Taught postgraduate study

Source: https://www.bath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-2026/taught-postgraduate-courses/pg-dip-sport-and-exercise-medicine-part-time-distance-learning/ Parent: https://www.bath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-2026/taught-postgraduate-courses/

Sport and Exercise Medicine PG Dip

2 to 4 years part-time distance learning, starting in September 2026

Apply to Bath Create your prospectus Find out about our postgraduate scholarships

Develop the specialist skills needed to conduct clinical practice in sport and exercise settings. This course is exclusively for fully qualified doctors.

This highly flexible academic and clinical degree develops your sport and exercise medicine expertise.

By working with Bath’s team of sports science practitioners, you’ll deepen your knowledge of the musculoskeletal injuries associated with sport. This will enhance your ability to assess, treat, and advise the patients in your practice.

You’ll also develop your:

knowledge and clinical skills for providing both primary and specialist sport and exercise medicine care
clinical expertise in the aftercare of injuries and rehabilitation
ability to provide safe and effective pitch-side emergency care
awareness of the signs of mental health issues in sport and the ability to provide confidential support

This course will also provide you with a recognised qualification for indemnity insurance - many team doctor jobs will require this type of qualification.

A mix of self-led and face-to-face learning

Bath is one of the few universities that offers this type of academically recognised course through part-time distance learning. This means you can complete your degree alongside your clinical practice.

You’ll also experience face-to-face teaching during our Residential Weeks, which will take place in Bath.

Find out more about distance learning with us

Bath’s sports medicine expertise

You’ll learn from experts in sports medicine and sports physiotherapy, as well as staff in our wider Department for Health community.

Their passion, knowledge and industry expertise shape their teaching to enhance your learning experience. They have vast levels of industry experience and have worked with a range of professional athletes across different sports.

Some have worked at high-profile sporting events, including the:

Olympic Games
Commonwealth Games
Paralympic World Cup
World University Games

Use specialist facilities

During the Residential Weeks, you will use the physiology and biomechanics suites on our Bath campus. These contain up-to-date performance testing and analysis equipment.

Gain important career skills

By taking part, you will benefit from:

access to highly interactive, flexible distance learning and clinical teaching
in-person teaching and activities at Residential Weeks to support your practical and clinical examination training
being part of an online network of sport and exercise medicine and sports physiotherapy clinicians
guidance from experienced clinical specialists in the field to provide professional development support
learning within the Department for Health, which promotes a problem-solving and reflective approach to sport and exercise medicine

You will be assigned an experienced sports medic as your Professional Development Advisor during this course. They will provide mentorship and help you establish industry links.

In Year 1 and Year 2 there are opportunities to learn from guest speakers and build connections with other clinicians at our Residential Weeks in Bath.

Graduate prospects

By the end of the course, you will be qualified to work with athletes and sports teams at the highest level. You will also be better equipped to assess, treat and advise patients in relation to musculoskeletal injuries, and to advise patients about the health benefits of exercise more generally.

Some of our recent graduates have taken roles with:

The Olympic and Paralympic Games
Professional clubs and teams
The NHS
The UK Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine

If you want to continue your research alongside professional practice, we also provide an established Professional Doctorate, offering a route for MSc students interested in continuing their research to doctoral level while working part-time.

Watch our latest webinar about this course

Before you apply for a course, please check the website for the most recently published course detail. If you apply to the University of Bath, you will be advised of any significant changes to the advertised programme, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions.

We understand that you will want to know more about the shape of the academic year. We work hard and plan for different scenarios, to be able to welcome you to the University of Bath at the start of each semester.

Occasionally we make changes to our programmes in response to, for example, feedback from students, developments in research and the field of studies, and the requirements of accrediting bodies. You will be advised of any significant changes to the advertised programme, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions.

Units

The course combines residential events with in-depth and structured online learning facilitated by academic staff who are experts in their subject areas.

Residential events

As part of this course, there are some optional and compulsory residential events. View budgeting information and extra costs for residential events.

Induction

A two-day course induction will take place in-person in September 2026 (exact dates TBC) on our Bath campus. Attendance is optional, but highly recommended.

Year 1 Sports Science Residential Week

The Sports Science Residential Week will take place in-person in January 2027 (exact dates TBC) on our Bath campus. Attendance is optional.

