Sport and Exercise Science BSc (Hons) - i2i International Soccer Academy

With an emphasis on practical science, you’ll develop an understanding of the skills needed to help athletes from all backgrounds and abilities gain the maximum from their performance.

Throughout the degree, there is multidisciplinary collaboration between students across modules, and you will be encouraged to develop an understanding of the diverse needs of participants and clients from different clinical groups and cultural backgrounds. We also provide you with the opportunity to study out-of-discipline modules with an emphasis on sports management and sports coaching to further build your skills and knowledge.

Virtual, self-directed learning technologies support you 24/7, including extensive, carefully curated resources from world-leading management researchers and practitioners. Our eLearning Portal also enables you to contact your tutors in real time and to submit the formative and summative assessments that support your learning.  

Assessments are student-centered, enabling you to pursue issues and research questions of personal interest, and allowing you to be creative and demonstrate individual passion. Example assessments are reporting on scientific data, providing feedback to clients, presentations, written and practical exams, and sometimes ‘real-world’ settings such as primary schools.

• Download a PDF containing all core and optional modules from Year One - Year Three

Your academic tutors will use a variety of teaching methods including lectures, seminars, problem-based workshops, case discussions, practical activities, group work and tutorials. To facilitate the essential learning that needs to take place outside of formal contact sessions, there will be directed learning tasks during every module.

Teaching is backed by a well-designed support system that will underpin your learning journey. You will have a Guidance Tutor with whom you can discuss academic or personal issues and we ensure extensive feedback - from tutors and student peers - is built into the course wherever possible.

Our staff are accredited by HEA, BASES, HCPC CPsychol, HCPC Physio, UKSCA, NSCA, and SENr. You’ll learn about health issues from internationally acknowledged experts, giving you the real-world experience to inform your applications for public health roles beyond graduation. Many staff have also worked in the sports industry, including coaching athletes competing at international, world and Olympic standards to bring that real-life experience to your learning.

We also have a fantastic Technical Support Team who help facilitate our laboratory and coaching practicals and who go above and beyond to support our students with their studies, especially their practical competency skills.

i2i Soccer Academy Coaches

Holding internationally recognised UEFA Pro and A coaching licenses, the i2i Coaches work closely with each player to help maximise their soccer abilities and support them to pursue various career options, inside and outside of the sports industry. Discover more information below, including contact details for i2i's recruiters as well as Northumbria's Recruitment and International Projects Manager - Chris Bunten - who will help guide you on your journey to us.

The Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation aims to give all student-athletes a first-class education in world-class learning and teaching environments.

Expect a first-class education in a world-class environment, from our social spaces and hub areas to lecture theatres and exhibition spaces - our facilities are exceptional. For example, the 24/7 university library achieves some of the highest levels of student satisfaction in the UK and has held the Cabinet Office accreditation for Customer Service Excellence since 2010.

The equipment within our labs is state-of-the-art meaning you will be taught vocationally relevant skills in an exciting and stimulating setting. Some of the facilities you will have access to are specialist physiology, biomechanics and nutrition laboratories, strength and conditioning suites, indoor sprint tracks, an environmental chamber and the DXA bone scanner. Explore your learning spaces virtually here.

We are committed to helping you make the most of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) by embedding it throughout the course. Tools such as the ‘Blackboard’ eLearning Portal and electronic reading lists are there to help you efficiently and thoroughly prepare for seminars and independent research. Lecture capture software means you can revise previously lectured material online in your time, as well as at your speed.

Outside of the classroom, we have a wide range of socialisation and study spaces for students to utilise from our award-winning Student Central and Library to your dedicated Students' Union.

As an i2i student-athlete, you will have full access to Northumbria University's extensive state-of-the-art sports facilities.

Our sporting facilities comprise a City Campus facility - Sport Central - which was a £30 million investment made in 2010. Sport Central comprises a fitness centre, swimming pool, sauna and steam room, squash courts, four full-sized basketball court sports halls, indoor track, meeting rooms/performance analysis pods and strength and conditioning suites, the latter of which is only accessible by our scholar and i2i student-athletes. 

We also have our Coach Lane Sport Centre which is the focus of all our outdoor sports and the home of our soccer and i2i programme. Coach Lane Sport Centre is 3 miles away from our City Campus and Sport Central. At Coach Lane, we have four full-sized grass soccer pitches and two full-sized 3G pitches, with one pitch recently built in September 2022. There is also an indoor sports hall, player lounge, performance analysis rooms and a strength and conditioning suite.

Along with access to our strength and conditioning suites with our qualified coaches, i2i student-athletes receive a free commercial gym membership where they can access a swimming pool, sauna and steam room. as well as an extensive timetable of exercise classes.

As part of our offer to all i2i student-athletes, we have a great support services package. This includes:

Results from the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) show Northumbria's research power ranking rose to 23rd in the UK, making Northumbria the sector’s largest riser in research power ranking for the second time. In terms of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, we rank 5th in the UK (REF 2021) for Research Power.

Northumbria's research ethos underpins the problem-based, experiential learning approaches embedded within our research-rich curriculum. This approach will equip you to apply and develop knowledge in ‘real world’ situations, mindful of the cultural context and able to act ethically with integrity. 

During your time on the course, you will have the opportunity to take part in cutting-edge research projects, benefit from expert knowledge and get first-hand insight into some of the latest developments in sports science.

You will also develop your ability to analyse and review studies and data while learning the techniques to measure and evaluate performance in our state-of-the-art sports science labs.

By studying Sport and Exercise Science at Northumbria, you will follow in the footsteps of the sporting elite, including Olympic gold medallist Victoria Pendleton, double Commonwealth champion swimmer Chris Cook, international volleyball player Andy Clayton, and England international rugby union player Jamie Noon.

Our course is designed to support you in developing the key competencies, skills and attitudes that graduates need. Developing your knowledge, practical skills and confidence to work in a variety of roles associated with sports science is at the heart of all module learning experiences and assessment. To help you stand out, there may be scope to explore a variety of 'add-on' courses, although additional costs may incur. Courses might include; 'working with people who have disabilities', 'working with children', 'first aid', 'ISAK Level 1/2 Body Composition Analysis' etc., to enhance your employability prospects and graduate readiness.

We make your personal-professional development and career planning a priority across all years of study with us and you will develop your knowledge and understanding of the graduate labour market, and of current trends in graduate recruitment and selection, applying this to your career planning. 

We offer several additional opportunities to enhance your CV, develop your employability or enterprise skills, and increase commercial awareness; opportunities may include work placements, overseas travel and study, guest speakers and networking. There are also volunteering programmes both within and outside the University, and representing your course at Programme or School level.  

As an i2i student-athlete, you will be in a unique position to prepare yourself for a career both inside and outside of soccer. Whether you are looking to go into playing soccer at a professional level or are hoping to engage with a career elsewhere in the soccer or sporting industry, you will be able to take advantage of a unique programme offering that prepares you for a multitude of career paths.

Discover some of our masters course to see where your next steps in academia could be: Sport and Exercise Psychology MSc.