.gif "Masters Degrees at University of Birmingham")
A Master's degree enabling you to develop and apply cutting-edge, evidence-based knowledge and skills in football (soccer) coaching and performance to advance your career.
This innovative online distance learning programme allows football coaching professionals worldwide to develop a critical understanding of issues relating to coaching and performance in football (soccer), and advance their professional practice whilst working.
The degree has been developed in collaboration with our partners in the football industry, including the English FA and European professional clubs.
Taught by nationally and internationally renowned coaches and football scientists, the applied nature of the programme means that you are continually asked to reflect on course content in your professional practice.
St Mary's is the first institution in the UK and internationally to offer a distance learning football coaching course of its kind, allowing you to study when and where it suits you. This flexible format means you can advance your knowledge, expertise and professional skills in parallel.
We are a leading provider of postgraduate taught sport science programmes and are widely recognised as one of the UK’s premier sports institutions.
The University has a wide knowledge-base in football; we are an FA Women's High-Performance Football Centre, playing a pivotal role in the positive future of the game in the UK. We also offer a foundation degree programme in Football Education, Coaching and Development (in partnership with Chelsea FC Foundation) and have several PhD’s funded by London’s top professional clubs regarding the science of football.
Our staff is comprised of highly regarded coaching professionals and academics involved in world-leading and applied research, consultancy, and high-level football coaching activities; all of which are directly relevant to - and inform - the modules delivered on the programme.
Please check our website for more information about entry requirements, tuition fees and student funding.
Football coaching is a well-established profession with clear employment routes. In today’s football marketplace, employers look for up-to-date knowledge and skills.
We equip emerging and practising football professionals with the knowledge- and skill-set for a variety of jobs in the elite performance and youth development environments, such as:
Considerable resources continue to be employed to the sport globally with a growing body of football professionals in many countries and regions worldwide.
Robots have the potential to revolutionise society and the economy, working for us, beside us, and interacting with us. This EPSRC-sponsored programme will produce graduates with the technical skills and industry awareness to create an innovation pipeline from academic research to global markets.
The robotics and autonomous systems area has been highlighted by the UK Government in 2013 as one of the eight Great Technologies that underpin the UK's Industrial Strategy for jobs and growth. Key application areas include manufacturing, assistive and medical robots, offshore energy, environmental monitoring, search and rescue, defence, and support for the ageing population.
The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University are jointly offering this innovative four-year PhD training programme, which combines a strong general grounding in current theory, methods and applications with flexibility for individualised study and a specialised PhD project.
Robotics and autonomous systems are increasingly studied beyond the range of classical engineering. Today robots represent one of the main areas of application of computer science and provide challenges for mathematics and natural science.
It is impossible to imagine transportation, warehousing, safety systems, space and marine exploration, prosthetics, and many other areas of industry, technology and science without robots. Robots are used in theoretical biology and the neurosciences as a model of behaviour.
Areas of interest specific to the center include: movement control, planning, decision making, bio- and neurorobotics, human-robot interaction, healthcare applications, robot soccer, neuroprosthetics, underwater robotics, bipedal walking, service robots, robotic co-workers, computer vision, speech processing, computer animation realistic simulations, and machine learning.
Many more topics can be found be exploring the Centre’s web pages, particularly the personal web pages of the Centre supervisors:
Our four-year PhD programme combines Masters level coursework and project work with independent PhD-level research.
In the first year, you will undertake four or five masters level courses, spread throughout robotics, machine learning, computational neuroscience, computer architectures, statistics, optimization, sensorics, dynamics, mechanics, image processing, signal processing, modelling, animation, artificial intelligence, and related areas. You will also undertake a significant introductory research project. (Students with previous masters-level work in these areas may request to take less courses and a larger project.)
At the end of the first year, successful students will be awarded an MSc by Research by the University of Edinburgh. From this basis, the subsequent three years will be spent developing and pursuing a PhD research project, under the close supervision of your primary and secondary supervisors. The PhD will be awarded jointly by the University of Edinburgh and the Heriot-Watt University.
