Sports and Exercise Science

Biomechanics II builds on previous knowledge and skills developed around the area of Biomechanics. Students will explore in more depth how muscle performance affects our day to day life, whether this is being able to walk to the shops or achieve a personal best in a competition, how to assess that performance in both laboratory and field settings, and how to interpret the data in a meaningful way. The work will be completed in the Human Performance Laboratory as well as in seminars and workshops, while students will get a flavour of how we conduct and present research in Biomechanics. The module provides the perfect stepping stone for getting more excited with Biomechanics and preparing students for further engagement with the area, should they wish to do so.

This module allows the opportunity for students to engage with hot topics and current debates within sport and exercise science, across all the core disciplines of physiology, nutrition, psychology and biomechanics. You will develop the skills and confidence to review both sides of a number of controversial topics, build and defend a strong argument in a cohesive learning environment. This provides a dynamic approach to developing the ability read, listen, write and think critically, all of which are key skills for the final year of the degree.

You will be assessed via contributions to a collaborative learning environment, a short written critical review, and a live debate. A highly valuable and interactive approach that is intended to excite you to want to learn more.

Following year one modules in physiology and nutrition, this takes your knowledge and application of skills to the next level by focusing on the measurement and evaluation of physiological responses to exercise and related environments. The module will take you beyond stand-alone physiological tests and provide a more experimental approach to your learning and start to apply the content to real-world sport and health scenarios.

You will delve deeper into energy systems and metabolic processes, find out more about the determinants of exercise performance, fatigue and recover and have fully grasped the integrated nature of exercise physiology to suitably prepare you for final year modules. You will learn how to conduct tests that determine lactate threshold, as well as using multiple different protocols to determine VO2max and investigating the effect of commonly used nutritional supplements. The module will introduce you to a variety of both laboratory and field-based assessments.

You will further your year one practical skills by continuing to add to your competencies and practical workbook/portfolio and laboratory report writing will have a more experimental focus, showcasing your understanding of protocol selection. The nature of the module will have helped to further develop your ability to analyse data and interpretation, which will feature in the module examination.

This module focuses on you and your professional development, to ultimately place you in a stronger position upon graduation. We are committed to ensuring you start thinking about and planning your career pathway, which can often be daunting, but it is highly beneficial to make some progress on this during your second year.

Working alongside a specific job specification, you will set out a professional development plan, engage in professional development opportunities and complete valuable employment-related assessments. Taught sessions are interactive and task-based to ensure you have something tangible to take away each week that moves you one step further towards your ideal job. Professional development opportunities can be advertised to you, but you are equally encouraged to seek your own. Examples include work placements, shadowing opportunities, volunteering, providing sport science support to university sports team, engaging as a research participant or assistant, attending conferences.

In addition to this, you will form a small group to prepare the initial ideas for a science communication event to be developed and delivered in year 3 (Professional Practice III). This features within this module as it gets you thinking about how your sports and exercise science knowledge can be applied and shared with a range of audiences, focusing on the transferability of skills – a key focus of professional practice

This module will examine how to identify different types of data and how interpret experimental plans and approaches, to select an appropriate statistical test to interrogate the data which is derived. This valuable experience is essential for a successful career in Sports Science and is relevant to any career in which data analysis is required.

Your learning will take place in the lecture theatre and computer lab. The lecture sessions are used to discuss approaches to data analysis and to introduce analytical concepts, while the computer lab sessions are used to practice choosing the most appropriate statistical tests and practicing using the tests using example data from the field of sport and exercise sciences. You’ll get experience of using several tools for data analysis, including packages which are freely available and which you can use following graduation in any role as there is no need to purchase or license specific software packages.

You will be assessed through a combination of weekly online tests, to check your knowledge, coursework for which you will complete statistical tests on model data and an end-of-year exam.

This module will focus on the mental and emotional needs of athletes and participants in all forms of exercise. Students will explore the nature of performance sports stressors and approaches to the management of these along with visualisation and mental rehearsal, and the connection to enhanced performance. Students will examine other psychological models such as Mindfulness, Acceptance, Commitment models and determine their usefulness in the sport and exercise domain. These explorations will allow the examination of the role of the Sports Psychologist and the nature of effective athlete-psychologist relationships.

Students will explore the nature of individual differences with a focus on personality and its impact on Sports performance and exercise engagement. Furthermore, students will examine the challenges behind the adoption of beneficial health and wellbeing habits. The topic will continue by examining resilience and motivation, exploring challenges associated with loss or lack of motivation, poor performance, injury and retirement.

This exciting module applies exercise science and exercise prescription to health and medical conditions. With the growing public health challenge associated with physical inactivity, as well as the convincing evidence that exercise is an effective prevention and treatment strategy, this module will appropriately equip students with the knowledge and skills to work towards a career in the health domain. Lancaster Medical School has a focus on improving population health via innovative methods and this allows Sports and Exercise Science to align closely with the wider vision of the Medicine programme.

