Sport and Exercise Medicine

Entry requirements

To apply for this course, you should have a Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Surgery. You should be a qualified medical doctor with full unrestricted registration with the General Medical Council or your country's relevant body.

You should also have a minimum of one year’s work experience as a qualified and registered doctor before enrolment. Please provide a copy of your valid medical licence and details of how to confirm your medical registration online (if applicable).

Please ensure that you submit a personal statement of 250-500 words that outlines your qualifications and experience, your interest in the programme, and how you wish to use the degree after completion. As this is a practice-based course, please include details of your access to patients with sporting injuries and/or conditions where exercise could be prescribed as medicine.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Develop the specialist skills needed to conduct clinical practice in sport and exercise settings. This master’s is exclusively for fully qualified doctors.

This highly flexible academic and clinical master's degree develops your sport and exercise medicine expertise.

By working with Bath’s team of sports science practitioners, you’ll deepen your knowledge of the musculoskeletal injuries associated with sport. This will enhance your ability to assess, treat, and advise the patients in your practice.

You’ll also develop your:

• knowledge and clinical skills for providing both primary and specialist sport and exercise medicine care
• clinical expertise in the aftercare of injuries and rehabilitation
• ability to provide safe and effective pitch-side emergency care
• awareness of the signs of mental health issues in sport and the ability to provide confidential support

This course will also provide you with a recognised qualification for indemnity insurance - many team doctor jobs will require this type of qualification.

A mix of self-led and face-to-face learning

Bath is one of the few universities that offers this type of academically recognised course through part-time distance learning. This means you can complete your master's degree alongside your clinical practice.

You’ll also experience face-to-face teaching during our Residential Weeks, which will take place in Bath.

Bath’s sports medicine expertise

You’ll learn from experts in sports medicine and sports physiotherapy, as well as staff in our wider Department for Health community.

Their passion, knowledge and industry expertise shape their teaching to enhance your learning experience. They have vast levels of industry experience and have worked with a range of professional athletes across different sports.

Some have worked at high-profile sporting events, including the:

• Olympic Games
• Commonwealth Games
• Paralympic World Cup
• World University Games

Use specialist facilities

During the Residential Weeks, you will use the physiology and biomechanics suites on our Bath campus. These contain up-to-date performance testing and analysis equipment.

Gain important career skills

By taking part, you will benefit from:

• access to highly interactive, flexible distance learning and clinical teaching
• in-person teaching and activities at Residential Weeks to support your practical and clinical examination training
• being part of an online network of sport and exercise medicine and sports physiotherapy clinicians
• guidance from experienced clinical specialists in the field to provide professional development support
• learning within the Department for Health, which promotes a problem-solving and reflective approach to sport and exercise medicine

You will be assigned an experienced sports medic as your Professional Development Advisor during this course. They will provide mentorship and help you establish industry links.

In Year 1 and Year 2 there are opportunities to learn from guest speakers and build connections with other clinicians at our Residential Weeks in Bath.

Graduate prospects

By the end of the course, you will be qualified to work with athletes and sports teams at the highest level. You will also be better equipped to assess, treat and advise patients in relation to musculoskeletal injuries, and to advise patients about the health benefits of exercise more generally.

Some of our recent graduates have taken roles with:

• The Olympic and Paralympic Games
• Professional clubs and teams
• The NHS
• The UK Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine

If you want to continue your research alongside professional practice, we also provide an established Professional Doctorate, offering a route for MSc students interested in continuing their research to doctoral level while working part-time.

Fees and funding

View available funding opportunities.