You will have opportunities for three to six month internships with leading companies in your area, and to participate in our industrial engagement programme, exchanging ideas and challenges with our sponsor companies.
Throughout your studies, you will participate in our regular programmes of seminars, short talks and brainstorming sessions, and benefit from our pastoral mentoring schemes.
Our user partners in industry include companies working in offshore energy, environmental monitoring, defence, assisted living, transport, advanced manufacturing and education. They will provide the real world context for research, as well as opportunities for reciprocal secondments, internships and involvement in our industrial engagement programme.
The School of Informatics holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, in recognition of our commitment to advance the representation of women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. The School is deploying a range of strategies to help female staff and students of all stages in their careers and we seek regular feedback from our research community on our performance.
You will have access to the outstanding facilities in the Edinburgh Robotarium, a national facility for research into robot interaction, supporting the research of more than 50 world-leading investigators from 17 cross-disciplinary research groups.
Research groups at the Edinburgh Robotarium include humanoid movement control, underwater, land and airborne autonomous vehicles, human robot interaction, bio- and neuro-robotics, and planning and decision making in multirobot scenarios.
In addition, our research groups contain a diverse range of compute clusters for compute and data-intensive work, including a large cluster hosted by the Edinburgh Compute and Data Facility.
Our aim is to produce innovation-ready graduates who are skilled in the principles of technical and commercial disruption and who understand how finance and organisation realise new products in start-up, SME and corporate situations.
We intend for our graduates to become leaders in the globally emerging market for autonomous and robotic systems that reduce risk, reduce cost, increase profit and protect the environment. This vision is shared by our industrial supporters, whose support for our internship programme indicates their strong desire to find highly qualified new employees.
Our component research groups already have excellent track-records in post-graduation destinations, including the research labs of industry-leading companies, and post-doctoral research positions in top tier universities.
The Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour (IPAB) focuses on how to link computational perception, representation, transformation and generation processes to external worlds, in theory and in practice.
This covers domains such as visual perception, dynamic control of robot systems, active sensing and decision making, biomimetic robotics, computer-based generation of external phenomena, such as images, music or actions, and agent-based interaction within computer games and animation.
Supported by the dynamic research culture of IPAB, you can develop robots that learn their own motor control, mimic animal behaviours, or produce autonomous and coordinated team actions. Or you can work with systems that interpret real images and video, or generate complex behaviour in animated characters.
We aim to link strong theoretical perspectives with practical hands-on construction, and provide the hardware and software support to realise this vision.
You carry out your research within a research group under the guidance of a supervisor. You will be expected to attend seminars and meetings of relevant research groups and may also attend lectures that are relevant to your research topic. Periodic reviews of your progress will be conducted to assist with research planning.
A programme of transferable skills courses facilitates broader professional development in a wide range of topics, from writing and presentation skills to entrepreneurship and career strategies.
The School of Informatics holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, in recognition of our commitment to advance the representation of women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. The School is deploying a range of strategies to help female staff and students of all stages in their careers and we seek regular feedback from our research community on our performance.
Our robotics labs contain a range of mobile platforms, robot manipulators, humanoid robots, and custom-built sensor and actuation systems that attract continuous interest from funders, industry and members of the public.
Recent developments include the UK's only NASA Valkyrie robot platform, application of robotic hardware to prosthetics and assisted living, and a team that competes in the international robot soccer league.
Our new Edinburgh Centre for Robotics (ECR) brings collaboration with Heriot-Watt University to expand the range of facilities and applications we can explore, and to fund research training.
The machine vision lab has facilities for 3D range data capture, motion capture and high-resolution and high-speed video, and the high performance computing needed for graphics is well supported, including hardware partnerships with companies such as NVIDIA.
While many of our graduates go on to highly successful academic careers, others find their niche in commercial research labs, putting their knowledge and skills to use in an industry setting.
Several of our recent graduates have set up or joined spin-out robotics companies. Our graphics researchers have strong connections to the media and games industries.