You will learn about the role exercise plays in the prevention of risk factors associated with heart disease, as well as the use of exercise rehabilitation for those recovering from a cardiac event. You will discover how exercise can delay issues with bone health such as the importance of load-bearing activities in people with osteoporosis. You will gain in-depth insights into the pathophysiology, medications and exercise prescription across a wide range of conditions that are high on the UK and Global public health agenda, developing an adapted physical activity programme and engaging with real-life patients to raise awareness of the real-life barriers, facilitators and approaches to exercise medicine.

You will be engaged in lectures, interactive workshops, online forums and even a focus group with patients. Your knowledge and skills will be assessed by online weekly tests, a real-life patient case study and an end of year exam.

This module will develop knowledge of the injuries and pathologies present within elite Sport and examine prevention and treatment strategies for these conditions.

This module will include the assessment of sports injuries and how to monitor athletes who may be at risk through overtraining or other underlying pathologies. We will examine the performance benefits, and long-term consequences, of ergogenic aids, and the growing use of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE’s) within Sport.

Your learning will take place in lectures, workshops, and in the Human Performance Lab. You will be assessed through a combination of weekly online multiple-choice tests, to check your knowledge, a written report in the style of a research paper, and an end-of-year exam.

This highly engaging module is an excellent opportunity to discover and develop skills in science communication: informing, educating and raising awareness of sports and exercise sciences with the public. The skills, knowledge and values gained through this module are directly relevant to applied work as part of a team and interacting with the public, leading directly to enhanced employability.

This module will provide you the opportunity to work collaboratively to design, critique and deliver a piece of science communication to a public audience with accompanying resources. The module will end with a reflective report to analyse the successes and challenges of the process, output and interaction.

A crucial part of your degree is the final year project during which you’ll have the opportunity to work with staff to undertake your own research project. You’ll be guided in doing this, and you’ll be able to apply all of the knowledge and skills you’ve developed as you undertake your original research project.

Your project will allow you to develop your research and time-management skills as well as your presentation and team working skills. In addition it will allow you to undertake an investigation into a topic of your choice.

This module will explore how the body responds in challenging environments and in response to other stressors such as disease. We will study how physiology is disrupted in extreme environments which might include thermal stress, altitude, G-force, or during spaceflight. We will examine what can be done to mitigate any effects on exercise performance in extreme environments. We will also explore how exercise can be used as an effective therapy to improve patient prognosis in different disease states.

This module will focus on the diversity of sport, exercise and performance psychology practices and techniques in different applied contexts including sport, business and military environments. The students will gain insights into real-world applications of psychological processes, techniques and tools and consider some of the challenges associated with different psychological skills applications. There will be an opportunity to explore how businesses manage transformational change and adversity, how sporting organisations can improve dynamic pathways for athlete success and how sport psychologists can contribute to tackling ‘mental health’ crises.

This optional module offers a more in-depth look into the mechanics of force generation and how we can increase the quality of our measurements, as well as a more advanced approach into applied biomechanics work, through e.g. strength diagnosis. Theory and practice will be combined on small-scale research projects that you will design, develop and conduct in our Human Performance Laboratory to answer a burning question on a particular topic, the results of which will be presented in a ‘conference style’ presentation. You will enjoy the ‘hands-on’ approach used, the ability to contribute on aspects of how you will be assessed as well as taking ownership of a project answering an interesting question.

This optional module has a strong applied, sport performance-related focus. It will cover topics that require the input of multiple sports and exercise science disciplines and afford you the opportunity to obtain an understanding of how a team of professionals work together to achieve maximum performance. You will be assessed via a case study, which will allow you to explore the demands of the sport / position, design an appropriate sport science support plan which you will present to staff and peers. You will enjoy the applied focus of the module as well as the ability to gain an understanding of the more practical challenges facing the sports and exercise scientists working in the field, and will be introduced to innovative ways of communicating with colleagues and athletes.

This insightful module is one of the year 3 options, providing you with the opportunity to continue on a health performance pathway. You will apply aspects of public health and exercise medicine to the design and evaluation of interventions for the general public and patient groups to promote positive changes. It is an applied and real-life module that equips you with the knowledge and skills required in an ever-growing employment field, to optimise health outcomes. Focus is likely to be on population groups where a public health concern exists such as weight management for obesity, and cardiac rehabilitation. Exciting insights will be shared by those engaged in intervention design and implementation so you will also learn from those "doing" it.

Taught sessions will consist of interactive lectures and classroom-based seminars where you will be creative and develop key skills to discuss current and future public health initiatives. You will also enhance your ability to understand epidemiology and interpret statistics, whilst effectively presenting complex information using simple to understand statements - essential for successful public engagement and a valuable employability skill.

You will be assessed by evaluating an existing intervention, then working with a real-life scenario to design an intervention that utilises tools and approaches used in the field, as well as justifying this via a viva. An excellent set of learning and assessment methods that are transferable into the workplace.