Program Overview

Athletic & Rehabilitation Therapy – BSc (Hons)

Course Overview

The term sports injury refers to the kinds of injuries that most commonly occur during sports or exercise. Some sports injuries result from accidents, others are due to poor training practices, improper equipment, lack of conditioning, or insufficient warm-up and stretching. Although virtually any part of your body can be injured during sports or exercise, the term is usually reserved for injuries involving the musculoskeletal system, including muscles, bones, and cartilage e.g., tennis elbow, runner’s knee, breaks to bones, torn ligaments and torn tendons. In this honours degree, students will become skilled in the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries related to physical activity.

This programme is accredited by Athletic and Rehabilitation Therapy Ireland and graduates can practice as Certified Athletic Therapists. In Year 1, athletic rehabilitation therapy is introduced as a profession and students will have the opportunity to become involved in the pre-participation screening of injuries in various teams – including collegiate and professional teams. In Year 2, students will be introduced to clinical practice through the student led START clinic and practical placements. In Year 3, students develop applied skills thereby creating the foundation pillars for the clinical practice placement which takes place in the first semester in Year 4. In the final year, the emphasis is on advanced clinical and rehabilitation techniques and a capstone project, designed to assimilate all of the skills acquired by the student throughout the four years of the course, preparing them for the profession of athletic rehabilitation therapy and employment as a professional clinical practitioner. Pre-hospital Emergency Care Council of Ireland (PHECC) approved first-aid courses are embedded into the course. Students will become certified Cardiac First Responders (CFR) and Emergency First Responders (EFR) by year 2 of this course.

Finally, the Athlone campus has one of the leading facility provisions for sport on the island with modern, state-of-the art equipment and teaching spaces including two Rehabilitation labs, Sports Science Lab, High Performance Gym, Biomechanics Lab and the International Arena.

Entry Requirements

• Leaving Certificate: Minimum of Grade H5 at higher level in two subjects plus a minimum of grade O6/H7 at ordinary level in four other subjects in the Leaving Certificate examination. Two of these six subjects must be Mathematics and a language (English or Irish).
• QQI: A limited number of places (up to two) will be reserved for QQI applicants. Applicants must hold three distinctions and a pass in 5N1833 or 5N0556 or Leaving Certificate Maths at O6/H7.
• Mature Applicants: The Department welcomes application from mature students. Such applicants may not be required to have the minimum entry requirements. However, the TU will look for satisfactory evidence of the applicant’s ability to pursue and benefit from the course. Knowledge and skills gained through experiential learning will be taken into account. Mature applicants may be required to attend for interview at TUS as part of the selection process.
• International Applicants: International applicants should apply directly to the International Office at TUS, allowing plenty of time for completing the visa process. Applications for September start should be made by 1st June at the latest to ensure visas are processed in time. You should familiarise yourself with visa processing times for your country of origin to ensure you make a timely application.

Course Modules

Year 1 – Semester 1

• Academic Skills for Sport and Health Sciences (5 credits)
• Mathematics for Sport and Health (5 credits)
• Human Physiology 1 (5 credits)
• Science for Sport and Health (5 credits)
• Anatomy 1 (5 credits)
• Screening and Injury Prevention (5 credits)

Year 1 – Semester 2

• Human Physiology 2 (5 credits)
• Anatomy 2 (5 credits)
• Introduction to Sport and Exercise Psychology (5 credits)
• Drugs in Sport (5 credits)
• Introduction to Biomechanics (5 credits)
• Fundamental Rehabilitation Skills (5 credits)

Year 2 – Semester 1

• Emergency First Response (5 credits)
• Anatomy 3 (5 credits)
• Performance Testing for Sport and Exercise Science (5 credits)
• Athletic Taping and Strapping (5 credits)
• Musculoskeletal Injuries 1 (5 credits)
• Sports Nutrition (5 credits)
• Research Methods and Statistics 1 (5 credits)

Year 2 – Semester 2

• Musculoskeletal Injuries 2 (5 credits)
• Student-Led Clinics 1 (5 credits)
• Legal, Ethical & Entrepreneurial Skills (5 credits)
• Rehabilitation 1 (5 credits)
• Applied Exercise Physiology (5 credits)

Year 3 – Semester 1

• Student-Led Clinics 2 (Year-Long) (10 credits)
• Research Methods and Statistics 2 (5 credits)
• Clinical Biomechanics (5 credits)
• Musculoskeletal Injuries 3 (5 credits)
• Therapeutic Modalities (5 credits)
• Rehabilitation 2 (5 credits)

Year 3 – Semester 2

• Student-Led Clinics 2 (Year-Long) (10 credits)
• Diagnostic Imaging (5 credits)
• Musculoskeletal Injuries 4 (5 credits)
• Advanced Rehabilitation (5 credits)
• Psychology of Sports Injuries and Rehabilitation (5 credits)
• Medical Conditions in Sport (5 credits)

Year 4 – Semester 1

• Research Project (Year-Long) (20 credits)
• Professional Work Experience (30 credits)

Year 4 – Semester 2

• Research Project (20 credits)
• Student-Led Clinics 3 (5 credits)
• Clinical Reasoning Capstone (5 credits)

Career Opportunities

As a graduate from this course, you may expect to find rewarding careers as a Certified Athletic Therapist in the areas of sports injury clinics, with amateur and professional sports clubs and teams, with national governing bodies of sports associations, and in health and fitness centres or as a self-employed professional.

Further Study

Following graduation, students can progress to a wide range of postgraduate courses at both MSc and PhD level, nationally and internationally including pre-reg Physiotherapy programmes.