Health improvement practitioners increasingly need to understand the impact of nutrition and exercise on health, fitness and disease.
This course offers a scientific basis for health promotion and covers key disciplines that relate exercise and nutrition to health. This includes the physiology and prescription of nutrition and exercise, health behaviour change, and investigative skills.
The course offers you exercise practitioner and nutritionist accreditation opportunities, strong NHS and community health links, and prepares you for employment in the food, health and fitness industries, health promotion, lifestyle education and public health.
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.
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.
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.
Assessment on the course is both formative and summative in nature and occurs at various points throughout the academic year. A wide variety of strategies and activities are employed to assess the specific unit learning outcomes and to permit all students opportunities to utilise their personal strengths across different assessment types. Modes of assessment include examinations (seen and unseen), essays, practical tests, laboratory reports, research projects, case studies, presentations and data-analysis exercises. These assessment methods will develop and assess core knowledge and skills relevant to your future employment and/or further education. At level 4 you will be assessed primarily on your breadth of knowledge pertaining to core relevant topics. At level 5 you will be assessed on your level of knowledge and ability to critically evaluate specific key topics. At level 6 your assessments will evaluate your ability to critically analyse core topics, synthesis literature and theories and apply this in various situations through a process of problem-solving. Formative assessment points provide feedback regarding your progress and diagnostic assessment will be used to assess your knowledge, understanding and skills. Summative assessment for the units includes a combination of the assessment modes set out above.
We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for breadth and depth in your current studies and enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.
You can work out how many UCAS points your qualifications are worth with the UCAS tariff calculator
Contact the Admissions Team for additional guidance on whether the qualifications you currently hold or are taking would be suitable for entry.
T: +44 (0)1582 743500
E: admission@beds.ac.uk
As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.
We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications. See your country page for more details
Check Your Country page to confirm that your local qualifications are suitable or contact your International Admissions Team
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2019/20 is £9,250 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
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2019/20 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees.
See www.gov.uk/student-finance
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2019/20 is £12,350 per year. A prompt payment discount is available if you pay the full Year 1 fee before or at registration. There are also special scholarships available.
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
The sports hall is an integral space in the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity, complementing discipline leading Sport and Exercise Science and modern biological analysis laboratories, all co-located on the Bedford campus.
The sports hall is a major teaching facility for the University's Sport and Physical Education degree courses which have trained physical educators in the UK for over a century.
Together with its associated facilities it provides our trainee teachers and coaches with a superb environment in which to coach and teach pupils from local primary schools who are also benefiting from this new facility.
The sports hall is proud to host all Bedfordshire Bulls students' sports matches as well as national standard sporting events including British University College Sports championships – one of the few indoor sporting venues in the county to host prestigious tournaments all year round.
The facility also plays host to a number of University promoted Get into Sport activities which are open to all University students and staff.
Our specialist labs give students a fantastic environment to develop their research skills and expertise, where a student can explore the biology of an elite athlete who could be performing simultaneously within the sports hall.
Few Sport Science courses in the country offer students such unique discipline leading research experience and skills, alongside intimate access to world leading researchers within their field. Students are regularly offered the opportunity to be involved within discipline defining Sport, Health and Exercise Science research
Our state-of-the-art laboratories are purpose built for research and teaching in the fields of exercise and nutrition science. This includes specialised equipment and facilities for assessing human health risk and delivering exercise and diet interventions for health promotion.
This includes:
Our £8m Physical Education and Sport Science Centre was used to train athletes in the 2012 Olympics.
Opened in January 2015 the Gateway is an impressive building featuring high-quality teaching spaces, informal learning spaces, and lecture theatres (including a Harvard style lecture theatre); as well as a new student services centre.
Campus Centre featuring a 280-seat professional theatre, dance studios, a fairtrade café and social space for students.
For on-campus student accommodation choose from luxury living at Liberty Park's modern en-suite study bedrooms or the Student Village which offers standard rooms with shared bathroom facilities, and en-suite rooms with a private shower. All have fully-equipped kitchens. Our rooms are on-campus and have easy access to the town centre and train station.
The Bedford campus is a 20-minute walk from the town centre. The University offers a free bus service for staff and students that runs between Bedford town centre and the campus.
Bedford offers excellent transport links to the rest of the UK as it sits between the M1 and the A1. The town connects by train to Luton (20 minutes) and London (40 minutes).
Application for most full-time undergraduate and foundation courses is via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
We expect to receive UCAS applications between 1 September and 15 January for courses starting in the following academic year, but may consider applications received after this date should places be available.
Please contact admission@beds.ac.uk for further details.
All UK schools and colleges are registered with UCAS to manage their students' applications. Advice on how to submit your UCAS application is available from your school or college.
If you are not at school or college (including mature students) you should apply independently via UCAS
EU students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply via UCAS or direct using our admissions form
International students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country
You can also apply online
Find out more about how to apply as an International student