Sports Therapy (Top-up) BSc (Hons)

Location

Stoke-on-Trent campus

Already completed a Foundation Degree in Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies at University of Staffordshire, or completed two years at another institution? Our BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy Top-up is designed to help you take the next step and achieve a full honours degree, building on your existing skills and knowledge to advance your professional practice.

Why choose this course?

  • Build on your foundation knowledge
    Deepen your expertise in injury assessment, manual therapy techniques, exercise prescription, and rehabilitation – preparing you for independent clinical practice.
  • Work with real patients in our Sports Therapy Clinic
    Under the supervision of experienced staff, you’ll apply your learning to a wide variety of patients – from recreational and elite athletes to specialist groups such as older adults and individuals with long-term health conditions.
  • Learn in industry-standard facilities
    Gain hands-on experience in our Rehabilitation Zone, and use our specialist physiology lab to assess and monitor human performance.
  • Future-proof your career
    Develop your skills in our pioneering Telehealth Hub, learning how to deliver sport, exercise and healthcare support virtually – a skillset increasingly in demand across the health and sports industries.
  • Research and professional development
    Build your research skills and complete an independent investigational project, enabling you to explore a specialist area of interest and prepare for postgraduate study or evidence-based practice.

How you’ll learn

  • Small group teaching (up to 16 students in practical sessions)
  • Real patient exposure through supervised clinic placements
  • Blended learning combining theory, practical skills, and research
  • Hands-on emergency trauma management training

Career opportunities

Graduating with a BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy enhances your employability and broadens your career options. You’ll be prepared to work:

  • In professional and semi-professional sport
  • In private clinical practice
  • In rehabilitation and health promotion roles with diverse populations

The course also provides an excellent foundation for postgraduate study in related health and sports disciplines.

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

Duration

This course is one year in duration.

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.

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.

Upon graduating, you will be a professional sports therapist 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 20 or 40 academic credits. Each credit taken equates to a total study time of around 10 hours. 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.

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
Exercise For Special Populations 20 credits
Independent Investigational Project 40 credits
Peripheral And Vertebral Mobilisation 20 credits
Professional Clinic 40 credits

Entry requirements

A completed FdSc in Sports Therapy, Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies from the University of Staffordshire

A completed level 4 and 5 from another institution (subject to course leader and PSRB checks).

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.

For equivalent entry requirements in your home country, please see the information on our country pages.

Choose your country

Get country-specific details on entry requirements, fees, scholarships and support services. Choose your country to see how University of Staffordshire can support you from application to arrival.

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Facilities

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. 
View virtual tour

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. 
View virtual tour

Careers

Our graduates pursue a variety of rewarding roles, including working as sports therapists 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.

Students on this programme have the opportunity to enhance their studies with a placement year, gain valuable work experience, and take part in international activities—potentially supported by the Turing funding.

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.

Assessment

Your course will provide you with opportunities to test your understanding of your subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally includes practice or ‘formative’ assessments, for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark. There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. This includes a range of coursework assessments, such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations, final year, independent project and written examinations. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark

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.

Feedback

You will normally receive feedback on coursework assessments within 20 working days following the date of submission. Examination feedback may take a variety of formats. However, as a minimum, generic feedback will be made available to all students who take written examinations.

Your study time will consist of class contact hours, self-directed learning, assessment and placements where appropriate. Your actual contact hours will depend on the subject area, on the option modules you select and professional body requirements. 

Independent learning

When not attending lectures, seminars, laboratory or other timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically, this will involve utilising a range of digital resources including our virtual learning environment; reading journals, articles and books; working on individual and group projects; undertaking research in the library; preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations. Your independent learning will be supported by a range of excellent facilities. These include the library, open access computer facilities, informal learning zones, a range of laboratories and performance and studio spaces.

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.

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

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

Fees

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

Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Full-time £9,535 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.

Included in the fees:
  • DBS checks where required for assessed modules 
  • Loan of subject related requirement where required for modules
Not included in the fees:
  • Text books are available from the library, but some students chose to purchase their own copies.
  • Printing
  • Travel costs to and from placements. We will have available placements within travel distance from the campus, or within proximity of your address
  • Clothing suitable for placements and facilities
  • Any optional field trips
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

If you are talented athlete, coach or official you could qualify for one of our sport scholarship or development schemes through our High Performance Academy.

You may also be eligible for other scholarships and bursaries. You can visit our funding page to find out more and check your eligibility.

Our students

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

Location Award Study option Start date
Stoke-on-Trent campus BSc (Hons) Full-time, top-up 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 Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

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

Research Excellence Framework 2021

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

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021