Sports Therapy with Foundation Year

This course includes an additional year as a foundation year, making this a 4 year course. This begins at the start of the course and will help prepare you for full time undergraduate study. The foundation year is intended for those who didn't meet the entry requirements for the course or want to take an additional year to prepare for study. After the year, the award and course is identical to the three year version.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?
In today’s world, work experience is becoming more and more essential to getting a job, so as part of our multi million pound investment into our human performance, exercise and wellbeing centre, we created our very own working sports therapy clinic here at BNU. This facility is open to the public and is staffed by students with the support of lecturers so you can get the experience you need while studying.

Learning will be encouraged through practical sessions, debates, observation, field trips, formal lectures and interactive seminars. At the core of each module in practical delivery is the Human performance and exercise wellbeing centre, the sports therapy teaching room and the Sports & Wellbeing Clinic. At BNU, we have strong links with local sports organisations like the National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey and Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Our placement opportunities are a great way for you to learn and network locally and nationally.

We also have close relationships with Wycombe Wanderers FC, Wycombe Hospital, Norwich City FC, Reading Ladies Football Club, and the FA. You could have the opportunity to attend national events like the London Marathon and provide hands-on care for athletes before and after their competition. BNU offers you the chance to get all the skills, qualifications and experience you need within a 30-minute commute to London, surrounded by a friendly student community.

What facilities can I use
As part of your studies, you’ll use the Human Performance, Exercise and Wellbeing Centre, a professional and inspiring facility for our sport courses and contains industry standard equipment. The Sports and Wellbeing Clinic is a real working clinic within the University and puts you directly in your workplace from day one. Members of the public pay for appointments in this student run clinic as well as professional athletes and sports teams, which gives you the opportunity to experience working in a clinic first hand.

What will I study?
Our course will take you through the processes of injury prevention, assessment, therapeutic treatment, and exercise rehabilitation in order to return the patient back to work, full muscular functionality and their previous sport or exercise level. We will also explore various sports science disciplines.

You'll be taking part in many practical classes with the emphasis of hands-on skills and experience, and will also be able to put theory into practice by completing placements and gaining experience of various settings. Explore the biomechanics of human movement, physiology and functional anatomy as we teach you our holistic approach to sports therapy which covers the practice from multiple disciplines.

You will also learn about human anatomy, health and exercise physiology, therapeutic interventions and scientific research and how they influence sports therapy, graduating with an understanding of current knowledge but also its limitations. In your final year, you’ll work closely with your personal tutor to deliver your final dissertation project on a subject of your choice.

Career Prospects
You’ll be qualified to work as a sports therapist for professional teams, clubs and private clinics. You’ll be able to pursue a career in exercise management and rehabilitation, or as a physiotherapy assistant. We will help you gain the skills and experience to help you get established in a competitive industry and have the confidence that you need to succeed.

Foundation Year
Core
Human Behaviour
Research Matters
Human Science – Dissecting the details
Human Communication
Exploring Intersections
Knowledge Unleashed

Year one
Core
Human Anatomy and Movement Analysis
Health and Human Physiology
Fundamentals of Strength and Conditioning
Foundations of Sports Therapy
Introduction to Research in Sport

Year two
Core
Research Methods
Applied Exercise Physiology
Principles and Applications of Biomechanics in Sport
Exercise Instruction and Special Populations
Principles of Sports Therapy 1
Principles of Sports Therapy 2

Year three
Core
Extended Independent Work
Professional Practice
Advanced Sports Therapy

Optional
Skills Acquisition
Sports Nutrition
Approaches to Applied Sport and Performance Psychology
Skills in Leadership, Enterprise and Small Business
Applied Strength and Conditioning
Performance Analysis

Your course adopts a varied method of assessment. You will have the opportunity to access a variety of electronic resources including journal articles, on-line books, electronic databases, internet sources and material from the library. While there is a varied diet of assessment at all three levels, it is predominantly based on coursework and practical assessments and, where possible, is designed to mirror ‘real world’ being more authentic in nature to that of Sports Therapy practice.

Assessments will include some of the following:

practical assessments
presentations
vivas
reports/essays
case studies
work-related assessments with evidence of achievements in practice

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• The Society of Sports Therapists