MSc Applied Strength and Conditioning *
* subject to final UWE Bristol approval
This course is open for applications
Our flexible, industry-focused MSc Applied Strength and Conditioning master's degree equips you with applied, evidence-based strength and conditioning skills. The course offers hands-on experience with high-performance athletes and regional clubs to give you real-world exposure.
About
Why study Applied Strength and Conditioning?
The demand for applied strength and conditioning professionals has grown significantly over the past decade. As performance sport has become more professional, coaches are now expected to hold recognised qualifications.
Our MSc Applied Strength and Conditioning meets this demand. It's informed by the professional competencies outlined by organisations such as the UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
You'll gain practitioner-led skills, evidence-based approaches and authentic applied experiences within real performance environments. This will prepare you to work in performance sport and applied settings, where you'll help athletes return to play, optimise performance, and manage training loads safely and effectively.
Why UWE Bristol?
Throughout your Strength and Conditioning master's degree, you'll have access to real athletes and performance teams. With high performance sports teams on campus - including American Football, Basketball and Squash - you'll be part of a wider performance sport ecosystem.
This flexible course supports coaches already working in the field. Choose from a full-time, part-time or three-year extended pathway to fit your studies around existing commitments and seasonal work. You'll study in small cohorts with strong academic and practitioner support to strengthen your learning.
You'll also benefit from our regional links across Bristol's sporting landscape, offering embedded placements within a major sporting city. You'll have access to professional, semi-professional and community clubs for placements and hands-on experience.
Where can it take me?
This course is open to a broad audience, from sports rehabilitation and physiotherapy graduates to those with degrees in strength and conditioning, sport science or other human movement-related subjects.
Our MSc Applied Strength and Conditioning will position you for a broad range of roles, including strength and conditioning, performance and physical preparation coaches. Whether you're aiming to specialise, break into the field, progress in your current role or pursue further study, you'll graduate with clear employability outcomes.
Entry
Entry requirements
Applicants normally have:
- a 2:2 Bachelor's degree with honours in a relevant subject. This might include Sport and Exercise Science, Strength and Conditioning, Sport Rehabilitation, Physiotherapy, Sports Coaching, Sport Performance, Physical Education, Exercise and Health, Kinesiology, Human Movement, Biomechanics, or other closely related disciplines with a clear connection to human performance, physical preparation, rehabilitation, or coaching practice.
If you don't hold a directly related degree but can demonstrate substantial relevant professional experience, particularly in strength and conditioning, coaching, sport science support, rehabilitation, or applied performance environments we would consider you on an individual basis. Additional requirements
Before you start your course, you'll be required to complete:
- an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check
- a Health Check.
Read more about professional checks.
English Language Requirement
International and EU applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).
*The University accepts a large number of UK and international qualifications in place of IELTS. To find details of acceptable tests and the required grades please visit our English language requirements pages.
English language support
If you meet the academic requirements but require additional support to take your language skills to the required level, you may be able to attend one of our pre-sessional English courses. Students who successfully complete the pre-sessional course can progress onto their chosen degree course without retaking an IELTS or equivalent.
Read more about our Pre-Sessional English Programme.
How to apply
Read more about postgraduate applications.
Read more about international applications and key international deadline dates.
For further information
- Email: admissions@uwe.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)117 32 83333
Structure
Content
The structure and content of this new course is currently under review and subject to final UWE Bristol approval. It will be published on this page as soon as possible.
Learning and Teaching
Learn through a mix of face-to-face practical sessions, seminars and online learning, giving you the flexibility to study around other commitments. Teaching takes place across UWE Bristol, for example, with practical sessions in our Performance Gym and seminars on Frenchay and Glenside Campus.
Explore athlete development, coaching interventions, load management and performance support through applied tasks and real-world scenarios. Plus, dig into the science behind athlete monitoring, long-term development, injury risk and return-to-performance strategies - all through a practical, real-world lens.
Online recorded lectures and digital tasks will help you prepare for in-person sessions, while online tutorials and dissertation supervision offer extra flexibility - especially useful if you're working alongside your studies.
Throughout your Strength and Conditioning master's degree, you'll engage with performance athletes, industry practitioners and placement partners, helping you build confidence in professional environments.
For more details see our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.
Assessment
Assessments are designed to reflect real tasks you'd carry out as a practising strength and conditioning coach. You'll complete athlete testing protocols, design and evaluate coaching interventions, produce performance analysis reports and build professional placement portfolios.
This practical, applied approach prepares you for the evidence-driven expectations of modern performance sport. You'll learn how to justify your decisions using research, track performance changes and communicate your findings clearly - essential skills in a field where coaches increasingly work alongside multidisciplinary teams.
Your final dissertation allows you to explore a specialist topic in depth, supported by online supervision and guidance from experienced, research-active academic staff who are experts in their chosen fields.
For more detail see our full glossary of assessment terms.
Fees
Full time course
Part time course two years
Part time course three years
Supplementary fee information
Funding for students studying this course part-time:
The two year part-time route is eligible for the Postgraduate loan from Student Finance England. The three year part-time route is not eligible for the Postgraduate loan from Student Finance England.
Students in receipt of the Postgraduate loan from Student Finance England for the two year course need to remain on track to complete the course within two years otherwise payments will be interrupted or stopped.
Features
Study facilities
Throughout your Strength and Conditioning master's degree, you'll learn in a mix of specialist and flexible teaching spaces across UWE Bristol. Practical sessions take place in our Performance Gym, giving you access to the equipment and environment you'd expect in a professional strength and conditioning setting. Seminars and workshops run on Frenchay and Glenside Campus, offering modern, collaborative learning spaces.
Learn more about UWE Bristol's facilities and resources.
Take a personalised virtual tour of the Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation facilities and experience what a typical day could look like here for you.
Careers
Careers / Further study
Our MSc Applied Strength and Conditioning sets you up for a wide range of roles across high-performance sport, athlete development and the private performance sector. While the field is competitive, employers increasingly expect applicants to hold specialist postgraduate training and have hands-on experience - both of which you'll gain throughout the course.
The UKSCA competency framework and the NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam have informed the design of the course with the aim of supporting graduates who wish to pursue UKSCA Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach (ASCC) accreditation and/or NSCA CSCS certification after graduation.
As a graduate, you'll be positioned for roles such as:
- Strength and conditioning coach in clubs, academies, universities or schools.
- Performance or physical preparation coach in private sector performance centres.
- Return-to-performance specialist, working alongside musculoskeletal rehab teams.
- Applied practitioner roles in areas linked to performance sport, monitoring, or long-term athlete development.
The course also supports progression into further study, including research degrees and PhDs in sport science, biomechanics or coaching-related fields.
Thanks to our strong regional partnerships, you'll have access to embedded placements with professional, semi-professional and community clubs across Bristol - one of the UK's major sporting cities - and the wider region.
With our established performance sport ecosystem, including American Football Basketball and Squash teams, you'll gain real experience working directly with athletes aiming to compete at national and international levels.
For those already working, flexible part-time options (including a three-year pathway) make postgraduate study accessible alongside employment. This is especially valuable in roles where workloads peak seasonally, allowing you to balance study with professional commitments.
Our award-winning careers service helps you develop your employment potential through career coaching, a vacancy service for internships, placements, jobs, global opportunities, volunteering and community activity plus support for entrepreneurial activity, and access to employer events.
Life
Postgraduate support
Our support includes access to fantastic facilities, study tools and career consultants, plus practical help to access everything from funding to childcare.
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