Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

BSc (Hons)

Location

Stoke-on-Trent campus

UCAS code

BC96

Start dates available

  • September 2026

Our Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation degree will give you plenty of practical experience and the opportunity to work with real clients in our Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation Clinic.

Under supervision from staff, you could be dealing with anything from knee or back injuries through to complex musculoskeletal cases. Patients include elite athletes and specialist communities such as older people and those with comorbidities (such as cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases amongst others).

You’ll learn in our pioneering new Telehealth Hub - an industry leading facility which enables students to develop skills in digital sport, exercise and healthcare. Students use the telehealth facility to assess, educate, monitor, and/or deliver healthcare interventions virtually. With more and more healthcare providers using web-based systems to provide care to patients, the skills learnt in our hub are future-proofing our students and preparing them for success in their future careers.

Our BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation degree leads to a range of exciting careers, whether you have ambitions to work in the professional sports environment or go into private practice.

On the course, you’ll learn how to perform injury assessment, soft tissue techniques like massage and joint mobilisation, and offer tailored exercise both for performance enhancement, rehabilitation and disease management.

You’ll put techniques into practice in our Rehabilitation Zone - that’s kitted out with Olympic weightlifting equipment and cardiovascular machines - and in our physiology lab, where we have specialist facilities for testing and measuring human performance.

There are also several modules aimed at building your research skills, culminating in a major research project in your final year. Modules that are important for developing and evidence based approach to healthcare.

You will be able to draw on the expertise of our research-active academics and staff with a wealth of clinical experience.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

Duration

University of Staffordshire undergraduate courses are usually 3 years for full-time study.

Courses which offer other study options have longer durations:

  • Full-time with a placement year, 4 years
  • Full-time with a foundation year, 4 years
  • Part-time, 4-9 years

Work placements

We ensure every student has the opportunity to gain real world experience, with hours for professional registration (BASRaT) accrued through teaching, observation, and placement both in our own Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation (SUST) Clinic and with external organisations.

We also have well established links with football clubs like Stoke City FC and Port Vale FC, the national training ground at St George’s Park in Staffordshire, as well as many other professional and recreational sports clubs regionally.

We also have students going into NHS settings, working with local chiropractors and sports injury clinics.

As an undergraduate in our Sport and Science Department, you can become a volunteer with our Sports Academy too. You will be helping to deliver physical activity and classroom-based workshops to young people in schools and communities.

Course content

Our lecturing staff are all passionate professionals who are dedicated to ensuring the teaching and learning on the degree is inspiring, challenging, and accessible to all students. Our staff have all worked in industry; field, clinical and research based which allows them to bring their first-hand experiences to teaching. Whether that be emergency trauma on a football pitch, a particularly complex injury case or the chance to be involved with your lecturer’s latest data collection for research.

You will build knowledge surrounding soft tissue techniques, clinical anatomy, exercise prescription and rehabilitation and physiological response to exercise, biomechanics, and nutrition for injury. You will also complete a first aid and emergency trauma management course and gain work placement experience.

Our sessions are a mixture of theoretical learning and practical case scenarios (simulations) in modest groups of up to 16 which means you are more readily supported with your studies and allows you to engage easily within the sessions.

Upon graduating, you will be a professional sports therapist and rehabilitator ready to work across a dynamic and growing industry.

Academic year

The course operates on a modular basis that provides flexibility and choice. Our modules are 30 academic credits, with each credit equating to approximately 10 hrs of study time. Total study time includes scheduled teaching, independent study and assessment activity. Full-time students take modules worth 60 credits per semester, with part-time students taking proportionately fewer credits per semester. All students take a total of 120 credits per level and 360 credits for the degree as a whole. Your overall grade for the course and your degree classification are based on the marks obtained for modules taken at levels 5 and 6. The full-time course has one start point in September.

Professional body accreditation

Recognised by the British Association of Sport Rehabilitators and Trainers (BASRaT) for the purpose of bestowing the title of Graduate Sport Rehabilitator (BASRaT-Reg GSR) and entering onto the Professional Standards Authority in Health and Social Care (PSA) Accredited Register.

British Association of Sport Rehabilitators (BASRaT)

This course is accredited by the British Association of Sport Rehabilitators (BASRaT).

