MSc Sport Performance Coaching (Online)
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
- Duration MSc part-time: 24 months; PGDip: 18 months; PGCert: 9 months
- Mode of study Online, Part-time, Stand-alone modules
Changes at Stirling
Find out about important changes including how you'll be taught, start dates and how we're making campus safer.
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.
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.
Course objectives
Our Sport Performance Coaching MSc is for experienced coaches 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 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 three modules, and the Postgraduate Diploma which has six modules, or the MSc which has seven modules including an 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.
Entry requirements
Course details
Fees and funding
After you graduate
What our students said

England
MSc Performance Coaching (Online)
Read Gerard's storyThe 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.

Germany
MSc Performance Coaching
Read Patricia's storyOverall, you get the opportunity to learn a lot about theoretical approaches and apply them in your coaching at the same time.
MSc Performance Coaching
Read Lesley's storyI 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.