The Sport & Exercise Psychology MSc is accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
It is a one-year full time (with part time routes available) programme of study designed for graduates from either Psychology or Sport and Exercise Sciences who are seeking to gain professional recognition through the BPS Qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology (QSEP).
Graduates would therefore practice as an Accredited Sport & Exercise Scientist.
The MSc will also act as a suitable postgraduate qualification for those seeking research positions and other professions.
Within the past decade there has been a marked growth in the career opportunities available for sport and exercise psychologists (eg, working with individual athletes or clubs, teaching in further and higher education and health promotion).
Coupled with such growth has also been an increased need for appropriately qualified and accredited individuals to fill such positions.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) has developed procedures for the accreditation of suitably experienced individuals that stipulate the possession of a relevant form of postgraduate qualification.
Similarly BASES require applicants for Supervised experience to also have a postgraduate qualification in a specialist discipline.
The MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology therefore seeks to provide students with an opportunity to study at a postgraduate level to fulfill the initial requirements for BPS and BASES accreditation, to develop their specialist knowledge of the psychology and to increase their skills in applying such knowledge in both sporting and exercise populations.
Over the past few years, we have redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available as you study for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities, both academic and recreational, at the University. The Tudor Hale Centre for Sport incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness suite. In addition, there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee. Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our brand new Sports Dome, incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch, and grass rugby pitch.
Facilities:
Sport Science Laboratories:
We understand the importance of ensuring that you have the knowledge, skills and experience to compete successfully in today’s challenging jobs market.
The course prepares students for a range of graduate careers; our students have gone on to further work or training in a variety of fields including:
For those wishing to commence training for BPS QSEP Stage 2 and BASES SE, there are opportunities for supervision from academic staff who are qualified supervisors and associates of the Sports Performance Rehabilitation Unit.
All students are required to complete six taught modules, five discipline modules and one in research methods and statistics. In addition, students will complete a research dissertation.
Modules currently available are:
Teaching is delivered in small groups and is interactive. Students are encouraged to debate topics and lead their fellow students through presentations and discussions. In a number of modules there is also a practical element to gain experience of delivering mental skills techniques and developing the skills needed for applied practice.
Requirements for exit qualifications:
Course delivery
The full time course runs from the start of the academic year in September through to the following August.
Students undertake 3 taught modules in the autumn (September to December) and spring (January to May) semester.
The dissertation or supervised experience is conducted and completed over the summer semester (June to August). Taught classes are held on Thursdays and Fridays.
Part-time routes are available and those wishing to complete their studies part-time should contact the programme co-ordinator to discuss the options.
Over the past few years, we have redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available as you study for your degree.
We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends. In addition, some modules will be delivered at the High Performance Centre in Portland.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities, both academic and recreational, at the University.
The Tudor Hale Centre for Sport incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness suite.
In addition, there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee.
Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our brand new Sports Dome, incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch, and grass rugby pitch.
Sport science laboratories:
Modules:
We pride ourselves on the quality of the teaching given to our students. Innovation, enthusiasm and expertise combine to deliver the excellent standards that give our institution its high reputation for learning and teaching.
When you come to Chichester, you will join a community of students and lecturers working in partnership to ensure that your learning experience reflects best practice and embraces the opportunities presented by new, interactive technologies.
Within the past decade there has been a marked growth in the career opportunities available for sport and exercise biomechanists (eg teaching in further and higher education, World Class Support programmes). Coupled with this growth there has also been an increased need for appropriately qualified and accredited individuals to fill such positions. The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences has developed procedures for the accreditation of suitably experienced individuals that stipulate the possession of a relevant form of postgraduate qualification. The MSc in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics, therefore, provides students with an opportunity to study at a postgraduate level to fulfil the initial requirements for BASES accreditation, to develop their knowledge of the sport and exercise sciences and to increase their skills in applying such knowledge in both sporting and exercise populations.
