Sport Foundation Year
Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
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Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
Please note: From September 2026, Foundation Years at Northumbria are changing and will become integrated 'Extended Degrees'. Register your interest to be kept in the loop about 2026 entry.
The Sport Foundation Year will provide you with all the skills and knowledge you’ll need to take the next step into a Sport degree at Northumbria University.
It’s a brilliant opportunity for students who are unsure of what their career in sport will look like. Students will learn about the different facets of sport, helping them to realise their ultimate career goal and choose the next step that’s right for them. Our graduates work for top organisations like Man Utd. F.C. and Nike Ireland, and we’re also the only University offering this course in North East England, some of our graduates working for Newcastle United.
The foundation year will:
Upon successful completion of the Sport Foundation Year, you will be able to automatically progress onto:
Sport Science at Northumbria is ranked top 20 in the UK (Times Good University Guide, 2025).
Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation at Northumbria is ranked 5th for research power in the UK (REF, 2021). This is a rise of 21 places compared to 2014 – the largest rise in the sector.
Discover all of our available Sports Courses and find the course for you.
UCAS Code
C6N5
Level of Study
Undergraduate
Mode of Study
1 year Full Time followed by a further 3 years Full Time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad
Department
Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation
Location
City Campus, Northumbria University
City
Newcastle
Fees
Fee Information
Northumbria has been delivering programmes in sport, exercise and rehabilitation for over 30 years and is one of the top 10 sport Universities in the UK.
Sport Management student Harvey Burn describes how gaining employment as an intern within Northumbria's sport department has helped him gain more employability skills that he can then use in the future.
First person tour through the Sport Facilities at Northumbria
Get an insight into Northumbria Sport by viewing our Flickr Images covering a range of activities.
Through links with Northumbria Sport, you have the opportunity to undertake volunteering and to experience a range of practical sports. The programme allows you to gain knowledge and competence in key themes within sport to support you in vocational roles, and to help you to decide which undergraduate degree is best for you.
The programme is also in line with the University’s mission to offer opportunity, relevance and enhanced employability in sport through innovative and challenging learning and teaching.
This year-long course comprises two semesters (September - December and January – May) and six modules. Modules, which are varied in content and teaching style, include ‘Essential Skills for Studying Sport’ and ‘Volunteering in Sport’.
Whilst the majority of the course content will be taught in a traditional classroom setting, students will receive around 30 hours of practical teaching in a variety of settings, including the state-of-the-art Sports Central.
We also invite guest speakers who currently work in industry to pass on their knowledge, advice and wisdom to you. They’ll also give you a real-life case study, which you’ll need to resolve in real-time, giving you a taste of your future career in sport.
The programme is delivered by an experienced team of research active and practitioner based academics who come from diverse professional backgrounds. You will therefore benefit from cutting-edge teaching and research alongside tutors who are able to support you in making links with ‘real-world’ practice in a range of settings.
The International Federation for Gymnastics, the Rugby Football Union, Sport England, British Gymnastics, the Youth Sport Trust, the English Federation for Disability Sport, British Tennis, British Equestrian Federation, British Rowing and Football League Education have all benefited from the expertise of Northumbria staff.
This experience means that you’re never just getting theory. Our staff have tested what they teach you at the highest possible level.
Our campus sport facilities have been described as being some of the best in the country. We boast facilities for teaching and learning that rival any in the World, predominantly housed in Sport Central, a £30 million pound purpose-built sports building.
Facilities at Sport Central include an indoor 40-metre sprint track, a range of state-of-the-art sport science laboratories and an environmental chamber.
And all this is happening in one of the UK’s great sporting cities, where you’re surrounded by nationally and internationally recognised sports organisations. We involve the sporting community of Newcastle and the North East wherever we can in your learning experience.
If you are looking for a university that takes a modern, professional approach and puts the student athlete at the heart of everything it does then look no further than Northumbria.
At the heart of each Northumbria campus, our libraries provide a range of study space and technology to suit every learning style.
Northumbria has an unrivalled reputation for sport and exercise science research power in the North East. You’ll learn from sport science experts who are internationally acknowledged for their research.
A research rich culture is a strong philosophy of this programme and teaching on the modules promotes a ‘research rich’ learning approach, which encourages you to become an active inquirer and problem solver.
Research active staff share their knowledge and expertise, and students are encouraged to become involved in research projects throughout their three years.
Discover More about our research strengths.
The Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation adopts an interdisciplinary approach to research.
