Sport

Sport is in our DNA - Stirling has been Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence since 2008.

Our mission is to deliver the best for Scottish sport through the powerful and inspirational combination of sport and education.

We’ve developed an international reputation for delivering Sports degrees that get results. You can choose to study a Sport degree focused on sports science, performance, business management or psychology.

Our Sport courses are integrated with the University's world-class sports facilities to provide a unique and rewarding studying and sporting environment. We prepare athletes for world-stage success and improve the nation's health through physical exercise.

Sport courses

Courses labelled  are available for online study only.

Undergraduate courses
Course	Start date
BA (Hons) Sport Business Management	September 2025
BA (Hons) Sport Development and Coaching	September 2025
BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science	September 2025
BSc (Hons) Sport Psychology	September 2025
Sport degrees combined with other subjects

Postgraduate courses
Course	Start date
MSc Physiotherapy (pre-registration)	September 2025
MSc Psychology of Sport (Accredited)	September 2025
MSc Sport Management	January 2025, September 2025, January 2026
MSc Sport Nutrition	1st of every month
MSc Sport Performance Coaching (Online)	September 2025

CPD and short courses
Course	Start date
Applied Exercise Physiology	January 2025
Coaching as Learning	June 2025
Coaching Concepts	January 2025
Creating Engaging Practice	January 2025
Identifying and solving problems in sport coaching
Physiology of Sport and Exercise
Sports Medicine, Health and Wellbeing
The Coaching Process
Understanding Performance	January 2025
Understanding Performers: Psychological Perspectives

Scholarships

We offer a variety of scholarship and funding options to help you finance your studies at the University of Stirling.

Undergraduate scholarships

See more undergraduate scholarships

Postgraduate scholarships

See more postgraduate scholarships

Why study Sport at the University of Stirling?

Graduate careers in Sport

Our Sport courses bring together leading academics to deliver high-quality teaching in a range of areas with a primary focus on your future employability.

You’ll graduate from our Sport degrees with a breadth of knowledge and practical experiences that can be applied to a wide range of sport-related careers, from developing national sport and coaching, to management and governance.

Our graduates have gone on to work in jobs such as:

sport development officers, working with sporting governing bodies to develop sport;
managers of sports facilities in sports and leisure trusts;
administrators for national governing bodies and sport policy agencies;
sport officers working with charities in developing nations to use sport to build communities;
personal trainers in health and fitness organisations;
coaches working with development teams in a number of sports, such as football and rugby.

The University of Stirling is ranked among the top 5 universities in the UK for Sports Science in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025, and we are also highly rated by fcbusiness.

Specialist facilities

Our excellent performance analysis laboratories and world-class sport facilities are used by our Olympian athletes and sport novices alike

Our five-star sports facilities include The National Tennis Centre, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, pitches and a host of other facilities.

We’re consistently ranked among the best universities in the UK for our sports facilities.

Partnerships and industry

Our campus is also home to the National Tennis Centre, National Swimming Academy, and headquarters of Scottish sport governing bodies and regional offices, including the sportscotland Institute of Sport.

We work closely with the industry to ensure everything we teach you is relevant and will boost your employability within the sector.

Sport research

In the Research Excellence Framework 2021, 80% of our research in Sport and Exercise Sciences was classed as world leading or internationally excellent. We are 1st in Scotland for research outputs in Sport and Exercise Sciences.

Our research themes include:

Mechanisms of change: understanding the ecological, social and biophysical processes underlying health and wellbeing
Lifestyle and behaviour change: increasing physical activity, promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviours and reducing unhealthy behaviours
Service delivery policy and practice: evaluating healthcare and sport interventions, health and sport policy and models of practice

Postgraduate research opportunities

Postgraduate research studies in Sport at the University of Stirling can be undertaken in diverse contexts from high-performance sport to population health. Staff specialisms include genetics and molecular biology, nutrition and hydration, neuro-muscular function and physical activity.

See our PhD and MPhil opportunities in the areas of Sport.