Sport and Exercise Psychology

Highlights

Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), this broad-based sport psychology degree provides Graduate Basis for Chartered membership, the first step to becoming a psychologist in the UK. Close links with world-leading athletes and high-profile bodies include UK Sport, Sport Wales, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Premier League clubs, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and GB Ski Team. Staff have spearheaded psychometric tests used widely throughout the world, including vividness of movement imagery, performance anxiety, mental toughness, quality of training and much more.

A large hub of performance focused psychology researchers with facilities for eye-tracking and more. Outstanding sport science facilities include £1 million plus physiology teaching and exercise labs, thermal and altitude chambers, and motion analysis.

Course overview

Sport and exercise psychology has been used to help elite athletes perform better for some time, though gained notoriety in 1938 when the Chicago Cubs hired ‘America’s first sport psychologist’. Nowadays, the sophisticated techniques to improve individual or team performance - balancing high performance with wellbeing - are being applied in various professional, occupational and recreational contexts. This BPS accredited degree provides an in-depth understanding of how psychological factors influence sport performance, wellbeing and exercise behaviour.

It is taught by staff including chartered psychologists and sport science practitioners who work with Olympic athletes, top sports clubs, governing bodies, the military and NHS. Through the internationally renowned Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance (IPEP), their impact extends far beyond sport. A 10-year programme of research funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) led to changes in the delivery of training across the three Armed Services, which have reduced attrition rates among Royal Marine recruits by up to 15%.

Sport psychology techniques that measure the connection between emotions and performance are bringing a revolution to the sports industry, as well as high-performance companies and activities that involve high pressure or physical demands. Although the idea of the integrated mind-body is not new, these emerging techniques are changing the way we understand and enhance performance. Drawing on neuroscience, psychophysiology, sport psychology and personality, IPEP’s own interdisciplinary approach has had a ground breaking impact on high performance sport.

Its individualised pressure training programmes for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), for example, to prepare their players to face the pressure of performing on the pitch, helped the England Men’s teams’ win the World Cup in 2019. The interdisciplinary curriculum of our sport and exercise psychology degree not only covers major areas of psychology, but also draws on related fields like biomechanics, physiology and kinesiology. A large choice of optional modules allows you to tailor your studies to your interests or career ambitions - you can even handle and study a real brain as part of a human brain guided anatomy class!

Previously, our students have completed short-term placement, including the roles of activity coordinator at Bangor Sport Kids Active Camp, assistant sport scientist for World Beach Sprint Rowing Championships, and as assistant athletic coach at Menai Track and Field Club. An ideal location to study sport, North Wales offers a full range of outdoor pursuits, such as hiking, canoeing, climbing, and extreme sports like white water rafting, mountain biking, zip lining and caving. Read more Course options

Placement year

What is the Placement Year? This exciting opportunity allows you to spend a year working with a self-sourced, professional organisation relevant to your studies. You'll typically start between June and September of your second year and finish by the following June or September.

Placements…