MSc Sport Performance Coaching (Online)

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Earn a Masters in Sport Performance Coaching by studying online at Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence and find the winning formula for your career advancement.

Key facts

Award Masters / MSc, Postgraduate Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate
Start date September 2021, January 2022, September 2022, January 2023
Duration MSc part-time: 24 months; PGDip: 18 months; PGCert: 9 months
Mode of study Online, Part-time, Stand-alone modules

Accreditations

Endorsed by UK Coaching

Overview

The first course of its kind in Scotland, this innovative online Masters gives experienced coaches the chance to improve their coaching skills through cutting-edge best practice and research. Our teaching is aligned with the UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC) Level 4 certification process and is endorsed by UK Coaching. The course is also suitable for coach developers who are seeking to enhance their work with coaches.

This MSc Sport Performance Coaching degree will develop your critical analysis skills, improve your problem-solving abilities and teach you innovative solutions to coaching problems. You’ll examine modern best practice in coaching from case studies, peers and leading coaches. Throughout the course, you'll examine and improve your understanding and practice of coaching, developing the skills to critically reflect on decisions, develop smart strategies and boost performance.

Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence

As Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence, we’ve developed an international reputation for delivering sport courses that get results. We bring together leading academics to deliver high-quality teaching in a range of areas – with a primary focus on your future career prospects. We’re closely aligned with many sports bodies and have formal links with a growing number of organisations who can help to facilitate your learning. Our campus is also home to the National Tennis Centre, National Swimming Academy and headquarters of a number of Scottish sport governing bodies and regionals offices including the Scottish Institute of Sport.

Top reasons to study with us

Study entirely online and fit your Masters coursework around your career

Learn from leading academic experts and experienced coaches

Become part of Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence international network of coaches

Course objectives

Our Sport Performance Coaching MSc is for experienced coaches and coach developers who wish to extend their expertise alongside their sport-specific qualifications. It will develop your critical analysis and reflective practice skills, enhance your problem-solving capacity and promote innovative solutions for coaching problems.

We’ll help you become a coach or coach developer who can:

reflect and challenge personal assumptions and beliefs to improve future performance
critically reflect on decisions in complex and unpredictable situations
recognise and resolve problematic coaching issues through the generation of innovative strategies and solutions
design and implement an optimal learning environment to impact on athletes’ performance needs
design and implement a planned and strategic approach to performance improvement
develop and manage appropriate support structures to facilitate improved performance

Professional accreditation

Our MSc Sport Performance Coaching degree is endorsed by UK Coaching and is aligned with the UKCC level 4 certification process.

Coaches from British Canoeing study for the PGDip Performance Coaching as part of the British Canoeing Coaching Diploma (formerly UKCC Level 4).

Work placements

To gain the most from the course it is expected that you will be actively coaching while you complete your MSc Sport Performance Coaching degree. This will enable you to explore and critically examine your coaching practice and context using the content provided within each module. Tasks frequently require you to gather and critically reflect on insight from your own coaching.

Flexible learning

Individual modules can be taken for continuing professional development or grouped for an award such as the Postgraduate Certificate which consists of 60 credits (e.g., three 20 credit modules), and the Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits e.g., six 20 credit modules), or the MSc consisting of 180 credits including a 60 credit Applied Coaching Project.

The online delivery ensures you can study when and where it suits you and fit study around your current career.

If you’re interested in studying a module from this course, the Postgraduate Certificate or the Postgraduate Diploma then please email Graduate Admissions to discuss your course of study.

Research overview

The staff delivering this programme are experienced coaches and also researchers. See individual staff pages for more information. Staff regularly work with MSc students to assist them to publish research conducted as part of the Applied Coaching Project. Examples include:

Ritchie, D. & Allen, J. (2015). ‘Let them get on with it’: Coaches’ perceptions of their roles and coaching practices during Olympic and Paralympic Games. International Sport Coaching Journal, 2, 108-124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2014-0092

Ritchie, D., Allen, J., & Kirkland, A. (2018). Where science meets practice: Olympic coaches’ crafting of the tapering process, Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(10), 1145-1154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2017.1362717

Macdonald, S. & Allen, J. (2019). An examination of the coach-created talent development motivational climate in Canoe Slalom in the United Kingdom. International Sport Coaching Journal, 6(1), 74-87 https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2017-0091

Cooper, D. & Allen, J. (2020). “I don’t want to give them my brain for the day… and then take it back”: An examination of the coach-created motivational climate in adult adventure sports. International Sport Coaching Journal, 7(2), 175-188 http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2019-0026

Carroll, M. & Allen, J. (2021). 'Zooming in' on the antecedents of youth sport coaches' autonomy-supportive and controlling interpersonal behaviours: A multimethod study. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 16(2), 236-248 https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954120958621

Mason L, Kirkland A, Steele J & Wright J. (2021). The relationship between Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull variables and athletic performance measures: empirical study of English professional soccer players and meta-analysis of extant literature. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 61 (5), pp. 645-655. https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.20.11205-2

Entry requirements

Please select your country of residence:

Academic requirements

A minimum of a second class Honours degree (2.1 preferred) or equivalent in a relevant subject. You must also have five years' appropriate work experience in coaching, and evidence of successful completion of sport-specific coaching qualifications is expected.

