For many people regular physical exercise is not carried out a sufficient level to stay healthy and maintain a basic level of fitness. This project will examine if augmenting a conventional exercise routine with recreational virtual environments, will increase the intrinsic mo tivation with a group of users.
Building on research in VR/AR platforms with 3D 6 Degrees of Freedom accurate low latency controllers where users’ physical movement can be tracked ,the game /experience will lead the user through a number of predefined physical activities over a specific time period.
The user’s movements and other biometric data are collated and assessed in the context of the user’s perception of exertion and motivation to continue to carry out the exercise. We hope to gain an understanding of the links between differing VR/AR experiences and motivation to carry out physical exercise.
This project will use a mixed methodology. A pilot study will be carried out on usage of the new the new system.
Through knowledge creation, application and transfer, this project will deepen our understanding of the factors determining motivation for physical exercise in a VR/AR environment. In line with the IT Carlow’s strategic research objectives, the outputs will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences.
The aim of this study is to examine the effects of an eight week exercise programme delivered twice a week, in one hour session to children with ASD. The project will examine if 2 hrs per week of exercise is a suitable dosage to obtain significant improvements in the children’s behaviour and fitness level.
This project will be a continuation of a project which is presently running examining the effects of an eight week programme delivered in 3, one hour slots. A suitable exercise programme has been developed to administer to the children. The project will involve administering the exercise programme to primary schools in Carlow and Kilkenny. Children with autism who are taught within an autism unit will be included in the project. Prior to the commencement of the study, the teachers and parents of the children, once their consent has been given, will be asked to fill in 2 questionnaire assessing the children’s behaviour. The children will then undergo a modified Eurofit testing to assess their fitness levels. An eight week programme of exercise will be administered to the children, twice per week, in a one hour duration. Following the completion of the programme retest of the modified Eurofit test will be re administered and the parents and teachers of the children will be again asked to fill out the questionnaires assessing the children’s behaviour.
Exercise is believed to be extremely beneficial for children with autism, especially for improving their behaviour, but the evidence for this is mainly based on case studies. The necessary dosage of exercise to improve behaviour and fitness levels needs to be established. This study will be a follow on from a study currently running in this area. The combined results from both studies will help to inform all medical and educational professionals on what is the optimum dosage of exercise for children with autism, to improve both fitness and behaviour. The results of this study will be disseminated via social media twitter/Facebook (autism mamai), peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
It is well known that the first two decades of life represent an important window of opportunity to not only improve the health and well-being of young people, but also their health status into adult life. The role that physical activity and fitness can play in improving markers of health and well-being in young people is an important area of study, especially given concerns of declining fitness and increasing obesity in today’s children and adolescents.
Based on the internationally-recognised research conducted at the Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre (CHERC), our Masters programme in Paediatric Exercise and Health offers a thorough grounding in the unique physiological responses of children and adolescents during exercise and how these responses are influenced by age, sex and biological maturation. It provides an in depth evaluation of the relationships between physical activity, fitness and health in young people. You will gain experience of both theoretical and hands-on methods used to evaluate physical activity and fitness, plus advanced training in research methods and analytical procedures.
The programme is delivered within a friendly and supportive learning environment, drawing upon innovative multi-method and multi-disciplinary research and teaching by our leading academics. You will have opportunities for involvement with on-going research projects and to develop key transferable skills beneficial for further doctoral study.
Dedicated careers day and tailored career support for each student are provided. Graduates of the programme have typically found employment in a variety of sport, exercise, leisure management and consultancy, and health promotion settings. Recent examples include: community based physical activity coordinators and directors; research assistant at the Medical Research Council; and a local authority physical activity specialist for children with coordination and movement difficulties.
The programme is suitable for sport, exercise and health-related professionals seeking continuing professional development. Recent examples of professionals graduating from our programmes include medical doctors, practice nurses, physiotherapists and youth sports managers/coaches.
The MSc Paediatric Exercise and Health presents an academic challenge whilst also providing you with the skills to apply theoretical concepts in real-world laboratory and field settings. The Masters programme is intended to enhance teaching and learning through research and applied practice derived from sport, health and exercise. It will provide you with the opportunity to employ theoretical concepts in applied sport, health and exercise settings and acquire a range of transferable skills to develop as an autonomous and reflective individual.
All of our teaching staff are active researchers and their work informs public policy on exercise and health. For example, we provide scientific support and consultancy services to national and international athletes and teams including Rugby Football Union, England and Wales Cricket Board, and the Football Association.
The programme is made up of five compulsory modules. The list of modules may include the following;
The modules listed here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
Dedicated careers day and tailored career support for each student are provided. Graduates of the programme have typically found employment in a variety of sport, exercise, leisure management and consultancy, and health promotion settings. Recent examples include: community based physical activity coordinators and directors; research assistant at the Medical Research Council; and a local authority physical activity specialist for children with coordination and movement difficulties.
