This programme aims to advance your coaching skills through the application of science to sport. It draws on a range of disciplines including sport psychology, strength and conditioning, and performance analysis. Whether you coach children, elite youth performers or talented masters athletes, the programme is designed to support the application of scientific principles to challenge and enhance your coaching practice.
You will be supported by experts with extensive experience in sports practice and research. This support will be tailored to your coaching needs and the environment you coach within. For example, coaches with an interest in developing psychological skills with their athletes may focus on the development of a sport psychology intervention to meet their athlete’s needs. You can select your own area of interest (e.g., strength and conditioning, performance analysis, sport psychology) within the Supervised Experience modules and work with a highly experienced, research-active supervisor to develop bespoke interventions for your coaching context.
The Division of Sport and Exercise has an enthusiastic and committed staff team that provides a supportive learning environment and a flexible approach to study. Sport Coaching is offered at our state-of-the-art Lanarkshire Campus.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE DIVISION OF SPORT AND EXERCISE.
Our research in sport has seen UWS ranked in the top 100 Sport Science departments in the world according to the latest Shanghai Rankings of World Universities.
Programmes underpinned by internationally excellent/world-class research - Research Excellence Framework 2014
The MSc Sport Coaching is designed to provide opportunities to advance practical and reflective skills that articulate to the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC) Level 4.
Work-based learning is central to this MSc. All activities and assessments draw upon students’ experiences from employment or work-based learning in the coaching sector. There are opportunities to undertake continuous professional development (CPD) and work-based learning to enhance both coaching skills and employability. For example, opportunities will be available through our partnerships with Glasgow Rocks (professional basketball team) and St Mirren Football Club. You will be supported in developing portfolios towards the UKCC Level 4 generic competencies. Such experiences and skill development are central to this MSc and offer real-world application of science to sport, critical analysis and reflective practice.
This course prepares for the following:
As Head of Strength and Conditioning at the Glasgow School of Sport, I am responsible for the physical preparation of over 100 potential Commonwealth/ Olympic athletes across five sports. I am also responsible for the development and delivery of a specific sport education curriculum that supplements the traditional academic qualifications our pupils receive through Bellahouston Academy.
I registered on the MSc in Sport Coaching to further my development as a coach after 15 years of applied practice. UWS provided the flexibility to work and study at the same time and offered a flexible approach to teaching, learning and assessment to accommodate my area of expertise. The modules have provided me with the opportunity to network with like-minded professionals and work with a group of highly knowledgeable staff in a dynamic and proactive university department.
Kevin Watson, MSc Sport Coaching student
UWS sport graduates have gone on to employment with:
Graduates are equipped to collaborate with performers as a coach, strength and conditioner or in sport science support. The MSc can prepare elite performers to study their own performance and to develop the necessary skills to help their future performance or prepare them for work opportunities after retirement from sport.
Our Programme Leader, Dr Hayley McEwan recently spoke to one of our Chinese students, Yang Liu to find out more about his experiences on the course.
Hear from Yang Liu, MSc Sport Coaching student
Read MSc Sport Coaching student, Michael Gallacher's story.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Postgraduate & Post-experience Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
All applicants will be expected to submit a strong personal statement and character reference, highlighting voluntary or work experience in a sporting environment. Applicants may also be invited to an interview.
The MSc is available to EU and overseas students (full-time only). Overseas students must meet UWS English language requirements (see below).
Successful applicants who gain a place on this course will need to register on the PVG Scheme, managed and delivered by Disclosure Scotland. An application form will be sent from the University once you have accepted your offer. The fee for joining the scheme is £59.
Visit the Disclosure Scotland website for more information on the PVG scheme.
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see section below for more details).
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science programmes, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
The MSc is comprised of the following core modules:
You will benefit from the professional networks of our practitioner staff who provide services in sport. These networks allow you to access placements at a range of levels including professional and elite level sport. Work-based learning is central to this MSc.
You will be taught through a combination of:
LEARNING AND TEACHING
Our MSc in Sport Coaching is taught through a combination of small group seminars and practical workshops.
ASSESSMENT
There are no formal examinations on the MSc Sport Coaching; a variety of assessment methods are used, including:
Assessments are split as follows:
£7,000 Cost of study
£11,250 Cost of study
£11,250 Cost of study
£17,250 Cost of study
£1,000 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,610 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,610 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£2,465 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£7,500 Cost of study
£11,750 Cost of study
£11,750 Cost of study
£18,000 Cost of study
£1,070 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,680 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,680 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£2,570 Cost per 20-credit module of study
Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) postgraduate tuition fee and living cost loans may be available for eligible (Scottish/EU) students. Check SAAS website for more information.
The cost of attending university is an investment in your future career.
In addition to tuition fees and living expenses, some courses involve extra costs like study materials, field trips, equipment and uniforms.
Fortunately, there is a great deal of financial support available to help students meet the cost of their study. This ranges from:
The sections below provide details of additional costs that your course may involve along with any financial support that may be available.
You can also find additional information in our Postgraduate Money, Fees & Funding section.
Students on certain degrees will incur some additional costs not covered by their tuition fees. These could be for things like specialist equipment, study materials, work placements, graduation, membership of relevant organisations or costs related to carrying out fieldwork.
For students on course with an element of fieldwork, there may also be extra costs for travel and accommodation.
Please contact the course leader for details of the additional costs associated with this course.
Tuition fees are calculated based on where you are from and what you are studying. Some courses also involve additional costs, such as mandatory field trips, equipment or studying abroad.
Find out how much it will cost you to study at UWS as a postgraduate student.
Scottish students studying at postgraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying at postgraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
EU students studying at postgraduate level of UWS may be eligible for SAAS funding, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
There are several scholarship and incentive schemes available to international students studying at postgraduate level at UWS, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
UWS administer a range of discretionary and childcare funds. These are designed to support students who are experiencing financial difficulty or struggling to meet the costs of childcare.
Becoming a student can have an impact on your entitlement to certain benefits. It may mean you are no longer eligible to claim a benefit you have been receiving, or your new income from student funding may affect the amount you are able to receive.
If there isn’t a statutory source of funding for you or your course, or you are in need of additional financial support, you may wish to consider more alternative sources of funding such as trust funds and scholarships.
At UWS, we believe financial restrictions should never be a barrier to your education.
The WEST (Widening Education and Supporting Talent) Scholarship Programme aims to remove the financial barriers that stop talented students from progressing throughout their degree to graduation.
Choosing to become a student can have a big impact on your budget and you may need to reassess your spending to account for a reduced income. We’ve put together some guidance to help you manage your money and make the right financial choices for you and your family.
All students should apply directly to the University through our online application system. Before you apply, you should check that you meet our entry requirements and you should have all your supporting documents ready.
The first stage of the process is to create a profile; you don't have to complete the application in one session - you can complete it in stages by saving each section and return to complete it at a later date.
You will need to upload documents with your applications, which may include transcripts and degree certificates.
Most courses don't have a formal closing date, but they will close when they are full; apply early to avoid disappointment. There may also be funding deadlines that apply to you. Please be aware that programme fees are subject to increases each year.
Before you begin your application, it is important to read the Postgraduate & Post-Experience application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
With cutting edge facilities, specialist knowledge and world-leading and internationally excellent expertise, we aim to develop research outputs that have a tangible, early and positive impact on society across the globe.
DiscoverWe will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.