BSc (Hons) Available in Clearing

Strength and Conditioning with Rehabilitation

Learn about exercise science, movement, coaching and rehabilitation – and prepare for a rewarding career as a strength and conditioning coach.

Start date
September
Location
Cambridge
Duration
3 years
UCAS course code
C630

Start date
September
Location
Cambridge
Duration
4 years with foundation
UCAS course code
C611

Start date
September
Location
Cambridge
Duration
4 years with placement
UCAS course code
C631
Top 10

Study on one of the leading Sports Science courses – ranked top 10 in the UK, 2021-24.

Source: Guardian University Guide

This is an exciting course where you'll discover that strength and conditioning is more than just gym work.

Based in our accredited CASES labs in the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, you’ll learn how to help people develop their speed, agility, endurance and strength.

You can specialise in biomechanics or exercise physiology from Year 2. There’s also the option to gain fitness industry qualifications, and gain experience through work placements.

We welcome talented athletes and offer financial support through our Sport Scholarship.

Logo: THE Awards 2023
 

Study at an award-winning university

We were named Times Higher Education University of the Year 2023. We've also been awarded a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework – a reflection of the outstanding education we offer our students.

Careers

Graduate ready to work in the burgeoning rapidly growing sport and fitness industry.

As our course is aligned to UK Strength and Conditioning Association standards, you’ll be able to work as a strength and conditioning coach.

If you complete relevant optional modules, you could work as a gym instructor or personal trainer.

More broadly, employers will see you as ‘job ready’, thanks to endorsement from the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA).

Teaching and modules

Throughout this hands-on course, you’ll plan and deliver coaching sessions.

In lectures and practical sessions, you’ll explore how the body performs, and responds to, physical activity. You’ll also look at data collection and interpretation; sports injuries and rehabilitation; and athlete development.

Optional modules allow you to explore different aspects of coaching, from personal training to biomechanics.

In your final year, you can choose between a research project, or working and completing a project in industry.

Modules are subject to change and availability, and may vary by location. If you have the choice of optional modules, these are indicated with a *.

Year 1 (Level 4)
  • Multidisciplinary Sport and Exercise Science 1 (30 credits)
  • Introduction to Sport Coaching and Development (30 credits)
  • Multidisciplinary Sport and Exercise Science 2 (30 credits)
  • Practical Delivery of Sport and Physical Education (30 credits)
  • Professional Development - Level 4
  • Into ARU
  • CIMSPA Level 2 Gym Instructor (0 credits) *
Year 2 (Level 5)
  • Applied Research Skills (15 credits)
  • Physiological Profiling for Strength and Power (15 credits)
  • Functional Rehabilitation (15 credits)
  • Practical Competencies in Biomechanics (15 credits)
  • Strength and Conditioning (15 credits)
  • Applied Coaching and Teaching (15 credits)
  • Ruskin Module (15 credits)
  • Professional Development - Level 5
  • CIMSPA Level 3 Personal Trainer (0 credits) *
  • Biomechanics: Analysis of Motion (15 credits) *
  • Physiological Profiling for Endurance (15 credits) *
Year 3 (Level 6)
  • Long Term Athlete Development (15 credits)
  • Rehabilitation for Performance (15 credits)
  • Exercise Medicine (15 credits)
  • Advanced Strength and Conditioning (15 credits)
  • Undergraduate Research Project (30 credits) *
  • Advanced Work Placement (30 credits) *
  • Physiological Basis of Training (15 credits) *
  • Current Topics in Biomechanics (15 credits) *
  • Applied Biomechanics (15 credits) *
  • Physiological Responses to Training (15 credits) *
Module details

To prepare you for university study, you can take a foundation year at the start of this course. Find out more about foundation years.

Year 1 (Level 3)
  • Foundation in Sports Science
Module details

You can choose to take an optional placement year as part of this course. Placements typically happen in Year 3, and your course will take four years overall. Find out more about placement years.

Year 3
  • Work Placement - Psychology and Sport Sciences (120 credits)
Module details

At ARU, you’ll learn from expert staff including practising sport therapists, coaches, psychologists, nutritionists and conditioning specialists. There’s the chance to hear from world-leading guest speakers too, through our Excellence in Sports seminars.

Facilities

At ARU you’ll be based in our Cambridge Centre for Sports and Exercise Sciences, which houses specialist exercise testing and human movement labs.

The labs feature:

  • strength and conditioning suite (three lifting platforms, open physical conditioning space)
  • rehabilitation clinic
  • 3D motion capture suite
  • notational analysis software
  • heart-rate monitors
  • GPS monitoring technology
  • breath-by-breath oxygen-analysis systems
  • accelerometers.

Take a guided tour and meet our students.

Entry requirements

Fees and funding

Apply for Strength and Conditioning with Rehabilitation

Clearing places available

UK students, apply through Clearing for a September 2025 start

UK students

Call our Clearing line

01245 686868

UK students

Apply through UCAS for 2026

International students

Apply direct