Over the past few years, we have redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available as you study for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities, both academic and recreational, at the University. The Tudor Hale Centre for Sport incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness suite. In addition, there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee. Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our brand new Sports Dome, incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch, and grass rugby pitch.
Facilities:
Sport Science Laboratories:
We provide performance support for elite athletes and competitive teams. We consistently perform well against the elite of university sport. A high number of our performance teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) programme at the elite level.
Several teams are supported with high-level coaching, training facility support and sports science analysis. Numerous local and national sports clubs links with our student sports teams provide additional high-level playing opportunities.
All students are required to complete four modules in their chosen pathway plus the two modules in research methods and statistics and either a research dissertation or a supervised experience portfolio.
Modules currently available are:
In addition, all students have the option of substituting one module for an Independent Study module.
Assessment
To gain a Postgraduate Certificate in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics, students need to complete three modules. Each module is assessed by a 4,000-word assignment.
To gain a Postgraduate Diploma in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics, students need to complete six modules. Each module is assessed by a 4,000-word assignment.
To gain an MSc in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics, students need to complete six modules, and a dissertation of 12,000 words or a supervised experience portfolio.
The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences has developed procedures for the accreditation of suitably experienced individuals that stipulate the possession of a relevant form of postgraduate qualification. The MSc in Sport and Exercise Physiology, therefore, provides students with an opportunity to study at a postgraduate level to fulfill the initial requirements for BASES accreditation, to develop their knowledge of the sport and exercise sciences and to increase their skills in applying such knowledge in both sporting and exercise populations
Over the past few years, we have redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available as you study for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities, both academic and recreational, at the University. The Tudor Hale Centre for Sport incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness suite. In addition, there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee. Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our brand new Sports Dome, incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch, and grass rugby pitch.
Facilities:
Sport Science Laboratories:
We understand the importance of ensuring that you have the knowledge, skills and experience to compete successfully in today’s challenging jobs market. Our students have gone on to work & train in a variety industries including:
We provide performance support for elite athletes and competitive teams. We consistently perform well against the elite of university sport. A high number of our performance teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) programme at the elite level.
Several teams are supported with high-level coaching, training facility support and sports science analysis. Numerous local and national sports clubs’ links with our student sports teams provide additional high-level playing opportunities.
All students are required to complete four modules in their chosen pathway plus the two modules in research methods and statistics and a research dissertation or support placement. Typical modules include:
The MSc in Sport Performance Analysis will help towards accreditation from International Society of Performance Analysis of Sport (ISPAS). The course is aligned to some of the key benchmarks for accreditation, and fulfils the initial requirements if the graduate would like to apply for accreditation.
Over the past few years, we have redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available as you study for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities, both academic and recreational, at the University. The Tudor Hale Centre for Sport incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness suite. In addition, there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee. Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our brand new Sports Dome, incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch, and grass rugby pitch.
Facilities:
Sport Science Laboratories:
We understand the importance of ensuring that you have the knowledge, skills and experience to compete successfully in today’s challenging jobs market.
We provide performance support for elite athletes and competitive teams. We consistently perform well against the elite of university sport. A high number of our performance teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) programme at the elite level. Some of our graduates have gone on to secure jobs with England Netball, Southampton FC, AFC Bournemouth, Brighton FC, Bristol City FC, London Scottish RFC, Surrey County Cricket Club, amongst others.
Several teams are supported with high-level coaching, training facility support and sports science analysis. Numerous local and national sports clubs’ links with our student sports teams provide additional high-level playing opportunities.
THE COURSE INCLUDES AN EXTENSIVE WORK PLACEMENT MODULE INVOLVING WORK RELATED LEARNING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS SPECIFIC TO THE WORLD OF COMMERCIAL SPORTS PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS. YOU WILL BE INVOLVED WITHIN AN ELITE, SEMI-PROFESSIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS SETTING THROUGH ORGANISATIONS CONNECTED WITH THE UNIVERSITY, OR EVEN ONE OF YOUR CHOICE PROVIDING AN AGREEMENT IS ARRANGED. THROUGH THE DEPARTMENTS' CONSULTANCY WORK, THERE IS OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH A VARIETY OF CLUBS FROM VARIOUS SPORTS. THIS PLACEMENT HAS RANGED FROM A VARIETY OF SPORTS OVER THE YEARS INCLUDING FOOTBALL, RUGBY, CRICKET, BASKETBALL AND NETBALL.
