BlogUSYDWhat It’s Like Studying a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) at USYD

What It’s Like Studying a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) at USYD

Exercise and Sport Science USYD - Fact Sheet

Are you considering studying Exercise and Sport Science at USYD? 

Find out everything you need to know about the degree on this page! We’ll look at subjects, careers, scholarships, work placement, class format and so much more.

Let’s jump right in!

What is a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) at USYD?
Core Units and Majors
How to Get into Exercise and Sport Science at USYD
What’s the Teaching Format?
What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?

What is a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) at USYD?

Exercise and Sport Science at USYD focuses on a range of health related topics, from exercise, to nutrition, sports and rehabilitation. 

Exercise and Sport Science USYD - Student Quote

Being a three year degree, you’ll take subjects that extend your knowledge in a huge pool of areas! Some domains of Exercise and Sport Science include:

    • Nutrition
    • Disease prevention
    • Musculoskeletal anatomy
    • General health and wellbeing
    • Injury recovery 
    • Exercise testing
    • Motor control
    • Motor learning
    • Clinical experience

Honours

There is also a one year honours program available to students in Exercise and Sport Science at USYD who have a weighted average mark (or WAM) of 65 or above. The honours program involves a research project with one-on-one mentorship from an academic in the area. 

Career Paths

With a Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) at USYD, there are a number of career paths that you could venture into!

    • Strength specialist
    • Conditioning specialist
    • Sports coach
    • Community health worker 
    • Fitness instructor
    • Personal trainer
    • Exercise scientist
    • Sports scientist
    • Medical scientist

Although these careers, and many more, are common for an Exercise and Sport Science student, this degree is also a great pathway to study other specialist professions. Being a course with a particularly broad subject range, students often find their specific interest through Exercise and Sport Science at USYD, and then transfer into specific degrees such as psychology, nutrition and physiotherapy. 

So if you’re unsure of what you want to do in the future, but have an interest in sports, exercise and health, this course might be just the one for you!

Core Units and Majors

In Exercise and Sport Science at USYD you can expect to take a mixture of practical and theoretical subjects. You’ll also be taking subjects that are biology, chemistry, and even somewhat physics based — so you get a taste in a whole range of areas!

Throughout the first and second year of Exercise and Sport Science at USYD you only take core subjects. It isn’t until third year where you are able to choose 4 electives.

Some of the core subjects you take are:

    • BIOS1168 Functional Musculoskeletal Anatomy A
    • EXSS1029 Muscle Mechanics and Training
    • BIOS1171 Neuroscience
    • EXSS2022 Exercise Physiology Training Adaptations
    • EXSS2049 Exercise, Health and Disease

As you can likely tell by these subject names, Exercise and Sport Science really equips you with a variety of skills and knowledge in the area, preparing you for a number of career outcomes!

To learn more about the subject you’ll need to study, click here!

Majors and Minors

In Exercise and Sport Science at USYD, you can complete a major in Exercise Science and a minor in Physical Activity and Health. 

A major in Exercise and Science is exclusive to this degree and focuses on the application of exercises and physical health programs in a variety of circumstances.

A minor in Physical Activity and Health delves into the implementation of skills and exercises in different contexts and life stages.

Alongside the major and minor options mentioned above, you can also choose a second minor or electives from a shared pool which includes a substantial range of subjects from different faculties across the university.

You can view the full list here!

Work Placement

In terms of internships and work experience, there is a 4 week placement in the final year of the degree. There are three main areas of work placement that students enter in the third year:

  1. High Schools: for PDHPE teaching, gym and fitness coaching experience
  2. NSW Health: experience in research and working with USYD lecturers
  3. Rural Placement: an opportunity to observe the health and fitness in a particular area

The USYD Health Science Board also sends internship notices through email for NRL and AFL clubs. This process is done externally to the university however, and is optional for your own experience, rather than being part of the degree requirements.

 

How to Get into Exercise and Sport Science at USYD

A Bachelor of Applied Science (Exercise and Sport Science) at USYD requires an ATAR of 82 for guaranteed entry.

However, there are a number of pathway programs offered by the university for alternative entry into the course. Some of the common pathways are:

    • Early Offer Year 12 Scheme
    • Elite Athletes and Performers Scheme
    • Future Leaders Scheme
    • Gadigal Program

You can find out more about admission pathways here!

