The details

Course: Sport Performance and Coaching

Start date: October 2025

Study mode: Part-time

Duration: 5 - 6 years

Location: Colchester Campus

Based in: Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences (School of)

A Professional Doctorate is a specialist qualification that is appropriate if you are in, or are aspiring to, a senior professional appointment in practice, education or management in sports therapy. It demonstrates your ability to perform at the level of 'expert' within your area of specialism.

The aim of the course is to provide a unified approach to theory and practice within a professional context, so your learning is structured to allow you to develop your skills both in the workplace and within the university environment.

Depending on your individual circumstances, your study can be undertaken over the course of between 5-6 years. During this time, you will prepare two portfolios which chronical your development of expert practice in your workplace. In tandem, you also study taught modules at the University of Essex which provide you with the expertise in qualitative, statistical and other research methods required for researching sport performance and coaching.

Your own interests, experiences, and needs determine a great deal about how your course is structured, and what areas you can focus on. A key part of demonstrating your expertise in your specialist area is the development of a 40,000-word dissertation on a relevant topic.

Why we're great.

Our brand new, state-of-the-art Essex Sport Arena houses the latest technology and facilities which you will have access to.
Our teaching staff have both clinical experience and academic credibility.
We offer you the tools to demonstrate your expertise in both clinical practice and academic research.

Our expert staff

Our School has a proven track record of excellence in teaching, research and applied sports science. We are 23rd in UK for research power in sport and exercise sciences (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Our research is not just about academic excellence. It has wide ranging societal impact in areas as diverse as sports performance, cardiac health and childhood wellbeing.

Within our School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, you will be allocated a supervisor whose role it is to guide you through the different stages of your research degree. In some cases, you may have joint supervision by two members of our staff.

The support provided by your supervisor is a key feature of your research student experience and you will have regular one-to-one meetings to discuss progress on your research. Initially, your supervisor will help you develop your research topic and plan.

Twice a year, you will have a supervisory board meeting, which provides a more formal opportunity to discuss your progress and agree your plans for the next six months.

Specialist facilities

The School is housed within the Essex Sport Arena. This state-of-the-art, £12 million development brings together education, rehabilitation, exercise and research, with facilities including a sports hall the size of three basketball courts, two dedicated labs for sports therapy training, a sports therapy clinic, and dedicated physiotherapy labs. Key to the success of all research and teaching within a university is sufficient resources. Our School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences is well equipped, centrally resourced by technical staff who provide a service to all our staff and students.

Our successful Human Performance Unit (HPU) provides educational and coaching services, health-related exercise programmes and athlete testing, as well as unique opportunities for you to further your studies and research in these areas.

We have a study room for our postgraduate research students. This has been designed in collaboration with our postgraduates, and allows our PhD students to have office space. This provides a focal point for our postgraduates, facilitating good communication and a strong sense of community.

Your future

We offer doctoral preparation that integrates professional expertise and academic rigor. During your time working with us you will gain the skills necessary to make significant contribution to local and national health and social care provision through critical appraisal of current practice.

The networks you develop while with us facilitate self-development. You will engage in critical reflection upon practice; work and lead within complex, multi-professional environments where you can demonstrate expert decision-making.

Sport scholarships

Our Performance Sport Scholarship programme has been created for talented athletes playing at regional, national or international level, and offers a range of benefits. We want students competing in our focus sports (basketball, volleyball, tennis and football), as well as other team sports and individual athletes, to contribute to our performance sport programme. Our scholarships can include fee discounts of up to 100%, offered to athletes who demonstrate sporting excellence. Athletes who are awarded the scholarship may also receive a host of other benefits, including free kit, access to state-of-the-art facilities, performance coaching, the option to live in our Athlete Village (accommodation fees may vary) and a support package valued up to £1,500. These benefits are designed to help athletes focus on their training, and development, and to enable them to reach their full potential alongside their studies.

UK entry requirements

You will need a relevant Masters degree, or equivalent, and be currently registered with a relevant professional body. You must also have two years post-qualifying experience in a relevant senior role.

You will normally be required to attend an interview/Skype interview for acceptance, and acceptance is subject to research expertise in the department.

International & EU entry requirements

We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.

Sorry, the entry requirements for the country that you have selected are not available here. Please contact our Graduate Admissions team at pgquery@essex.ac.uk to request the entry requirements for this country.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, we require IELTS 6.5, or equivalent with a minimum score of 5.5 in all other components.

Course structure

You can study our Professional Doctorates flexibly between 5-6 years. Decisions about the duration of the study period are based on individual need, professional commitment and funded support.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Components

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose.

Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
Core	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

Modules

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits.

In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available.

Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code. For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

100

The department or school the module will be taught by.

In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.

The module number.

The UK academic level of the module.

A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course.

A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules.

A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.

The term the module will be taught in.

AU: Autumn term
SP: Spring term
SU: Summer term
FY: Full year
AP: Autumn and Spring terms
PS: Spring and Summer terms
AS: Autumn and Summer terms

COMPONENT 01: COMPULSORY WITH OPTIONS

(30 CREDITS)

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tour our campus and accommodation
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If the dates of our organised events aren’t suitable for you, feel free to get in touch by emailing tours@essex.ac.uk and we’ll arrange an individual campus tour for you.

2025 Open Days (Colchester Campus)

Saturday 21 June 2025 - June Open Day

Saturday 20 September 2025 - September Open Day

Saturday 8 November 2025 - November Open Day

Find out more

You can apply for this postgraduate course online. Before you apply, please check our information about necessary documents that we'll ask you to provide as part of your application.

We encourage you to make a preliminary enquiry directly to a potential supervisor or the Graduate Administrator within your chosen Department or School. We encourage the consideration of a brief research proposal prior to the submission of a full application.

We aim to respond to applications within four weeks. If we are able to offer you a place, you will be contacted via email.

For information on our deadline to apply for this course, please see our ‘how to apply' information.

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