Previous students have worked with the following clubs and franchises:
The work placement module provides a platform for students to get involved in performance analysis in a real world situation, working closely with coaches, players, strength and conditioning coaches, physios and management support team. Students are expected to utilise this opportunity to practise skills learned in the university and use innovative ideas to provide the teams with advanced analysis services.
All students are required to complete modules in their chosen pathway (one as an elective) plus the two modules in research methods and statistics and a research dissertation.
Modules currently available are:
In addition, all students have the option of an elective module from:
To gain a Postgraduate Certificate in Sports Performance Analysis, students need to complete three modules. Each module is assessed by a 4,000-word assignment.
To gain a Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Performance Analysis, students need to complete six modules. Each module is assessed by a 4,000-word assignment.
To gain an MSc in Sports Performance Analysis, students need to complete six modules, and either a 12,000 word thesis or a 6,000 word journal article and an oral presentation.
We use a broad range of assessments, which are also novel and vocational to help enhance key employability skills i.e. job application, job interview, CPD portfolio, scout reports, and oral presentations, as well as scientific reports and independent research projects.
Indicative course content:
Students also deliver a research dissertation and undertake a dedicated work placement module.
Over the past few years, we have redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available as you study for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities, both academic and recreational, at the University. The Tudor Hale Centre for Sport incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness suite. In addition, there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee. Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our brand new Sports Dome, incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch, and grass rugby pitch.
Facilities:
Sport Science Laboratories:
We understand the importance of ensuring that you have the knowledge, skills and experience to compete successfully in today’s challenging jobs market.
We provide performance support for elite athletes and competitive teams. We consistently perform well against the elite of university sport. A high number of our performance teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) programme at the elite level.
Several teams are supported with high-level coaching, training facility support and sports science analysis. Numerous local and national sports clubs’ links with our student sports teams provide additional high-level playing opportunities.
Indicative course content:
This course is highly vocational in nature and beneficial to those either wishing to seek future employment in Sports Coaching Science, or, those currently employed within a professional club or organisation.
The advent of this course is in response to the marked growth in career opportunities available to sports coaching scientists across a range of sporting clubs and organisations. This is exemplified by the large number of job vacancies advertised on websites such as SportsCoachUK, UK Sport, BASES, County Sports Partnerships and LinkedIn.
**Candidates must hold at least a Level Two Governing Body of Sport coaching award; having currently (within the last 3 years) attended a Safeguarding and Protecting Children workshop and hold current coaching insurance and a current DBS check.
Over the past few years, we have redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available as you study for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities, both academic and recreational, at the University. The Tudor Hale Centre for Sport incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness suite. In addition, there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee. Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our brand new Sports Dome, incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch, and grass rugby pitch.
Facilities:
Sport Science Laboratories:
Typical Careers include
We provide performance support for elite athletes and competitive teams. We consistently perform well against the elite of university sport. A high number of our performance teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) programme at the elite level.
Several teams are supported with high-level coaching, training facility support and sports science analysis. Numerous local and national sports clubs’ links with our student sports teams provide additional high-level playing opportunities.
All students are required to complete four modules in their chosen pathway plus two modules in research methods and statistics and either a research project or a supervised experience portfolio.
Modules currently available are:
To gain a Postgraduate Certificate in Sports Coaching Science, students need to complete three modules. Each module is assessed by the equivalent of a 4,000-word assignment.
To gain a Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Coaching Science, students need to complete six modules. Each module is assessed by a 4,000-word assignment.
To gain an MSc in Sports Coaching Science students need to complete six modules, and a dissertation of 12,000 words or a sport science support placement.