Modules

The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module where available.

Year 1 compulsory modules
Clinical Assessment (Lower Extremity) 30 credits
Clinical Assessment (Upper Extremity) 30 credits
Exercise Prescription 30 credits
Injury And Trauma Management 30 credits
Year 3 compulsory modules
Exercise For Special Populations 30 credits
Independent Investigational Project 30 credits
Multidisciplinary Practice 30 credits
Professional Clinic 30 credits

Please note, we are refreshing our curriculum which means the module structure may be subject to change. These planned changes aim to further develop your professional skills to equip you for the careers of tomorrow.

Entry requirements

112-120 UCAS Tariff points

  • GCE A Levels - grades BBC or equivalent
  • Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma - grade DMM
  • Access to HE Diploma - Pass Access with a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points. Applicants to Staffs who are taking the Access to HE Diploma receive a reduced tariff point offer as part of our access and participation plan activity
  • UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma - grade of Merit overall
  • OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - grade DMM
  • T Levels - Eligible T Level applications will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of P (A*-C) or Higher Pass as a condition of offer

A two-year foundation degree in Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies is available for applicants who do not have the appropriate entry qualifications for direct entry to the degree level course. After successful completion of the two-year FdSc Rehabilitation and Manual therapies course, students who meet the pre-requisites can top-up to our Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation BSc (or other Sport and Exercise BSc top up courses).

We understand that you might have experienced a challenging run up to higher education and may have not met the entry requirements as listed. If this is the case don’t worry, contact us and our team of expert advisors can guide you through the next stages of application, or help you find the perfect course for your needs.

We understand that you might have experienced a challenging run up to higher education and may have not met the entry requirements as listed. If this is the case don’t worry, contact us and our team of expert advisors can guide you through the next stages of application, or help you find the perfect course for your needs.

Facilities

The course utilises a range of industry-leading technologies and facilities to provide outstanding educational experiences.

Sports Therapy Facilities

Our students are taught, and gain valuable hands-on experience, in our specialist Sports Therapy facilities which include a teaching clinic, rehabilitation zone, telehealth hub and our student-led Sports Therapy Clinic. Read more

Find out more about our:

 

Sports Equipment

Our facilities include a vast array of industry standard equipment, from our cryotherapy and electrotherapy machines to our eye tracker software.

Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre

If you choose to live in our accommodation, access to the Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre is completely free. Read more

With cardiovascular, resistance, strength and conditioning equipment alongside a 'Spin Zone', football pitches and sports halls, there's something for everyone.

The Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre

Our Sport and Exercise students have access to our on-campus sports centre and gym which features MATRIX fitness equipment, 3G pitches and a sports hall.  Read more

Find out more about our Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre. 

Biomechanics Facilities

The Gait Analysis Laboratory within the Biomechanics Facility consists of motion capture and associated software, force platforms, digital video camera and associated kinematic analysis software and plantar pressure measurement system. Read more

Find out more. 

Careers

Our graduates pursue a variety of rewarding roles, including working as sports therapists and rehabilitators and sports massage therapists. Some set up their own businesses or clinics.

You can also work in injury clinics with a range of professionals or alongside athletes in sports such as football, rugby and martial arts.

If you go down the healthcare route, there are lots of job opportunities too. You could be working with specialist communities such as older people, clients who are obese, have diabetes or cancer. Exercise can help improve their quality of life.

You can also progress onto postgraduate study. We offer a range of Masters degrees at Staffordshire University linked to sport and exercise.

All students have access to Career Connect, our dedicated careers team.

All students have access to Careers, Placements & Employability, our dedicated careers team.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

Our sessions are a mixture of theoretical learning and practical case scenarios in modest groups of up to 16, which means you are more readily supported with your studies and allows you to engage easily within the sessions.

Learning support

In addition to the excellent support you will receive from your course teaching team, our central Academic Skills team provides group and one-to-one help to support your learning in a number of areas. These include:

  • study skills such as reading, note-taking and presentation skills
  • written English, including punctuation and grammatical accuracy
  • academic writing and how to reference
  • research skills
  • critical thinking and understanding arguments
  • revision, assessment and examination skills
  • time management

Additional support

Our Student Inclusion Services support students with additional needs such as sensory impairment, or learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

Staff

Our lecturing staff are all passionate professionals who are dedicated to ensuring the teaching and learning on the degree is inspiring, challenging and accessible to all students. Our staff have all worked in industry; field, clinical and research based which allows them to bring their first-hand experiences to teaching. Whether that be emergency trauma on a football pitch, a particularly complex injury case or the chance to be involved with your lecturer’s latest data collection for research.

