BA Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity

Welcome to the BA Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity degree programme at Durham University! Please use the link pages on the left-handside and explore the hyperlinks within these pages to find out everything you need to know about applying to and studying with us!

Why study BA Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity?

• Sport, as a cultural phenomenon that evokes passion, drives economies, shapes politics, highlights inequalities and contributes to our sense of national pride, has a rare capacity to touch our lives. 
• Rising levels of obesity and sedentary lifestyles also make sport and exercise a major concern for current government policy and the use of sport in initiatives such as crime prevention, community development and health promotion campaigns make sport a subject area of great contemporary, vocational relevance.
• With 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London, Rugby League World Cup 2013 in England and Wales, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014, 2015 Rugby World Cup in England and World Athletics Championships in 2017, never has it been more necessary to prepare well-rounded graduates for entry into sport-related professions and industries. 

Why study BA Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity at Durham?

In studying BA Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity at Durham, our degree programme will help you to apply conceptual and research-based knowledge of the social and natural sciences to the specific context of sport and exercise. Our contemporary and dynamic programme of study includes 6 key pathways: the sociology of sport; sports policy; health and physical activity; sport and exercise psychology; sport and exercise physiology and research methods.  We offer a challenging and rewarding learning experience through our ethos of research-led teaching in a highly supportive and friendly learning environment.  Our graduates gave their experience of 'Teaching' and 'Academic Support' a 94% satisfaction rating respectively in the National Student Survey 2012.

Excellent Employment Prospects

Your three years of study at Durham will also develop in you a broad range of key transferable and vocational skills, personal qualities and intellectual capacities that can be applied to a range of further postgraduate studies and future career paths and will make you more 'employable'.  We have an excellent record of graduate employment, with 82% of Graduates from our degree successfully going on to postgraduate study, or gaining full-time employment.  They are employed in a wide range of careers, including sport administration, sport policy and development advertising, sport marketing, events management, sport media, physical education, coaching,  exercise and health promotion and allied health professions, professional sports performance, athletic support services and lifestyle management . In addition to these sport-related career routes, many of our students have successfully entered careers in banking and finances, business and marketing, public relations, human resources, retail and personnel management.

Entry Qualifications

Our typical offer is AAB at A-level (or equivalent standard across a range of post-16 qualifications). Further information is available on our entry requirements.  We look forward to your application!

Sports Participation at Durham

Durham University is one of the top sporting universities in the UK: ranked 2nd in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Championships in 2012. There are numerous exciting opportunities at Durham for you to play, coach or officiate for Team Durham (at university level) or college sport, as well as getting involved with initiatives such as volunteer work with disadvantaged young people in the  local community, as well as overseas in Zambia. Some of our student athletes perform at an elite national or international level.  Durham University has an excellent sport scholarship scheme to support our elite athletes through their combined sport and academic careers.