Why choose the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity
Our sports science courses rank in the UK top 10 in their subject field for teaching quality in both The Guardian and The Times 2026 university leagues.
They rank in the UK top 5 in their subject field for learning resources and learning opportunities including developing knowledge and skills for the future (NSS, 2025).
Our graduates have gone on to work in roles across the football sector including FIFA and professional clubs in the UK and overseas.
About the course
We offer two football-related pathways (coaching or business) where you choose your preferred specialism after your first year. This course prepares you to work as a skilled coach across a variety of football settings. You learn a range of coaching skills to help you deliver and plan training sessions; evaluate performances; implement improvement strategies; and put your learning into practice in football-related scenarios. There are also opportunities for placements, including with our official Education Partners, Luton Town FC.
Course accreditation / industry endorsement
We increase the employability of our graduates by being a Higher Education Partner of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).
Facilities and specialist equipment
- Purpose-built strength and conditioning facility
- Free gym and Olympic weight room
- Sports arena
- Multi-use games areas
- Sports therapy and rehabilitation centre with a sports injury clinic, open to staff, students and external athletes/clients
- Sports massage rooms
- Industry-leading performance-analysis equipment, including a Nacsport camera system, In-Play Sports online performance analysis and Catapult GPS system
Industry links
We are official partners of Luton Town FC and Bedford Blues RFC as well as other sporting organisations in the region such as Bedford Tigers RLFC, MK Dons, Cricket East and Be Active, giving you opportunities to build your employability through work placements
Your student experience
- Our Bedford campus is a small, thriving academic community where academic staff get to know you well; you also have the support of your own personal academic tutor who will guide and support you throughout your student journey.
- Gain valuable work experience at our Human Performance Centre, which offers testing to sports people, teams and the public for fitness, flexibility and body composition assessments.
- Take advantage of coaching opportunities with local schools and football clubs.
- Take part in behind-the-scenes tours and match-day experiences to football clubs such as Luton Town FC and MK Dons as well as local football organisations and non-league clubs.
- Field trips include St George’s Park, Burton-on-Trent, the home of England Football, and football clubs around the country.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
Course Leader - David Pears
I have worked at the University of Bedfordshire since 2006 and am currently a senior lecturer in the faculty of Education and Sport at the University of Bedfordshire with responsibility for coordinating all academic study of coaching and player and match analysis.
Course Leader - David Pears
I have worked at the University of Bedfordshire since 2006 and am currently a senior lecturer in the faculty of Education and Sport at the University of Bedfordshire with responsibility for coordinating all academic study of coaching and player and match analysis.
Course Leader - David Pears
I have worked at the University of Bedfordshire since 2006 and am currently a senior lecturer in the faculty of Education and Sport at the University of Bedfordshire with responsibility for coordinating all academic study of coaching and player and match analysis.
What will you study?
Throughout the three-year degree, you undertake placements in a range of settings. To prepare you for your final-year dissertation, we also include two units focused on building your research skills: Introduction to research methods (Year 1); Research methods for sport, exercise and physical activity (Year 2).
Your subject-specific units are:
Year 1
Working in sport and physical education – An overview of the sector, its challenges and career options. Introduction to football studies – Explore key areas like performance analysis, player development and new tech. Sport in action: management – Learn how to manage and lead in sports environments. The football industry – Discover how football has evolved and become a global cultural force. Foundations for football coaching – Start building the skills to become a great coach.
Year 2
Social psychology of sport – Understand how and why people behave as they do in sport settings. Performance analysis – Learn how to analyse performance and give individual feedback. Applied football coaching – Boost your coaching skills through hands-on workshops and real-life scenarios. Football development – Explore how young talent is spotted and nurtured around the world. Football in the community – Deliver a case study using a community-based placement experience. Football governance – Understand how the football industry is run, from top clubs to grassroots. Dissertation preparation – Sharpen your research skills and prepare your proposal.
Year 3
Applied sport and exercise psychology – Practise using psychological strategies to boost performance. Work experience – Apply your coaching skills in real settings. Work placement project – Complete a project based on your placement. Advanced football coaching – Deepen your game knowledge and support skills. Coaching alternative populations – Inclusive coaching to meet a range of needs. Performance analysis for football – Use performance-analysis tools to give feedback. Long-term player and coach development – How to help players and coaches grow over time. Dissertation – Conduct original research in your chosen area.
How will you be assessed?
You will be required to undertake a variety of assessments that vary depending upon the learning outcomes of the unit. The range of assessment types includes: written reports and essays, oral presentations, e-portfolios, phase tests and collaborative projects. In addition you will undertake practical assessments related to the design, planning and delivery aspects relevant to a wide variety of football coaching projects providing opportunities to develop and demonstrate critical analysis, problem solving and communication styles needed in coaching.
Assessment of these activities will be based on tasks which develop vocational skills underpinned by subject knowledge requiring higher levels of cognition in the upper levels of the course. As you progress through the levels of study the marking criteria for all assessment styles undertaken will be that much more rigorous with the expectation you progressively demonstrate a more theory driven understanding of football coaching issues and practices.
Our teaching and learning strategy enables us to provide a very practical course with many opportunities for feedback and support from both staff and peers. Formative assessment is undertaken to allow for opportunities to act on feedback when completing summative assessment.
Careers
Our graduates are able to secure a wide range of roles in the football industry as well as the wider sports industries. Examples include, but aren’t limited to, academy coach; broadcast executive; first-team performance analyst; academy performance analyst; referee development officer; head of recruitment; broadcast sport technology specialist; sport business owner; sports business technology owner; first-team sport scientist; commercial development and global strategic partnership manager; and academic roles in other universities.
These roles, and others, have been with a wide range of clubs in the FA Premier League and English Football League as well as with FIFA and in countries outside of the UK such as USA, Latvia, China and Malaysia.
Students often also progress to postgraduate degrees such as our Sport Leadership & Management MBA.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £9,535 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Excellence Scholarships
Worth £2,500 per year of study over three years when you score a defined number of UCAS tariff points from specified qualifications*
» If you don’t qualify for an Excellence Scholarship but have 120 UCAS tariff points, you have enough points for one of our Achievement Scholarships offering £500 per year of study**
» Other scholarships, bursaries and financial support packages are available
* Points requirements vary depending on type of qualification.
** Threshold is 120 UCAS tariff points across all awarding bodies and qualifications.
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2025/26 is £16,900 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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