Bachelor of Sport Coaching (BSpC)

Summary

The Bachelor of Sport Coaching (BSpC) is the only specialist sport coaching degree in New Zealand. With options for flexible learning, endorsements and internships, this qualification can cater for a wide variety of students.

UC students gain key skills employers are looking for, not just in sport and related fields but in everything from communications to corporate management. BSpC students learn skills such as leadership, accountability, communication and teamwork, and knowledge of motivation and psychology.

This degree also provides a recognised pathway to teaching, in particular physical education and health teaching, with the option to include an additional teaching subject, when combined with a graduate teaching qualification.

How do I plan my degree?

The BSpC requires courses to a total of 360 points. These include 135 points of compulsory courses (including a final year internship course).

Subjects and courses

Sport Coaching courses are grouped into three main strands: pedagogy (the theory and application of coaching and learning), sport and exercise, and sociology of sport.

All students complete core Sport Coaching courses throughout the three years of the degree, as well as courses towards a major, a major and minor, or a double major.

Major and minor subject options include:

• Adventure Sport and Environment
• Performance Analysis
• Physical Education
• Sport Science
• Sports Leadership and Management
• Strength and Conditioning with Nutrition

Applied learning in context

The degree has strong practical elements, including:

• two or three practicums coaching teams in the context of your choosing
• a 120-hour internship in a professional sporting workplace as part of your final year.

Further study

• Postgraduate Certificate in Sport Science
• Postgraduate Diploma in Sport Science
• Master of Sport Science

Careers in teaching and management - options

With careful course selection, graduates can complete a qualification in one year to become a teacher or manager:

• Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Secondary)
• Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Primary)
• Master of Teaching and Learning
• Master of Business Management

Career opportunities

By gaining a broad range of professional competencies throughout your Bachelor of Sport Coaching, you can enjoy a varied career in professional and community sporting organisations and management roles both within and beyond sports.

Past students have used the 120-hour internship to gain experience at the Canterbury Rugby Union, High Performance Sport New Zealand and the New Zealand School of Gymnastics.

Recent graduates have become strength and conditioning coaches, community sports coordinators and advisors, performance analysts, sport scientists, as well as teachers, police officers, project planners, and managers.