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MSc Strength and Conditioning

MSc Strength and Conditioning

This three year, part-time course in Strength and Conditioning will enhance your practical skills and also your ability to critically evaluate and apply research in a real-life environment.

  • Greatly increase your chances of getting a lead role in top-flight sport
  • Develop the vital practical skills that set you apart from the rest
  • Find out how our Human Performance Lab can improve your research profile

The programme has been developed to ensure that it covers the UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) competencies.

Salford City Reds being put through their paces in the Human Performance Lab Paul Comfort and a sports student testing a Vigorboard A Lancashire County Cricket Club Player testing his strength. Olympic hopeful Abi Irozuru using the Human Performance Lab

Why take Strength and Conditioning at Salford?

  • Compared with other courses, our Masters has a strong practice element, which means you will get to develop the skills you need to operate at the top-level
  • The theoretical content of the course is delivered via distance learning so you won’t have to attend university every week
  • You’ll be able to apply all this to your job and use case studies from your current area of practice
  • Attend the University for our intensive workshops
  • These involve around 6 days per semester, usually on a Sunday and Monday and provide you with the opportunity to really develop your skills
  • Our staff are experts in the field of Strength and Conditioning and regularly work in partnership with professional sports teams and individual athletes

“I can’t stress enough how important the practical side of things is – this is what really dictates how good a coach can become.”

Duncan French, Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach (GB Basketball).

World-class facilities

You will have access to some of the best facilities in the UK, including our purpose-built Human Performance Lab and well-equipped strength and conditioning facilities. We regularly host top teams like Salford City Reds and Lancashire County Cricket Club at the lab, as well as individual sports men and women like Olympic jumping hopefuls Abi Irozuru and Eoin Hannon.

Experience that counts

We have a wealth of experience for you to draw on that will make a real difference to your study. We are known for the support we give to our students, ensuring their success.

We now have the largest pool of strength and conditioning expertise of any academic institute in the country. Six members of staff recently went through successful recertification with the NSCA.

In addition, Paul Comfort and Martyn Matthews achieved much coveted distinctions (an award shared by only a handful of others in this country). This rewards their extraordinary achievements in, and contributions to, the strength and conditioning and personal training professions.

Paul has been appointed to the role of Head of Sports Science at Salford City Reds. In addition to teaching, he works alongside the coaching staff to identify areas in which sports science and rehabilitation can be implemented to the benefit of individual players and the team.

We also offer BASES workshops in Strength and Conditioning and have an internationally recognised research centre in rehabilitation and human performance research.

What will I learn?

The full course runs part-time over three years giving you the chance to exit with the following awards:

  • Postgraduate Certificate: 4 modules over 1 year
  • Postgraduate Diploma: 7 modules over 2 years
  • Masters: 7 modules plus a dissertation over 3 years

The course has been developed to enable you to develop and deliver high-level periodised strength and conditioning pragrammes to a diverse range of athletes.

Biomechanics Assessment in Sport (15 credits):

  • Develop knowledge and application of mechanical and biomechanical principles in performance and injury prevention
  • Use qualitative and quantitative assessments to evaluate the techniques of discrete sports skills and training modalities (for example, Olympic lifts)
  • Special emphasis will be put on identifying “cause and effect” relationships and you will investigate issues such as symmetry and specificity of movement, muscle balance, force-velocity and rates of force acceptance and generation
  • You will also develop a critical understanding of biomechanical research applied to strength and conditioning and injury risk

Physiology of Sports Performance (15 credits)

  • Theoretical, applied, practical and critical understanding of sport and exercise physiology
  • Acute responses to exercise and the chronic adaptations to training
  • An important aspect of this module will be the critical evaluation of applied research

Screening and Assessment in Sport (15 credits)

  • Review the reliability and validity of previously acquired knowledge of physiological and biomechanical assessment
  • Critically evaluate current screening tools and their application
  • Develop strategies for the assessment of performance, or health, or injury risk in relation to the requirements of specific clients (respecting the needs of differing ethnically, culturally and physically diverse populations)
  • Develop evidence based "needs analysis" profiles from the assessments

Strength and Conditioning (15 credits)

  • Critically evaluate the current scientific principles, concepts and theories of Strength and Conditioning Training, including ‘real life’, practical applications, in relation to optimising performance in specific sports
  • Interpret data from a variety of physiological and biomechanical testing protocols and use these findings to develop an appropriate periodised exercise programme
  • Practical skills will include use of free weights, exercise machines, isometric exercise, speed and agility drills, plyometrics, stretching and dynamic warm-ups

This module will develop critical evaluation of the core concepts of Strength and Conditioning Training and encourage the development of skills required for successful academic and professional progress.

Performance Nutrition (15 credits)

  • Critically evaluate current nutritional research, including ‘real life’ practical application to the requirements of specific sports, with reference to the demands of their sport and training regime
  • Become competent at analysing and interpreting nutritional intake in relation to current research and the requirements of specific sports and providing evidence based recommendations for optimal nutrient intake
  • Explore the issues related to doping/anti doping within sports

Integrated Strength and Conditioning (15 credits)

  • Further develop the ability to work in an interdisciplinary environment
  • Critically evaluate and integrate current scientific principles, concepts and theories relevant to the Strength and Conditioning coach
  • Become competent at interpreting information from a variety of professionals (Coach, Physiotherapists/Rehabilitators, Physiologists, Psychologists, Biomechanists, Nutritionist/Dietician) involved in an athlete’s development
  • Use this information to develop a long term periodised exercise programme

This module will include ‘real life’ practical application, in relation to optimising performance in specific sports.

Integrated Project (30 Credits)

This module aims to provide you with the experience of carrying out a systematic and structured group project. This will develop your critical and evaluative research skills in relation to your own professional practice and the dissemination of research and good practice. You will:

  • Conduct a systematic and structured group project
  • Produce a scientific report of a project, which involves: a critical review of literature, data collection and analysis, interpretation and report on the findings and their application

Dissertation (60 credits)

The Dissertation module gives you the chance to undertake an in-depth, evidence based exploration of a key area relevant to your own practice.

"Currently there are relatively high level strength and conditioning posts going unfilled due to an absence of suitably skilled individuals in the job market."

How do I apply?

Workshops

Our intensive workshops at the university take up a total of six days per module. They will employ a variety of teaching methods but are designed to provide a flexible, practice related experience to complement the theoretical side of the course.

As the course progresses, the workshops will become more student-led, involving, for example, the implementation of new interventions with your athlete and monitoring changes in performance.

How will I be assessed?

Each module will have a range of assessments that will demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes, skills and abilities required by the profession. These include:

  • Case Studies (Written and Oral Presentations)
  • Viva vocé
  • Practical Assessments
  • Portfolio Development
  • Journal Articles (Research reports written in the format of a journal article)
  • Poster Presentation
  • Research Proposal
  • Independent Research Project

The inclusion of formal practical assessments (based around the UKSCA assessment procedures) will improve the employability of graduates.

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