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About Us

Durham University's Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences is a welcoming and vibrant community of world-leading academics, delivering a cutting-edge curriculum. Our taught programmes are consistently ranked in the top 10 best sport-related degrees in the country. Take a look around our lab facilities based within the £30 million purpose-built facility at Maiden Castle and find out more about our excellence in research, teaching and the employability of our students.

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Global leader in research

Our research and teaching addresses significant questions facing us now and in the near future.

Addressing inequalities, social justice, and health and wellbeing within and through sport, exercise and physical activity is central to what we do. We are a global leader across a range of sport and physical activity domains, including gender; age; race; disabilities; LGBTQIA+; the natural environment; nutrition; exercise referral; schools in deprived areas; and workforces.

We examine these by combining cross-discipline expertise and insight from psychology, sociology, geography, political sciences, public health, nutrition, and physiology to produce world-class research that makes a difference. We carry out research that shapes the field of the sport and exercise sciences rather than us being shaped by it. Our research is therefore future forming in that it changes what sport and exercise sciences can be rather than being constrained by what it was or is.

We are also global leaders in qualitative research and seek to advance new theories across different disciplines. Our research is supported by a range of funders, such as the ESRC, Wellcome Trust, AHRC, and NIHR. 

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Unique undergraduate courses

Our BSc Sport and Exercise Sciences and BA in Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity are unique. You will study traditional sport and exercise science subjects, like psychology and physiology, alongside more contemporary topics.

Aligned with the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, topics include reducing health inequalities, advancing gender and race equality in sport, challenging ageism, disablism, and ableism in sport, physical activity, and health, ensuring good wellbeing through exercise, and the role of the environment, like climate change and green space, in sport and physical activity.
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A vibrant PGR community

We have a vibrant community of postgraduate researcher students (PGRs), supervised by leading academics. Our research environment enables our PGRs to flourish and produce stimulating and exceptional work. This is reflected in the international research recognition and employment they gain

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Get in touch

To find out more about our department and courses, contact us using the information below.

Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Durham University
Green Lane Offices
Durham
DH1 3LA
UK

 

Tel: +44 (0)191 3342000