English language requirements

Due to disruption in English Language testing caused by COVID-19, we are accepting alternative English Language tests (including online English Language Tests).

If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:

IELTS Indicator 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each sub-skill
Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) 176 overall with a minimum of 162 in each sub-skill
Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE) 180 overall with a minimum of 162 in each sub-skill
Pearson Test of English (Academic) 62 overall with a minimum of 59 in each sub-skill
IBT TOEFL 80 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing
IBT TOEFL Special Home Edition Test 80 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing
Trinity ISE II Pass overall and Merit in all sub-skills, ISE III Pass overall and in all sub-skills, ISE IV Pass overall and in all sub-skills
Aptis (4 skills) CEFR B2 overall and B2 in all sub-skills
Duolingo 105 overall with a minimum of 90 in all sub-skills
LanguageCert International ESOL B2 Communicator - Pass with minimum 33 in each sub-skill

Last updated: 1 February 2021

If you are from India, Ghana or Nigeria please also check your country/region specific page for any additional, or changes to, English language requirements.

For more information on ways that you can meet our English language requirements, including options to waive the requirement, please read our information on English language requirements.

Course details

Boost your skills, grow your network and develop your career in coaching with this specialist online course.

You must successfully complete 120 credits of taught modules and an applied coaching project for the award of the MSc. For the award of the Postgraduate Diploma you must successfully complete 120 credits worth of taught modules. For the Postgraduate Certificate you must successfully complete 60 credits worth of taught modules. If you are interested in CPD only you can take individual taught modules.

Modules

The module information below is intended only as an example of what you may study and features details for the current academic year (2021/22). Modules are regularly reviewed and are subject to future changes.

Course Details

Teaching

This online Masters degree is designed to be flexible and fit with your professional and personal commitments. You’ll learn through a guided programme of study that includes:

listening to short recorded presentations
reading and reflecting on cutting edge research and literature related to coaching
sharing views and ideas with classmates and staff through asynchronous discussions
examining your own coaching practice, context and thinking through learning and assessment tasks that prompt you to gather insight and reflect on what you do and why
learning from expert coaches, researchers and professionals through podcasts and short presentations.

All this teaching is delivered through the University’s virtual learning platform.

Staff are responsive to requests for assistance and will assist you with your learning journey, including supervision of the Applied Coaching Project. Individual tutorials via online platforms (e.g., Teams or Skype) or phone are available.

Assessment

Module outlines include details of specific content and assessments. All assessment procedures are in line with institutional policies and will be conducted in such a way as to adhere to adult learning principles. This means that content and learning demonstrate relevance, problem solving, learning by doing and a strong element of self-direction and ownership.

Course director

Dr Justine Allen

+44 (0) 1786 466474

justine.allen@stir.ac.uk

Key staff

Stephen Macdonald

Dr Andrew Kirkland

Dr Marie Overbye

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Fees and funding

Fees and costs

2020/21 fees
	Home / EU students	Overseas students
Total MSc course fee	£6,000	£6,000

2021/22 fees
	UK and Republic of Ireland students	Overseas students
Total MSc course fee	£6,600	£9,500

This course is only offered on a part-time basis. The total course fee will be split over the years that you study. The total fee will remain the same and will be held at the rate it was set in your year of entry.

If you need to extend your period of study or repeat study, you will be liable for additional fees.

For more information on courses invoiced on an annual fee basis, please read our tuition fees policy.

Additional costs

There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.

Scholarships and funding

Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan

This course is currently approved for Postgraduate Tuition Fee Loan funding from the Student Awards Agency Scotland.

Payment options

We aim to be as flexible as possible, and offer a wide range of payment methods - including the option to pay fees by instalments. Learn more about how to pay

After you graduate

Typically, coaches who apply for our MSc Sport Performance Coaching degree will already be employed in significant sport or coaching related roles. We anticipate graduates from the course will better understand themselves, their coaching practice and wider coaching context which prepares them to fulfil high performing coaching or coach development roles in their sport.

We've helped coaches everywhere boost their skills and advance their careers. Our alignment with UK Coaching places your qualification within a recognised professional framework.

Grow your network of professional connections as you study
96% of our postgraduate leavers are in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020, HESA)

What our students said

View more student stories

Gerard Jones
England
MSc Performance Coaching (Online)

The MSc Performance Coaching is a fantastic course! I love how you can study whilst coaching through 'distance-learning' and the online modules which makes it easier to study and apply what you're learning into your everyday practice.

Read Gerard's story

Patricia Skowronski
Germany
MSc Performance Coaching

Overall, you get the opportunity to learn a lot about theoretical approaches and apply them in your coaching at the same time.

Read Patricia's story

Lesley McKenna
MSc Performance Coaching

I never considered I would have so much in common with a football or a triathlon coach and we can bounce ideas off one another and compare methods.

Read Lesley's story

View more student stories

Changes at Stirling

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MSc Sport Performance Coaching (Online)

Key facts

Accreditations

Overview