Do you want to further your knowledge of sport science and athletic development? Southampton Solent’s athletic development and peak performance master’s degree has been designed in partnership with industry experts to help equip students with skills, experience and knowledge precisely tailored to industry requirements.
Built on a successful and popular undergraduate programme, this high-level master’s degree helps to prepare students for a career in the sports industry by delivering hands-on professional skills and adopting an interdisciplinary approach to coaching.
During the course, students will explore key areas such as talent identification, long-term athlete development, performance analysis, strength and conditioning, peak performance, technical and tactical development, marginal gains, and injury prevention and management.
Past students have benefitted from a guest speaker programme which has featured lectures from professionals from the highest level of a variety of sports, who have shared their advice, knowledge and experience of the industry.
The skills you’ll develop on this course open up a wide range of career opportunities in sport and exercise science, across every sport imaginable.
You’ll have the opportunity to specialise at the highest level with Solent’s PhD programme, under the guidance of various staff members.
This BASES-accredited course is well-suited to those with a sports science-related undergraduate degree who wish to further their knowledge to pursue a career in sport at all levels.
Technical Development in Sport
On this unit you will critically analyse coaching methods and how skill is acquired, building your understanding and use of technology for developing, monitoring and testing athletic performance.
Psycho-Social Development in Sport
The aim of this unit is to analyse the theories underpinning talent identification and long-term athlete development, and to examine the psycho-social factors affecting performance throughout an athlete’s career.
Physical Preparation in Sport and Exercise
This unit examines the science behind effective training, injury prevention and rehabilitation in a practical setting. You will focus on physical and mental loading, and on the key fitness components of strength, speed, endurance and flexibility.
Tactical Development in Sport
This unit focuses on performance analysis techniques, providing practical opportunities to collect, assimilate and analyse tactical, technical and time motion information, with the aim of improving performance.
Marginal Gains for Peak Performance
This unit identifies past, current and future methods of obtaining potential marginal advantage in performance, with a chance to build first-hand experience via off-site learning.
Individual Project
The project provides an opportunity to undertake a sustained, intensive and independent investigation into a topic of your choosing, presenting your work in a peer-reviewed journal format.
Students have full access to the University’s leading fully-equipped sports science facilities, which boast a BASES-accredited physiology laboratory, as well as biomechanics, health and exercise, and psychology laboratories. Many of these facilities are regularly used by professional athletes, including players from Southampton FC.
You could work with professional, elite or Olympic athletes, meeting the challenges of ensuring they maintain peak fitness in world-class competition, or work with hospitals and health organisations to develop training and recovery programmes for patients suffering injury or disability. You could work with schools and/or colleges, developing fitness programmes and encouraging the next generation of athletes to excel.
The course team has strong industry links and the University is a partner of Southampton FC. The University also works with other top sports organisations, including Reed’s High Performance Academy, British Swimming, Hampshire Rugby, Crystal Palace FC, London Irish RFC and GB Wheelchair Rugby.
This MSc has been designed in conjunction with industry experts, ensuring you receive the skills and theory precisely tailored to industry requirements. Our industry partners are also integral in the provision of placement opportunities, giving you the advantage of real-world experience alongside potential employers during your master’s studies.
Prior to starting the course you’ll be expected to have a placement organised that will last throughout your studies; this can be in more than one organisation if required. The placement should be in a role relevant to the course, and might include (but not limited to) coach, sport scientist, performance analyst, strength and conditioning coach, exercise physiologist, biomechanist, laboratory technician, etc.
If you’ve been unable to organise a placement, the course team will support you in finding a placement, potentially with university partners Southampton FC or a range of other top sports organisations, including Reed’s High Performance Academy, British Swimming, Hampshire Rugby, Crystal Palace FC, London Irish RFC, GB Wheelchair Rugby and more.
There are increasing rates of ill-health resulting from sedentary living, poor dietary habits and high stress lifestyles. The duties performed by a Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES) are linked closely to treating patients living with a long term condition in which exercise has been shown to provide therapeutic benefit. Specifically, cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary diseases, diabetes, stroke, cancer and musculoskeletal limitations remain important health concerns that have all been shown to benefit from regular, safe exercise.
Therefore, this innovative course is designed to offer you an interdisciplinary approach to exercise in clinical settings as well as vocational qualifications and experiences that will enable you to apply theory to practice. The integration of theory and practice within this course will enable you to critically analyse, adapt and modify existing approaches to develop safe and effective physical activity programmes to optimise the health-related fitness of clients.
On this course you can:
Obtain lab-based and field skills, as well as the ability to communicate with clients in a professional and approachable style.
Gain Register of Exercise Professionals endorsed vocational qualifications in clinical exercise, including exercise referral, cardiac disease, chronic respiratory diseases, stroke, cancer and falls prevention which are essential requirements should you wish to pursue a career as a clinical specialist exercise instructor.