Please note, teaching team staff members may change during your studies.

Edward Stanhope

Senior Lecturer

Edward is a graduate Sports Therapist and researcher. He specialises in exercise in people with non-communicable diseases, specifically the effects of exercise in women diagnosed with breast cancer throughout the stages of their care continuum.

Edward's profile

Rebecca Warnett

Senior Lecturer

I am a graduate Sports Therapist and the course leader for BSc Sports Therapy. Graduating in 2014 I have worked in women's football, ran my own sports injury clinic and have been lecturing at University of Staffordshire since 2015.

Rebecca's profile

Fees

For the course starting on 21 September 2026 the tuition fees are:

Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Full-time £9,790 per year of study £17,085 per year of study

UK and Channel Island students: This tuition fee is agreed subject to UK government policy and parliamentary regulation. If the UK government passes appropriate legislation, the fee for subsequent years of study may increase in each academic year. But this increase will not exceed the rate of inflation as measured by RPIX**. Any change in fees will apply to both new and continuing students. The University will notify students of any change as early as possible. Further information about fee changes would be posted on the University’s website once this becomes available.

**RPIX is a measure of inflation equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

Accommodation and living costs

Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Sources of financial support

If you receive funding from Student Finance you may be eligible to apply for additional benefits. Details can be obtained by reading our additional funding web pages, or visiting www.gov.uk.

Scholarships and additional funding

As an undergraduate student at Staffordshire, you may be eligible for additional financial support through one of our scholarships and bursaries. You can visit our funding page to find out more and check your eligibility.

Our students

I am a professional dancer and chose to study Sports Therapy to better understand the body and injury prevention within high-performance environments. In my first year, I qualified in Level 4 Sports Massage and began private practice alongside my studies.

The university clinic placement has been invaluable in developing my assessment, rehabilitation and professional decision-making skills. The support from lecturers, including one-to-one mentoring and opportunities to engage in clinical work, has made the course highly relevant to my career goals.

Estelle Baddeley

BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy

The BSc Sports Therapy course is an interesting, engaging course that is practical and academic. The lectures are amazing and always there to help.

At the University there is a student Sports Therapy Clinic where we can gain experience with the help of our lectures. This is great as you get to see injuries first hand. Also, within the final year of this course you will have to complete external placement hours. This is another opportunity to gain an insight into the occupation which I am looking forward to next year.

There are loads of useful facilities at the University that are used during lectures. We have the sports therapy clinic rooms, biomechanics lab (which is incorporated into assignments) and physiological testing labs. The library is also a great facility with staff on hand to help with academic support.

Claire Parker

BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy

The facilities for sports therapy are amazing. I work within the student run Sports Therapy Clinic and am enjoying every minute which I spend working in there and developing my knowledge and experience with external clients. It definitely makes me look forward to graduating and developing a career as a sports therapist.

Georgia Lucas

BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy

From a very young age, I’ve always wanted to be a physio and help people – it's always been part of me and in my blood to be able to help people go back to how they were and better. In sports therapy you’re able to help people go from somebody who doesn’t believe in themselves, to somebody who makes it and beyond.

Olivia Hesketh

BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy

Apply now to Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

Location Award Study option Start date
Stoke-on-Trent campus BSc (Hons) Full-time 21 September 2026 Apply now

Rules and regulations

If you are offered a place at University of Staffordshire, your offer will be subject to our rules, regulations and enrolment conditions, which may vary from time to time.

Students of University of Staffordshire enter into a contract with us and are bound by these rules and regulations, which are subject to change. For more information, please see: University Policies and Regulations.

Have you considered?

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2025

for Social Inclusion

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026

for First Generation Students

The Mail University Guide 2026

in the UK for Games Education

Rookies Games Design and Development 2023, 2025

TIGA Best Games Institution 2024, 2025

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021