 6.5.
If you don't meet the English language requirements yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
What you'll experience
On this course, you'll:
- Be taught by clinicians to develop an understanding of the medical management of long term conditions
- Develop practical skills in physiological assessment
- Apply theory-based interventions to change physical activity behaviours in people with long term conditions
- Develop confidence and competence in communicating with clients in a professional and approachable way
- Access career development opportunities
- Have the opportunity to work towards American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification
Careers and opportunities
The demand for qualified clinical exercise specialists is high, and the knowledge and skills you'll gain on this course will place you in a strong position to pursue a career in a variety of clinical settings, in both the public and private sector.
Jobs you can do
Career opportunities include:
- Health and wellbeing physiologist
- Clinical exercise physiologist
- Exercise referral coordinator
- GP exercise referral coordinator
- NHS trainee clinical scientist
- Health advisor
- Cardiopulmonary exercise testing research technician
- Mental health exercise instructor
- NHS physical activities adviser
- Private exercise physiologist
You could also do postgraduate research, including a PhD.
We'll provide you with as much support as possible in finding employment through close industrial contacts, careers events, recruitment fairs and individual advice.
Work experience and career planning
We'll help you to identify internships, voluntary roles and opportunities that will complement your studies.
When you finish the course, our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the clinical exercise industry.
After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career.
What you'll study on this MSc Clinical Exercise Course
Each module on this course is worth a certain number of credits.
You need to study modules worth a total of 180 credits. For example, 4 modules worth 30 credits and 1 module worth 60 credits.
Modules
- Pathophysiology and Medical Management
- Psychology of Exercise and Physical Activity
- Clinical Exercise Physiology
- MSc Professional Development
- MSc Research Development and Practice
Changes to course content
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Learning support
As well as support by faculty teaching staff and your personal tutor, you can use the University’s Academic Skills Unit (ASK).
ASK provides one-to-one support in areas such as:
academic writingnote takingtime managementcritical thinkingpresentation skillsreferencing working in groupsrevision , memory and exam techniques
Support with English
If English isn't your first language, you can do one of our English language courses to improve your written and spoken English language skills before starting your degree. Once you're here, you can take part in our free In-Sessional English (ISE) programme to improve your English further.
Teaching
Teaching methods on this course include:
- seminars
- workshop and practical sessions
Term times
The academic year runs from October to June. There are breaks at Christmas and Easter.
It's divided into 2 teaching blocks and 2 assessment periods:
- Teaching block 1 – October to January
- Assessment period 1 – late January to early February
- Teaching block 2 – February to May
- Assessment period 2 – May to June
You’ll get a timetable 4 weeks before the start of a teaching block.
How you're assessed
You'll be assessed through:
- practical assessment
- research reports
- applied essays
- case studies
- project report
- poster presentation
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
Course costs and funding
Tuition fees (2021 start)
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students
- Full time: £7,950 (subject to annual increase)
- Part time: £3,980 a year (subject to annual increase)
EU students
(including Transition Scholarship)
- Full time: £7,950 (subject to annual increase)
- Part time: £3,980 a year (subject to annual increase)
International students
- Full time: £15,500 (subject to annual increase)
- Part time: £7,750 a year (subject to annual increase)
Funding your studies
Find out how to fund your studies, including the scholarships and bursaries you could get. You can also find more about tuition fees and living costs, including what your tuition fees cover.
Applying from outside the UK? Find out about funding options for international students.
Additional course costs
These course-related costs aren’t included in the tuition fees. So you’ll need to budget for them when you plan your spending.
Additional costs
Our accommodation section shows your accommodation options and highlights how much it costs to live in Portsmouth.
You’ll study up to 6 units a year. You may have to read several recommended books or textbooks for each unit.
You can borrow most of these from the Library. If you buy these, they may cost up to £60 each.
We recommend that you budget £75 a year for photocopying, memory sticks, DVDs and CDs, printing charges, binding and specialist printing.
If your final year includes a major project, there could be cost for transport or accommodation related to your research activities. The amount will depend on the project you choose.
Apply
International students
If you're from outside of the UK, you can apply directly to us (above) or you can get an agent to help with your application. Check your country page for details of agents in your region. To find out what to include in your application, head to the how to apply page of our international students section.
If you don’t meet the English language requirements for this course yet, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.
Admissions terms and conditions
When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to abide by our Student Contract (which includes the University's relevant policies, rules and regulations). You should read and consider these before you apply.
- Subject area
- Sport Science
