Physical Activity for Health MSc

The full-time MSc Physical Activity for Health combines compulsory and optional courses, which make use of:

• traditional lectures
• tutorials
• seminars
• some laboratory and field practicals

Assessment involves a combination of:

• essays
• reports
• case studies
• examinations
• oral presentations
• practical demonstrations

Please note – intercalated medical students (after at least three years of their Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB/MBBS) programmes) can apply for entry onto the one-year full-time programme of study only.

Compulsory courses

• Assessment of Physical Activity and Body Composition
• Physical Activity for Health
• Physical Activity for Health Across the Lifespan
• Psychology of Physical Activity
• Research Process
• Understanding Research Concepts

Optional courses

You will also choose 30 credits of optional courses from across the University. Our students take courses related to:

• Sport Management and Policy
• Human Performance Science
• Exercise Rehabilitation and Medicine
• Psychology
• Public Health

Example optional courses our students have taken in previous years include:

• Sport, Society and International Development
• Sport and Exercise Medicine
• Preventive Dance Medicine
• Social Determinants of Health
• Developing and Evaluating Complex Public Health Interventions

Dissertation

To complete the MSc programme, you will also produce an independently-researched dissertation. Please note – intercalating medical students may be required to submit their dissertation at an earlier time-point than other students on the programme.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

There has been an increasing interest in the area of Physical Activity for Health. The skills you will develop in this programme will enhance your opportunities for employment in careers in many areas related to physical activity.

Recent graduates have taken up roles in:

• Physical Activity and Sports Development
• Health Promotion (for example, within workplaces and local authorities)
• Health and Fitness Industry (for example, within gyms and sporting facilities)
• Physical Activity and Health Consultancy
• Research positions (for example, within academic and non-governmental organisations)
• Teaching positions

Many of our graduates have chosen to extend their studies by undertaking a Doctoral degree following graduation. Following completion of their PhD, several have progressed into lectureship positions or stayed within academia in funded research assistant roles.

For any intercalated medical students, we anticipate that you will return to your medical studies on completion of the programme, and utilise your new knowledge and skills to widen your career options.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant discipline such as sport and exercise science, physical education, health sciences, psychology or physiology.

We may also consider your application if you have equivalent academic qualifications and significant professional training and experience; please contact us to check before you apply.

Applicants currently undertaking a medical degree and seeking to intercalate on the MSc Physical Activity for Health will be eligible after at least three years of their Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB/MBBS) programmes, or equivalent and will need to have achieved a minimum standard equivalent to a UK 2:1 honours degree at first attempt.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

For those who are intercalated medical students, there is a possibility that enrolling in this MSc could affect your future funding entitlements for your medicine degree. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to consult with your funding body to confirm how you will finance your intercalated year and ensure there are no implications for funding the rest of the undergraduate medical degree after intercalating.

Tuition fees

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money
  • taking out a loan
  • family support
• personal savings
• income from work
• employer sponsorship
• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

GREAT scholarship: Mexico

One GREAT scholarship will be available to applicants from Mexico who apply for 2024 entry. This award is for £10,000 towards postgraduate taught (Masters) degree tuition. Further details on eligibility criteria and how to apply can be found on the GREAT scholarship website.

• GREAT scholarship 2024: Mexico

India Merit Scholarship

The University is offering a new international scholarship for the most academically gifted Postgraduate Taught (PGT) Masters students applying from India. These awards cover £5,000 towards tuition fees for PGT Masters students studying on campus during the 2024/25 academic year. The Scholarships will be tenable for the first year of study only and will be automatically deducted from your student tuition fee balance. 

• India Merit Scholarship

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding