Strength and Conditioning MSc
1 Year Full-Time | September Start

Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.

The topics you will cover on the module include:

• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Speed reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.
• Discussing ethical issues in research, and analysing results.
• Describing bias and limitations of research.

You will learn a range of research approaches and data analysis methods applicable to your subject of study as well as a critical understanding of their relative strengths and weaknesses. You will learn how these approaches can be applied in the planning of a methodologically-rigorous and ethically-sound research study.

This module provides you with the opportunity for independent study in an area of relevance to your degree. You are expected to use skills and knowledge acquired in modules as the basis for an in depth investigation of specific issues in the discipline. The aim of this module is to provide you with the opportunity to carry out an extensive, empirical investigation related to a topic of your own choice, where you will develop skills in communication, critical thinking and independent enquiry.

On Applied Strength and Conditioning you will critically engage with the scientific underpinning to a range of training modalities and interventions that are routinely used in the athletic development process. This will include study of the physiology and biomechanics underpinning training and adaptation in resistance training, plyometrics, multidirectional speed and agility training, endurance training and others. You will apply this knowledge to the athletic development process through engagement with the prescription and coaching of key aspects of each training mode/intervention, with a specific emphasis on the coaching of the key technical aspects.

This module focuses on the complex social and interactional nature of sports work across a range of professional roles (e.g., sport coach, video analyst, strength and conditioning specialist, sport scientist etc.). You will explore key challenges and opportunities facing sport professionals who are tasked with leading, influencing and supporting diverse webs of stakeholders that span highly dynamic organisational contexts. This module will help you to critically reflect upon and develop the intrapersonal, interpersonal and analytical skills necessary to negotiate the demands and dilemmas inherent in contemporary sports work. You will engage in inquiry, interpretation and explanation of your own strategic interactions and those of other people, as well as their complex situated interrelationships, and you will learn to locate and apply your knowledge through socio-pedagogical theorising at the forefront of academic and professional practice in sport.

On Sport Professional Practice you will engage in activities that further your professional development, and enhance your employability as a Northumbria graduate. You will be challenged to apply the knowledge and skills you are learning on your degree programme to real-world contexts. You will select and complete a range of activities aimed at furthering your skills and experience as a practitioner. You will be challenged to develop your own philosophy of support, and to use reflective practice to help your continued professional development.

You will critically engage with contemporary issues relating to the physiology of sport performance and will apply this knowledge to conduct an assessment and report for a real athlete/client. You will study the physiology of training from an assessment and adaptation perspective, in order to understand how exercise interventions can be designed to target specific physiological adaptation, and how these adaptations can be quantified through appropriate physiological assessment. You will also study the long-term planning process and how knowledge of adaptation can be applied to the prescription of training.

The focus of this module will be on sport and exercise nutrition interventions that aim to improve athlete performance and wellbeing. You will learn what the current guidelines are, and critically review the underlying evidence base for these guidelines. Then you will apply your knowledge to adapt the recommendations for different situational (e.g. time of season, competition schedule, environment, and travelling) or personal contexts (e.g. demographic, other lifestyle commitments, special dietary requirements, and ethical and cultural beliefs). The module will take a food first approach but discuss ergogenic aids and supplements for individual needs where appropriate in the context of current anti-doping advice.

The module “Working with elite performers” aims to support coaches and practitioners who aspire to or already work with athletes of high potential to reach their goals. This module connects the latest in research and theoretical developments with applied practice and reflection and is designed to dovetail harmoniously with your current coaching and applied sports science practice. You can shape the module to suit your current or aspirational needs and will enjoy the benefits of accessing our world class learning facilities throughout your degree. Your learning will be supported by academics who are active researchers and practitioners in this area, alongside tutors, who are, or have been active Coaches, Coach Educators and Trainers for National and International federations. You will undertake research yourselves to develop key skills and deepen your overall learning experiences. These skills can then be applied in your own context to support the performance improvements which are desired.

In this module you will develop knowledge of the key principles and practice relating to strategic sport brand management and sponsorship, presenting an innovative approach that helps you build a framework for the initiation, development, planning, implementation and evaluation of partnerships and communications strategies. The module is underpinned by global examples and case studies to demonstrate the importance and intricacies of sports brands and partnerships from an international perspective, exposing you to many of the modes of practice used to affect the perception of value and behaviour through directed communication in the context of sport. Students will be encouraged to appraise the breadth of current and emerging digital communication platforms, understanding their role in reaching consumers, and they will develop a critical understanding of the essential role sustainability plays in creating successful sports brands.