Strength, Conditioning, and RehabilitationMSc

If you're interested in a career helping athletes achieve their performance goals, prevent and accelerate recovery from injury, and improve their overall health, this Master's in Strength, Conditioning and Rehabilitation is ideal.

You'll focus on using prescriptive exercise to improve their performance, and learn through practice with the specialist equipment you'll use in your career.

When you graduate, you'll be equipped with the technical knowledge and professional skills to succeed in this growing industry, whether as part of an organisation or as a freelance practitioner. You'll be ready to confidently and effectively develop and rehabilitate athletes of all abilities and backgrounds.

Strength and conditioning is a growing profession and the ability to offer rehabilitation to athletes is becoming a requirement for many positions in the sporting and fitness industries. So you're likely to have a lot of employment options when you graduate.

You could work as a strength and conditioner or rehabilitation, strength and conditioner at all levels, including in club, national, international organisations, as a self-employed practitioner or within a club or sporting organisation.

You could also go on to gain further vocational qualifications with organisations such as the UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES).

Each module on this course is worth a certain number of credits.

You need to study modules worth a total of 180 credits to achieve your MSc. If you don't complete your dissertation project, you'll graduate with a PGDip (120 credits).

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. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Teaching

Teaching on this course includes:

• Practical experience in the lab and gym
• Independent learning
• Learning from a mentor on industry placement

You'll learn from staff who are practising strength and conditioning coaches. Some members of teaching staff also hold specific strength and conditioning qualifications, such as National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists (CSCS).

You can access all teaching resources on Moodle, our virtual learning environment, from anywhere with a Web connection.

For more about the teaching activities for specific modules, see the module list above.

How you're assessed

You'll be assessed through:

• Practical assessments – such as testing an injured athlete
• Client reports – generating reports for athletes and coaching staff based on tests run on athletes
• Video submissions
• Blogging
• Infographics
• Portfolios
• Presentations

All assessments focus on gathering data through practical work, followed by delivering a training/rehabilitation recommendation, based on the situations you'll encounter professionally.

Placement module assessment

On the placement module, you'll be assessed through a portfolio and oral presentation.

Dissertation module assessment

On the dissertation module, you'll be assessed through a thesis and poster presentation.

You can test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on practice and formal assessments, so you can improve in the future.

A typical week

We recommend you spend around 35 hours a week studying for your Master's degree. Some weeks will be more intensive than others, depending on your workload.

Most timetabled teaching takes place from 9.00am–1.00pm on Thursdays. There are also 2 block modules, where you'll do practical study in a lab or gym from 9.00am–5.00pm, 5 days a week for 2 weeks.

The rest of the time you’ll do independent study and attend your work placement.

Working hours on placement will depend on your role and may include some evening and weekend working.

Term times

The academic year runs from September to early June with breaks at Christmas and Easter. It's divided into 2 teaching blocks and 2 assessment periods:

• September to December – teaching block 1
• January – assessment period 1
• January to May – teaching block 2 (includes Easter break)
• May to June – assessment period 2

While there's no teaching over summer, you'll submit your dissertation in late August, and complete your final assessment, a poster presentation, in September.

The amount of timetabled teaching you'll get on your Master's degree might be less than what you're used to in your previous studies, but you'll also get face-to-face support from teaching and support staff when you need it. These include the following people and services:

Personal tutor

Your personal tutor helps you make the transition to postgraduate study and gives you academic and personal support throughout your time at university.

As well as regular scheduled meetings with your personal tutor, they're also available at set times during the week if you want to chat with them about anything that can't wait until your next meeting.

Learning support tutors

You'll have help from a team of faculty learning support tutors. They can help you improve and develop your academic skills and support you in any area of your study.

They can help with:

• Improving your academic writing (for example, essays, reports, dissertations)
• Understanding and using assignment feedback
• Managing your time and workload
• Revision and exam techniques 

Academic skills support

As well as support from faculty 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 writing
• note taking
• time management
• critical thinking
• presentation skills
• referencing
• working in groups
• revision, memory and exam techniques

If you have a disability or need extra support, the Additional Support and Disability Centre (ASDAC) will give you help, support and advice.

Library support

Library staff are available in person or by email, phone or online chat to help you make the most of the University’s library resources. You can also request one-to-one appointments and get support from the faculty librarian for science.

The library is open 24 hours a day, every day, in term time.

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.

Tuition fees (2023 start)

UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students

• Full-time: £11,400
• Part-time: £5,700 a year

EU students 

(including Transition Scholarship)

• Full-time: £11,400
• Part-time: £5,700 a year

International students

• Full-time: £19,200
• Part-time: £9,600 a year

Fees are subject to annual increase.

Funding your studies

Find out more 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. 

If you're a UK student, you may be eligible for a Government postgraduate loan, which you can use to help with course fees and living costs.

Applying from outside the UK? Find out about funding options for international students.

Tuition fees terms and conditions

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. 

Start your application by following the link below:

September 2023 start

• Full time (1 year)
• Part time (2 years)

How can I prepare for a Strength, Conditioning and Rehabilitation Master's?

An undergraduate degree in BSc Sport and Exercise Science or BSc Strength and Conditioning is ideal preparation for this course, but prior experience alongside another undergraduate degree would also be suitable.

Enthusiasm for fitness and training is key, and a pre-existing knowledge of the fundamentals of sports, health and exercise is also important.

What skills and qualities do I need for this Strength, Conditioning and Rehabilitation Master's?

As well as meeting the course entry requirements, you'll need a solid understanding of the principles of sports, health and exercise science, as well as enthusiasm towards training and a willingness to participate in necessary training activities.

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.