Hello! I’m Anthony, and I’ve been asked to let you know what being an MSc Student at Durham is like within the department of Sport & Exercise Sciences.
I’ve been here before. I completed my undergraduate degree in BSc Sport & Exercise Sciences at Durham in the summer of 2023. You may be aware already, but your potential future graduation ceremony will be in Durham Cathedral, which is pretty cool. During my first term of third year, I was made aware of a new upcoming master’s course within the department, which gave me the easiest decision to continue my studies, an MSc in Physical Activity, Health & Society!
Why Durham?
If you are in the midst of considering where you should complete your degree, I wouldn’t look much further than Durham. Durham is a completely unique experience as a student. It is a beautiful, historic city in its own right, with an extremely young population given the prominence of the Uni making it feel like one big campus. The reputation and excellence of the University academically needs no explanation, but I think the city itself is understated in its appeal for students. You’ll love it here!
Why study for an MSc in Physical Activity, Health & Society?
The course gives you a unique exposure to gold-standard sports science equipment, where you can independently and collaboratively deliver exercise testing. You even get to use the equipment in your dissertation if you wish! The course is academically stimulating, and it provides the perfect balance between challenging and fun and has the appropriate support networks for any individual’s circumstances.
Crafting your own academic experience
This course has a particular focus on your own individual strengths and interests. There is a wide scope of subjects you can study both in and out of the department, such as with Anthropology, Psychology, Languages and Government and International Affairs. This gives you a well-rounded expertise in multiple important areas of study. If you like variance and lots of different learning styles, this is the course for you.
Best subject
My favourite subject is ‘Exercise as Medicine’ as this analyses health inequalities, the value of exercise for individuals and how policy and governmental structures seek to improve outcomes in clinical populations. It leads to very interesting discussions on where exercise should be placed in physiology, medicine and wider society
My five year plan
In short, it is very broad. I am interested in working in a wide range of settings, including sport performance analysis, sport business and marketing, government policy or public health analysis. This course is great for me, as it gives you a wide variance of expertise in multiple disciplines within the field of Sport & Exercise Sciences. You can hone your focus to suit your career prospects, or you can make it as wide and varied as possible like me!
Life outside of study
The thing I have enjoyed most about my social life during my time at Durham would be college sport. Regardless of your level, you can engage in dozens of sports that you might not have even heard of. There are multiple teams for each sport and college, so you’ll find your level pretty quickly and make loads of mates in the process. If you like the nightlife, or long nature walks, historic buildings or coffee shops, you really can’t go wrong with Durham.
My advice for future students
I really can’t recommend this course and the University enough. The blend of high-quality teaching, state of the art equipment, a collegiate system that values community and a worldwide reputation for academic excellence makes this University and department a fantastic option for you.
Discover more
Feeling inspired? Take a look at our Sport and Exercise department pages.
For information about this course see here
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