Assumed Knowledge

For Exercise and Sport Science at USYD, there are no prerequisites. However, Chemistry and Mathematics Advanced are assumed knowledge. If you didn’t take these subjects in High School you can also take a bridging course to get you up to speed!

Scholarships

The most common scholarship for students doing Exercise and Sport Science at USYD is the Elite Athletes and Performers Scheme. This sporting scholarship is for athletes who are also studying at university, to support the balance of training and studying.

You can also search for scholarships specific to you with the university’s scholarship search!

What’s the Teaching Format?

USYD operates in 2 semesters a year. For Exercise and Sport Science, you can expect to commit around 20 to 25 hours a week to attending the necessary lectures, tutorials, practicals and labs.

Class Structure

Exercise and Sport Science USYD - Class Structure

Lectures

Within lectures, which often run for 2-3 hours, you’ll be focusing on theory content and learning different exercise techniques. While there are less opportunities to engage in class discussion, make sure you’re paying attention and taking notes because this content will inform your other tutorials, practicals and labs!

Usually, about 100 to 120 students are in attendance.

Tutorials

In these smaller classes, of around 20 students, lecture content will be reinforced and discussions based on cased studies and applying knowledge to hypothetical patients will be carried out. Tutes will generally go for 2 hours.

You’ll find that tutorials are reserved for the more theory based subjects such as Psychology, Health and Nutrition. 

Practicals

Lucky for you, this degree isn’t just theory based! Within practicals, that often run for 2 hours, you’ll be in a gym applying exercises and techniques, and engaging in progressive workouts and improvement tracking.

Being much more intimate than a lecture, there’ll usually be around 20 students attending.

Labs

While you won’t always have labs, you’ll mainly have them for the subjects Anatomy A and B. These classes will run for 2 hours and have around 50 students attending.

Within you labs, you’ll be applying the lecture content you’ve learnt and using cadavers to learn about anatomy.

What are the assessments like?

In terms of assessments, you can expect to do a lot of exams and theory based tasks. There are also a lot of multiple choice exams.

However, more practical subjects, such as the exercise units, are more group orientated. For instance, you might have to complete a training project where you track group members’ improvement over a 10 week period!

Skills That You Develop

Exercise and Sport Science USYD - Skills

Being a degree that covers a wide number of domains within Exercise and Sport Science, you gain many skills!

SkillsDescription
CoachingYou learn skills in how to coach, train and teach different audiences for different purposes, whether it be exercise, rehabilitation or strength.
Taking measurementsAs part of working with people, you learn how to take different bodily measurements directly impacted by exercise, such as blood glucose levels. 
LeadershipHow to be a health professional and take control of different situations, making decisions that best suit the client or patient.
OrganisationBeing able to balance between theoretical and practical work. 

What’s the Faculty and Culture Like?

Faculty

The Exercise and Sport Faculty is considered really friendly, helpful and well established within their professions. You’re able to talk to different lecturers about their area of specialisation and hear about their experiences in the industry.

“Because we do so many different subjects ranging from nutrition to biomechanics and anatomy, we meet a lot of different lecturers!

Some are physiotherapists, some are dieticians… and they all have different research areas so we get a lot of information about various industries. We often have special guests at the end of lectures and would get career advice from them!” — Tess Koparan

Culture

As for the students, and cohort, the students in Exercise and Sport Science at USYD all share a common interest in sports and health, so you’ll always have something to talk about!

“I wouldn’t say it’s competitive at all, it’s pretty fun and really chill! Everyone in health science is really nice, we just talk about exercise and what we did over the weekend.” — Tess Koparan

Mentorship Programs and Societies

There are mentorship programs within Exercise and Sport Science at USYD, including a first year mentoring program to help you transition smoothly into university, and one-on-one help with tutors. 

At USYD, there’s a huge range of sporting clubs and societies you can join, from polo, to running and bushwalking. Find out more about Social Sports groups here!

You can also join the club at Sydney Uni Sport and Fitness, with a range of recreational groups available! You can read more about Sydney Uni Sport and Fitness clubs here.

Learn about the pros and cons of Exercise and Sport Science at USYD here!


Nandini Dhir is a Content Writer at Art of Smart and is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Marketing) and a Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Media and Communications), as a Dalyell Scholar, at Sydney University. She enjoys covering local issues in her area and writing about current events in the media. Nandini has had one of her pieces published in an article with the Sydney Morning Herald. In her free time, Nandini loves doing calligraphy, ballet, and sewing, or is otherwise found coddling her cats.   

 

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