MSc in Strength and Conditioning
Manchester, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 20,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* full-time fee for EU and Non-EU International Students
Introduction
From professional coaching to supporting medical rehabilitation, clients want to feel confident they’re getting the best results for their efforts. As a strength and conditioning expert, you’ll help them achieve their goals while safeguarding them from the pain and frustration of injury along the way.
We've developed our MSc Strength and Conditioning degree in line with UK professional governing body standards (UKSCA), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), and the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). This ensures that you leave us with the skill set, confidence, and specialist knowledge to excel in the field and that you’re industry-ready and prepared for accreditation.
Designed for graduates and current practitioners, it’s a master's course with plenty of variety. You’ll gain both practical and laboratory experience, as well as research skills and a strong grounding in the scientific and coaching theories that underpin successful training methods. This includes the multidisciplinary considerations for the enhancement of athletic performance, as well as the mitigation of injury risk across diverse populations.
You’ll be taught by experts in their field at the world-class Institute of Sport, with outstanding facilities in the heart of Manchester; a city world renowned for its sporting achievements. Here, you’ll be part of a large and diverse sporting community with access to academics and sports professionals with a wide variety of interests and specialisms.
Boosting your CV with real-world experience, you also have the opportunity to complete a work placement in an area of your choosing. This could be in one of the city’s outstanding gyms or sports tech companies, or maybe with one of the leading clubs or national sporting bodies we have ties with. This includes England Para Football, Manchester City FC Academy, British Swimming, and professional rugby union club Sale Sharks.
Features and Benefits
- World-class sporting facilities – We've invested heavily in the Institute of Sport – our Manchester-based hub for all things sport. You'll learn in specialist teaching spaces, with access to a range of facilities including a new strength and conditioning facility, 3D motion analysis laboratory, environmental chamber, and 3 Tesla MRI scanners for advanced imaging.
- Aligned to accrediting bodies – Recognised as an exceptional academic program in sports performance and exercise science, our course is accredited by the International University Strength and Conditioning Association (IUSCA). The course has also been designed to align with the NSCA, UKSCA, and CIMSPA to prepare you for accreditation.
- A hub for cutting-edge research – In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, 100% of our research environment in Sport and Exercise Science is rated world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021). From strength and power to speed and endurance, get to grips with the science behind different kinds of training and carry out your independent piece of research.
- Learn alongside world-leading researchers – We're 6th in the UK for the power of our research in Sport and Exercise Science. Plus, 95% of our research outputs in Sport and Exercise Science are rated world-leading or internationally excellent. (REF 2021).
- Employability focused – You’ll gain sought-after skills to improve performance, reduce injury, and support wellbeing across sectors, from elite athletes to children. You can also benefit from our partnerships with leading sports clubs, gyms, sporting bodies, and sports tech companies to secure a work placement and enhance your career prospects.
- Join a diverse sporting community – Immerse yourself in one of the UK’s most dynamic sporting cities. Manchester is home to world champions and national sporting bodies, as well as grassroots clubs and an army of enthusiastic sporting fans. You'll not only study in one of the world's best sporting cities, but you'll also be part of the Manchester Graduate School of Sport. This is the UK’s only graduate school of sport and home to a large and diverse sporting community that gives you the springboard you need to launch your career.
Admissions
Curriculum
Course Information
Designed for graduates and sport and exercise practitioners, our MSc gives you advanced-level knowledge, expertise, and confidence in strength and conditioning to enhance performance and reduce injury.
Developed in line with professional governing body standards and with International University Strength and Conditioning Association accreditation, you’ll develop the skill set and competitive edge you need. You’ll cover weightlifting assessments, speed, agility, and plyometric coaching sessions. This leaves you well-prepared if you decide to aim for a coaching certification with the UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) or the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
You’ll be taught at two excellent sporting centers – the Institute of Sport and Manchester Met’s Platt Lane Sports Complex. You’ll have access to top-quality sporting facilities including an indoor dome, outdoor football and rugby pitches, and a fully equipped gym. Plus, performance measurement and physiology laboratories are used by professional sportspeople and coaches.
You’ll examine ways of developing strength and endurance, power, acceleration, deceleration, agility, injury prevention, and more. You’ll also learn about the most positive and healthy ways to change motivation and behavior in training.
You’ll work with advanced sports and exercise laboratory equipment and gain research skills with the opportunity to design and carry out your own independent piece of scientific research. Taught by accredited experts in their fields, who research, consult, and work in strength and conditioning internationally, you can feel confident that you’re getting the highest quality mentorship.
It’s vital that when preparing to work within the field of sport and exercise you know how to train and consult people from all walks of life. Your core units explore the multidisciplinary considerations for equality, diversity, and inclusivity in sport today and how to apply this to your professional practice.
You’ll also benefit from our work placement unit, giving you the opportunity to get an insight into the career path that most interests you. For example, you could undertake a placement with a professional football club or work in a medical setting supporting rehabilitation from injury. This is made possible thanks to our long-standing partnerships with leading clubs and sporting organizations, offering you a range of opportunities to develop skills in the real world.
Year 1
Core Units
- Professional Skills
- Research Methods, Design, and Data Analysis
- Work Placement in Sport and Exercise
- Research Project
- Scientific Principles of Training
- Performance Testing, Monitoring, and Analysis
- Field-based Conditioning and Injury Mitigation
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity in Sport and Exercise
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Sport and exercise science is a dynamic and evolving sector, becoming increasingly specialized. This means there is more demand from employers for high caliber, well-qualified candidates with specialist skills and expertise. Our course has been designed in partnership with industry-active professionals and academics, ensuring you graduate ready for the strength and conditioning industry of tomorrow.
If you want to become an accredited strength and conditioning coach, this course meets professional governing body standards that will get you ready for accreditation.
Career options for strength and conditioning coaches are varied and include working for professional sports clubs, in private gyms, for universities and colleges, with Para athletes, or in schools or sports academies. Coaches work beyond sports too, branching out into healthcare settings to support health, rehabilitation, and recovery.
Then there’s the fast-growing digital e-sport sector, with sports technology companies developing new strength and conditioning products every day. There’s also scientific research and the need to test new products, methods, and theories.
Whatever your ambition, this course will give you the skills and confidence to launch the career of your dreams or to take the next step into further study and research.
Student Testimonials
Program delivery
Study and assessment breakdown
Ten credits equate to 100 hours of study, which is a combination of lectures, seminars practical sessions, and independent study. A master's qualification typically comprises 180 credits, a PGDip 120 credits, a PGCert 60 credits, and an MFA 300 credits. The exact composition of your study time and assessments for the course will vary according to your option choices and style of learning, but it could be:
Study
Full-time 20% lectures, seminars, or similar; 10% placement; 70% independent study
Part-time 20% lectures, seminars, or similar; 10% placement; 70% independent study
Assessment
Full-time 100% coursework; 0% practical; 0% examination
Part-time 100% coursework; 0% practical; 0% examination