Experience has taught us that foundation students become successful graduates. The extra year of study and exposure to industry experts and first class facilities often gives this group of students a career edge.
Once you graduate with a sports degree, you will join our successful alumni, such as Chris Cook - an English former competitive swimmer who swam for Great Britain in the Olympics, world championships and European championships, and competed for England in the Commonwealth Games. Chris studied a sport degree at Northumbria before becoming a well decorated sports star!
We also have current students who are competing in national and international events - these students could be your course mates or even you!
After successful completion of the foundation year, you will have the option to automatically progress onto one of our full time sport undergraduate degrees. This provides you with the opportunity to continue your learning and take advantage of industry links, placement opportunities or a study abroad year. After this, the world is your oyster! The future could hold a career in football management at Newcastle United or in the development of outdoor tennis facilities throughout Tyne & Wear. You could work with schools to encourage children to get active, or coach within elite sport. You could become a sport and exercise scientist helping to optimise performance in Olympic athletes or improving health in the community. Whichever path you choose, our reputation for sport degrees at Northumbria precedes us.
Studying sport with us will help to open doors and give you the confidence, knowledge and practical skills needed for a lifelong career in this sector.
From first year through to final year and beyond graduation, we are here to help.
We have a fantastic service for students' to use to gain advice and tips on furthering careers and enhancing their employability.
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Visit an Open Day to get an insight into what it's like to study at Northumbria. Speak to staff and students from the course and get a tour of the facilities.
80 UCAS Tariff points
From a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A-level, T Level, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate.
Find out how many points your qualifications are worth by using the UCAS Tariff calculator: www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator
Northumbria University is committed to supporting all individuals to achieve their ambitions. We have a range of schemes and alternative offers to make sure as many individuals as possible are given an opportunity to study at our University regardless of personal circumstances or background. To find out more, review our Northumbria Entry Requirement Essential Information page for further details www.northumbria.ac.uk/entryrequirementsinfo
Subject Requirements:
There are no specific subject requirements for this course.
GCSE Requirements:
Applicants will need Maths and English Language at minimum grade 4/C, or an equivalent.
Additional Requirements:
There are no additional requirements for this course.
International Qualifications:
We welcome applicants with a range of qualifications which may not match those shown above.
If you have qualifications from outside the UK, find out what you need by visiting www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English Language Requirements:
International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades in our English Language section: www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
UK Fee in Year 1: £9,535
* This is the tuition fee for your first year of study. You should expect to pay tuition fees for every year of study. The University may increase fees in the second and subsequent years of your course at our discretion in line with any inflationary or other uplift, as decided by the UK Government, up to the maximum amount for fees permitted by UK law or regulation for that academic year. To give students an indication of the likely scale of any future increase, the UK government has recently suggested that increases may be linked to RPIX ( Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) * Fees subject to annual increases over the course of the period of study. Students will be liable for payment of any/all tuition fees which are not sponsored by their employer or other third party.
International Fee in Year 1:
ADDITIONAL COSTS
Students complete a module on volunteering which involves completing some volunteering work. If students choose to travel further than Newcastle for their volunteering work, then they will bear these travel costs: however all activities can be completed locally. Costs can vary between approximately £25-£800.
* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here
else
To start your application, simply select the month you would like to start your course.
Home or EU applicants please apply through UCAS
International applicants please apply using the links below
Our Applicant Services team will be happy to help. They can be contacted on 0191 406 0901 or by using our Contact Form.
Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.
Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.
Northumbria University is committed to developing an inclusive, diverse and accessible campus and wider University community and are determined to ensure that opportunities we provide are open to all.
We are proud to work in partnership with AccessAble to provide Detailed Access Guides to our buildings and facilities across our City, Coach Lane and London Campuses. A Detailed Access Guide lets you know what access will be like when you visit somewhere. It looks at the route you will use getting in and what is available inside. All guides have Accessibility Symbols that give you a quick overview of what is available, and photographs to show you what to expect. The guides are produced by trained surveyors who visit our campuses annually to ensure you have trusted and accurate information.
You can use Northumbria’s AccessAble Guides anytime to check the accessibility of a building or facility and to plan your routes and journeys. Search by location, building or accessibility feature to find the information you need.
We are dedicated to helping students who may require additional support during their student journey and offer 1-1 advice and guidance appropriate to individual requirements. If you feel you may need additional support you can find out more about what we offer here where you can also contact us with any questions you may have:
If you’d like to receive the latest updates from Northumbria about our courses, events, finance & funding then enter your details below.
* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here
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