BSc Hons Physical Education and Sports Coaching

Graduates from Staffordshire University’s BSc (Hons) Physical Education and Sports Coaching enter the field ready to coach in schools, clubs, and community programmes. Many move into roles developing young athletes, delivering PE in education settings, or supporting performance environments. Common career paths include: Sports Coach, PE Teacher, Youth Sport Development Officer, and Performance Analyst.

You’ll also benefit from strong university support and industry-embedded opportunities:

• University support & employability services — Staffs’ Careers, Placements & Employability team helps you secure work experience, internships, and coaching placements. You can also gain coaching hours through the university’s Sports Academy, delivering sessions to young people, community groups, and athlete development programmes.

• Work placements and industry partnerships — Students complete placements in primary, secondary, and special schools, plus community sport settings. The university collaborates with professional organisations including Stoke City FC, Port Vale FC, county sport partnerships, and local sports development organisations.

• Graduate outcomes & salary figures — Sport-related graduates typically progress into roles with early-career salary ranges around the mid-£20,000s, with strong progression as they gain coaching qualifications or move into teaching.

• Teaching quality & support — Staffordshire University receives consistently strong student satisfaction in feedback on teaching support and assessment.

• Accreditation & long-term value — The course is aligned with professional standards in coaching and PE, supported by recognised national governing bodies and sport-sector partners, adding strong long-term value to your qualifications.

• Overall graduate readiness — By the time you complete the degree, you’ll have real coaching experience, leadership skills, knowledge of youth development, and exposure to professional practice.

Further Academic Progression:
After completing this degree, you can advance into a PGCE (Primary or Secondary PE) if you want to qualify as a teacher. Many graduates also progress into Master’s degrees in areas such as Sports Coaching, Performance Analysis, Sport Development, or Exercise Science. If you’re interested in research or elite sport environments, you could continue towards a research Master’s (MRes) or eventually a PhD in sport-related disciplines.

When you choose Staffordshire University’s BSc (Hons) Physical Education and Sports Coaching, you’re stepping into a degree built around real-world experience. From day one, you’ll be applying theory in coaching sessions, school environments, performance labs, and community sport settings. The University places strong emphasis on hands-on learning, giving you access to specialist labs, professional coaching spaces, and technology used across modern sport and physical education.

You won’t just learn about coaching and teaching — you will actively practise it through placements, practical classes, and assessments designed to mirror professional environments. Throughout your degree, you’ll use performance analysis tools, sport science technology, and digital coaching systems that prepare you for careers in school PE, community coaching, and wider sport development roles.

Here’s how your experiential learning comes to life throughout the course:

Experiential Learning (facilities, tools, placements, and hands-on opportunities):
Students engage with industry-standard environments and technology that bring coaching and PE teaching to life. These include:

• Specialist sport science laboratories, such as biomechanics labs with motion-capture systems, force platforms, and plantar-pressure measurement systems.

• Exercise physiology and body composition labs, used for testing, monitoring performance, and understanding applied coaching science.

• A dedicated rehabilitation zone that supports modules exploring injury prevention and physical development.

• The Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre, which includes a full fitness suite, functional training rooms, sports hall spaces, 3G pitches, and AstroTurf surfaces suitable for delivering and practising coaching sessions.

• Performance analysis technology, including GPS trackers, heart-rate monitoring equipment, and coaching analysis software integrated into practical teaching and coaching modules.

• Structured placements in schools, youth sport environments, and community organisations, allowing you to teach and coach real groups under guidance.

• Group coaching projects and teaching assessments where students plan, deliver, analyse, and refine sessions based on feedback.

• Access to extensive library resources and research facilities that support your independent research project and evidence-based coaching practice.

• Opportunities to work with visiting teaching fellows and industry partners who contribute real-world expertise and insight.

Programme Structure and Modules:
Across the three years, you will study modules such as:

• Coaching and Teaching in Sport

• Sports Science for Coaches and Teachers

• Coaching, Analysis and Skill Acquisition

• PE and Youth Sport Practice and Placement

• Advanced Sport and Exercise Psychology

• Independent Research Project in Sport and Coaching