Work with clinicians providing exercise in the management of a range of long term conditions
The programme provides an opportunity to work toward ACSM Clinical Exercise Physiologist certification and units aligned to National Occupation Standards for Health and Fitness.
Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:
Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Exercise Referral Coordinator
Exercise Therapist
PhD Research
The modular programme is offered in two formats: Full-time (12 months) and Part-time (24 months). The course includes 120 credits of taught units and a 60 credit Project. It is also possible to study parts of this course for CPD purposes, such as a single unit (30 credits) or top up a related Postgraduate Diploma to a full MSc.
The units contain vocational elements relevant for providing personalised exercise training for a range of medical conditions, including classroom, exercise laboratory and placement learning. The MSc Clinical Exercise Project unit prepares you for your independent project, where you will plan and implement a service evaluation, research project or enterprise & innovation project in the area of clinical exercise.
Teaching takes place on Thursdays, Fridays and some Saturdays, so attendance on selected weekends is necessary for the vocational training included in some of the units. Placements take place in areas such as Southampton, Winchester, Portsmouth and Chichester and are scheduled according to placement provider requirements during the week. Each unit is generally taught over a three week block, however cardiac rehabilitation requires a longer study period.
The core unit you will study is:
MSc Clinical Exercise Project (60 credits)
Optional units to choose include 120 credits from:
Exercise for Cardiac Rehabilitation (30 credits)
Exercise for Chronic Respiratory Diseases (30 credits)
Exercise and Cancer Care (30 credits)
Exercise and Fitness after Stroke (30 credits)
Exercise for Falls Prevention (30 credits)
Paediatric Exercise Science and Medicine (30 credits)
The delivery format for the course is largely based around seminar, practical, workshop and placement learning to integrate theory into practical sessions. Teaching sessions will include vocational training, seminar and exercise laboratory work, led by leading practitioners in the area of clinical exercise. You will be provided with a personal tutor to assist with academic and pastoral issues.
The course has a problem-based learning approach and you will be assessed in a variety of ways with a focus on self-reflection and initiative and problem-based assignments. Here’s how we assess you:
Vocational training (MCQ and case study)
Practical assessment
Applied essays
Case studies
Project report
Poster presentation
We have strong links with National Health Service partners in the Wessex region and professional training providers in exercise, such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the Register of Exercise Professionals. Graduates of this course possess qualifications to provide exercise in cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise after cancer, exercise after stroke or exercise for falls prevention provided by leading vocational clinical exercise training providers. Having such a skills-set is important for being employable as an exercise physiologist in diverse multi-disciplinary teams, whilst also presenting the opportunity to work as an exercise entrepreneur as your own exercise service manager.
Roles our graduates have taken on include
Exercise referral coordinator
NHS trainee clinical scientist
Health advisor
Cardiopulmonary exercise physiologist
Health and wellbeing physiologist
Bariatric exercise physiologist
NHS physical activities advisor
Private exercise physiologist
This was the first course to be accredited by the Sport and Exercise Nutrition Register (SENr), the national register for qualified sport and exercise nutritionists. Academically challenging, vocationally relevant and underpinned by evidence-based practice, it focuses on the study of nutrition in relation to sport and exercise.
You will gain a thorough understanding of the multidisciplinary aspects of sport and exercise nutrition, and on completion you will be able to apply for graduate registration with the SENr.
Whether you aspire to work in high-performance sport or in the promotion of physical activity, exercise and good health practices among the general population or in specific communities, nutrition workshops and applied sessions will provide you with the opportunities to develop your practical skills and apply your expertise. If you would like to gain additional practical experience alongside your academic study, you will be able to apply for an internship in an applied sport science setting, working with elite athletes under the guidance of a registered SENr practitioner.
We also offer a PG Cert in Sport & Exercise Nutrition specifically for healthcare professionals here
ASSESSMENT
Modules are assessed through a mix of coursework assignments, case studies, examinations, laboratory reports and presentations appropriate to the programme. Each module is assessed through the equivalent of 4,000 words.
SPORT AND ACTIVE LIFESTYLES
At Leeds Beckett we're passionate about sport. There's a huge range of sports and activities for you to get involved in, including more than 40 sports clubs. If you'd like to find out more about what we have to offer - including our Carnegie Sports Scholarship Scheme - take a look at our Sport & Active Lifestyles website.
Research Excellence Framework 2014
Research Excellence Framework 2014: 59% of our research submitted was assessed as world leading or internationally excellent.
Core modules
Core modules
Core modules
Your qualification will leave you well placed to pursue a range of roles. You could work in the sport and fitness industry, lead sports nutrition programmes for professional teams and elite athletes, or you could be recruited by national governing bodies or other sporting organisations. You will also be well equipped to conduct specialist research and pursue a higher degree.
Events, Hospitality, International Development, Sports Science and Tourism masters at the University of Brighton
