Applied Coaching Science

Program Overview

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Applied Coaching Science

MSc

Designed for the development of your coaching practice

Key facts

Location

• Headington
• Distance learning

Course length

• Part time: 24 months

School(s)

• School of Sport, Nutrition and Allied Health Professions

Overview

The Applied Coaching Science (MSc) degree at Oxford Brookes is a coach development programme driven by and provided for the development of your coaching practice. The course has been designed in consultation with leading organisations in the sector and aims to develop professionals equipped with the knowledge and skills to deliver at the cutting edge of coaching science.

To support the need for high level professional development we have provided a flexible approach to your studies, designed to fit around your current coaching commitments:

• Part-time only, to allow sufficient time and space to successfully complete studies alongside professional roles.
• Blended delivery, which merges online content with face-to-face blocks (2.5 days), this flexibility is to ensure we fit around your professional role(s).
• Professional experience entry requirement (a degree is not compulsory).
• Diverse assessment modes, allowing submission through a range of mediums.
• A staff team of active researchers and high-level practitioners.

How to apply

Entry requirements

Specific entry requirements

• To successfully complete this programme, applicants are expected to have significant and relevant industry experience in coaching or a related field.
• In addition, it is essential that applicants are currently engaged in a coaching (or related) role (at voluntary, full-time or part-time levels).
• Furthermore, it is desirable, although not essential for applicants to hold a first or upper second-class honours degree of a Higher Education Institution.

Selection process

• All shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview.

English language requirements

• For applicants whose first language is not English, an Academic IELTS score of 6.5 (with 6.5 in Reading and Writing, and 6.0 in Listening and Speaking) is required.

International applications

• Applicants whose main language is not English must meet the University’s English language requirements and where applicable the Faculty or Department’s requirements.

Terms and conditions of enrolment

• When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Application process

• This course is not open for applications.

Tuition fees

Questions about fees?

• Contact Student Finance on: +44 (0)

Tuition fee level for

• Tuition fees for home undergraduate students in will be confirmed by the Government later in 2025 and will be updated on our website as soon as the information becomes available.
• Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.
• The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.

How and when to pay

• Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.
• For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
• For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Financial support and scholarships

• For general sources of financial support, see our Fees and funding pages.

Additional costs

• Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Learning and assessment

The programme structure and the content offered are balanced across several elements to allow for the development of high-level, theoretically-informed practitioners. Our degree programme will:

• Provide a balanced amount of academic literature with an emphasis on its practical use throughout each module to ensure students develop their ability to engage with, make sense of and critically apply in context.
• Provide students with opportunities to develop both academically and personally, ensuring that whilst becoming theoretically-informed practitioners they are also advancing to achieve their personal goals (such as leadership skills).
• Ensure problem solving and solution finding are at the forefront of the programme design.
• Adhere to each of the Brookes Attributes through the design and delivery of each module (and the programme as a whole) so that we offer learning and teaching that is at the forefront of the field, providing students with an experience of the highest standard possible.

Study modules

The programme consists of 6 single modules and one triple module, all of which are compulsory. The modules, the year and the semester in which the modules will be studied are outlined in the flowchart.

Curriculum structure

• The Critical Pedagogue is the first module students will engage with on this programme. We feel this module is best positioned to develop the transferable tools to challenge their own values and beliefs that underpin their applied practice. The remaining modules are structured to continue this critical journey, whilst at the same time introducing students to pertinent areas of coaching science, including sociology, practice design, psychology, strength and conditioning and leadership. The programme culminates with The Action Researcher, a synoptic module that provides students with the opportunity to draw upon and combine content taught in all modules in order to solve applied problems and enact transformative change within their own content.

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

• The Action Researcher
  • This module runs across all three Semesters in Year 2.
  • In this module, you will improve your ability to design and undertake an action research project, a collaborative, critical and systematic process of instigating transformative change through planned action, observation and reflection, with the goal of advancing your coaching practice in situ.
• The Critical Pedagogue
  • This module runs in Year 1, Semester 1
  • In this module you will improve your ability to make informed decisions around the role you play in shaping athlete and student learning.
• The Learning Designer
  • This module runs in Year 1, Semester 3
  • In this module you will improve your ability to navigate the complex and messy process of designing practices and employing coaching interventions for skill development and performance.
• The Orchestrator
  • This module runs in Year 1, Semester 2
  • In this module you will improve your ability to ‘orchestration’ the complex social dynamics that exists in your context.
• The Performance Practitioner
  • This module runs in Year 2, Semester 1
  • In this module you will improve your ability to take a holistic approach to facilitating performance improvement, managed through embedded and explicit interventions.
• The Programme Lead
  • This module runs in Year 2, Semester 3
  • In this module you will improve your ability to shape, lead and manage your current and future departments/programmes.
• The Sport Scientist
  • This module runs in Year 2, Semester 2
  • In the module you will improve your ability to employ and interpret effective and efficient physical performance diagnostics. In addition, you will develop your toolbox of practical methods to make a performance impact in applied settings.

Learning and teaching

The following principles will be adopted by the teaching team in the delivery of the modules:

• An approach driven by problem solving will be adopted in the design of all modules and teaching episodes. Problems will be presented to promote the critical application of theory as the students explore possible solutions. Decision making, creativity and innovation in the student’s practice is at the forefront of our priorities.
• Practice to theory approach. All of our teaching elements and assessments will be initiated through practice, with the application of theory to support the problem solving and sense making process.
• The development of a friendly and close-knit community is crucial. There will be a real focus on collaboration, developing a culture of support and candour.
• In person or virtual coach development mentoring has been built into the course (students Academic Advisors will adopt this role).

Assessment

Assessment methods used on this course

Your assessments will be diverse, and will support different learning styles - you’ll have a real opportunity to showcase your strengths. Your learning may be assessed by a combination of individual or group coursework, examinations, and presentations. The assessment methods chosen will be based on your learning needs, individual aims and the academic standards expected for the course. A large proportion of the assessments will allow you to choose your submission mode and method from a variety of options provided. There will be a reduced emphasis on written work whilst maintaining the academic rigour required at level 7.

Research

1. Pedagogy and Coach Development in Sport, Coaching and Physical Education

We are interested in the development of coaches expertise. With a particular focus on the design of learning environments, informed by an understanding of ecological dynamics.

2. Sociology, Culture and Politics in Sport, Coaching and Physical Education

As such, we seek to examine the way that sport, physical activity and physical education are constructed to serve those engaged from participation to performance.

3. Performance Enhancement

Our research contributes to the development and improvement of human performance in competitive sport and exercise through a multi-disciplinary approach. A particular focus of our work is the exploration of the physiological and psychological impact of contrasting training and recovery methods with regard to the preparation and performance of elite sportspeople.

After you graduate

Career prospects

The course is positioned as a coach development course, designed to accelerate the learning, development, and most importantly the practice of the coaches who enroll. Students who complete the course and develop the knowledge and skills to enhance their employability within the coaching, teaching and performance sport domains.