Year 2 Clinical Residential Week

Attendance at the January 2028 (exact dates TBC) Clinical Residential Week is compulsory. This will take place on our Bath campus.

Year 2 Exam Revision Day

Attendance at the June 2028 (exact dates TBC) Exam Revision Day is optional. This will take place on our Bath campus.

Year 2 Clinical examination (OSCE) day

Attendance at the September 2027 (exact dates TBC) OSCE exam is compulsory. This will take place on our Bath campus.

Foundations of biomechanics and physiology for clinicians

15 credits - ## Sport and exercise medicine in practice I

5 credits - ## The sport and exercise doctor

5 credits

Exercise behaviour change for population health

5 credits - ## Sport and exercise medicine in practice I

Continued

From injury to rehabilitation for sport and exercise

10 credits - ## Sport and exercise medicine in practice II

10 credits

Psychology of sports medicine

5 credits - ## Sport and exercise medicine in practice II

Continued

Optional units

Applied football medicine

5 credits - ## Contemporary issues in sport and exercise

5 credits - ## Dance and the artistic athlete

5 credits - ## The travelling athlete

5 credits

These lists are to give you an idea of some, but not all, of the learning and assessment methods used on this course. They are not exhaustive lists and methods are subject to change.

Learning and teaching

You are expected to spend, on average, around 10 hours per week studying. This will be made up of structured and interactive online content, with a self-directed focus. You will have access to support from Bath academics throughout your studies.

During Residential Weeks, you will experience face-to-face teaching to complement your distance learning study.

Assessment breakdown

You will experience a balance of different forms of assessment designed to support your professional development. This will include coursework, essays, reports, presentations, oral presentations, reflective portfolios, and a final project/dissertation.

Your clinical skills will be assessed through Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) during Year 2.

Throughout the course, you’ll receive formative (unassessed) feedback on your progress in preparation for your graded assessments.

We can make reasonable adjustments to assessment procedures for students with disabilities. Read our Disability Service’s pages for information.

As well as being recognised as a higher academic qualification, a number of our degrees are also accredited by professional bodies in the United Kingdom. An accredited degree may entitle you to work in a specific profession within the UK, and abroad (where there are reciprocating arrangements with professional bodies in other countries).

The requirements to practise a profession vary from country to country. If you wish to practise your profession outside the United Kingdom, you are advised to confirm that the UK professional qualification you seek is valid in the country in which you are intending to work.

‘I would definitely recommend the MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine at the University of Bath, particularly to Junior Doctors with an interest in SEM.’

— Ronjan Bhattacharya MSc Sport and Exercise Medicine (Graduating year, 2019)

Origin of qualifications

Select the country or region where your qualification comes from.

-- Country/Region not listed --

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Grenada

Guatemala

Guyana

Holy See (Vatican)

Honduras

Hong Kong

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Ivory Coast

Jamaica

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kosovo

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macau

Madagascar

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mexico

Moldova

Monaco

Mongolia

Montenegro

Morocco

Mozambique

Myanmar

Namibia

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Macedonia

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Qatar

Republic of Congo

Romania

Russia

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

South Africa

South Korea

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Suriname

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

São Tomé and Príncipe

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Thailand

The Bahamas

Togo

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Turks and Caicos Islands

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States of America

Uruguay

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

To apply for this course, you should have a Bachelor of Medicine or Bachelor of Surgery. You should be a qualified medical doctor with full unrestricted registration with the General Medical Council or your country's relevant body.

You should also have a minimum of one year’s work experience as a qualified and registered doctor before enrolment. Please provide a copy of your valid medical licence and details of how to confirm your medical registration online (if applicable).

Please ensure that you submit a personal statement of 250-500 words that outlines your qualifications and experience, your interest in the programme, and how you wish to use the degree after completion. As this is a practice-based course, please include details of your access to patients with sporting injuries and/or conditions where exercise could be prescribed as medicine.

IELTS: 6.5 overall with no less than 6.0 in all components
The Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic): 62 with no less than 59 in any element
TOEFL IBT: 90 overall with a minimum 21 in all 4 components

You will need to get your English language qualification within 24 months prior to starting your course.