APPLIED PRACTICE - 2026/7

Module Overview

This module explores the interdisciplinary and holistic nature of applied sport and exercise science practice across performance, health, and clinical contexts. Students will examine how different sport and exercise science disciplines (e.g. physiology, biomechanics, psychology, strength and conditioning, and nutrition) integrate to support athletes, physically active individuals, and clinical populations.

Emphasis is placed on developing the knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours required to work effectively within multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary teams. Students will engage with evidence-informed approaches to assessment, programme design, and intervention, with applications that span acute performance enhancement, long-term athlete development, the promotion of physical activity for health, and the management or support of clinical and long-term conditions.

Through applied tasks, case studies, and critical reflection, students will learn to interpret and evaluate data, justify their decision-making, and critically appraise the effectiveness and limitations of the support they provide. The module also supports students in identifying their own strengths and areas for development as emerging applied practitioners, enabling them to construct a focused, evidence-informed professional development plan.

Module provider

School of Biosciences

Module Leader

WILD James (Biosciences)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

BMS2075 Performance analysis or BMS3085 Exercise referral and prescription 

Module content

Indicative content includes:

Foundations of Applied Sport, Exercise, and Clinical Practice

• Identifying performance problems 
• Needs analysis in sport, exercise, and clinical contexts (e.g., performance sport, chronic conditions, rehabilitation, physical activity promotion)
• Interdisciplinary practice and considerations within applied practice 
• Ethical and professional considerations when working in sport, exercise, and clinical environments

Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Team Roles

The role, scope, and interaction of individual disciplines within interdisciplinary teams, including:

• Performance analyst
• Sport and clinical nutritionist 
• Strength & conditioning coach
• Physiotherapist, soft tissue therapists, and rehabilitation specialists
• Sport and exercise psychologist
• Biomechanist
• Lifestyle and wellbeing practitioners (e.g., performance lifestyle advisors, clinical lifestyle coaches)
• Sports doctor and clinical physicians
• Exercise physiologist (sport and clinical settings)

Acute and Chronic Interventions to Enhance Performance and Health

• Acute interventions for sports performance (e.g. skill, force, physiology', and tactical related performance enhancements)
• Exercise interventions to promote health and manage chronic conditions 
• Behaviour change strategies to enhance sporting performance, wellbeing, or physical activity adherence in clinical and general populations
• Monitoring, evaluating, and adapting interventions in applied settings (athlete, patient, and general population)

Evidence Based Practice and Data Interpretation

• Data collection, analysis, and interpretation in sport and clinical scenarios
• Pre/post testing for both performance and health outcomes
• Critical appraisal of support provided by different disciplines, including strengths, limitations, and professional boundaries

Applied Research and Case Study Approaches

• Single subject case study research designs in performance, physical activity, and clinical exercise
• Longitudinal tracking of athlete and patient outcomes

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

There are no alternative assessments. If a student cannot complete the assessments by the set date, then alternative dates can be set and therefore there will be no need for an alternative mode of assessment.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have achieved the module learning outcomes and, by association, developed professional skills, employability, applied skills in delivering an acute intervention, their ability to analyse, interpret and report data, and their critical evaluation of sport and exercise science disciplines and coordinated interdisciplinary support in performance, health, and clinical contexts.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

Graduate Role Interview and Reflective Statement

• This assessment focuses on professional identity, development, and readiness for a discipline-specific graduate role. Students will take part in a short, structured simulated interview for a graduate position aligned to their chosen discipline (for example, exercise physiology, biomechanics, sport and exercise psychology, strength and conditioning, or clinical exercise/physical activity for health). The interview will require students to articulate their professional identity, provide evidence of relevant applied competencies and experiences, and demonstrate an understanding of interdisciplinary and holistic support for performance, health, or clinical populations. Following the interview, students will complete a concise reflective statement (indicative word count: 500 words) in which they critically evaluate their interview performance, identify key strengths and areas for development, and outline short- and medium-term professional goals and indicative actions.

This assessment addresses learning outcomes: 1, 2, and 3.

Applied Practice Case Study

• A portfolio of work which documents a performance- or health-related problem, the needs analysis process, and the acute intervention undertaken. The portfolio will include appropriate analysis and interpretation of data (for example, pre- and post-intervention changes in relevant performance or health measures, or other meaningful data analysis and interpretation that can inform practice), and a critical evaluation of the effectiveness and limitations of the intervention. The portfolio will also include a critical reflection on both the impact of the intervention and the student's personal and professional development as an emerging applied practitioner.
  
  This assessment addresses learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Formative Assessment and Feedback

• Students will receive formative assessment and feedback on their performance in the form of verbal feedback during lectures, seminars, and practical sessions (for example, in question-and-answer format or during guided activities). They will also partake in several structured tasks during sessions that inform the final summative assessments, including practice questions and scenarios relevant to the interview and elements of the applied case study portfolio. Feedback will be provided to specific queries via email, with responses being made available to all students via SurreyLearn or during tutorials, as appropriate. Discussion boards will be made available, including specific assessment discussion boards open to all students, allowing anonymous questions to be posed or comments to be left.

Module aims

• Develop students' appreciation of the key professional competencies required to be effective applied sport and exercise science practitioners.
• Enable students to critically appraise their own current competencies and construct a coherent, personal and professional development plan.
• Develop a critical awareness of the interdisciplinary nature of applied sport and exercise science practice, and the ways in which different disciplines interact in real-world contexts.
• Instil an appreciation of the holistic, athlete-/client-centred service provided by interdisciplinary teams to optimise assessment, training, health, and performance outcomes.
• Develop students' ability to apply evidence-informed and evidence-based strategies in applied settings, including (but not limited to) the design and delivery of programmes that:
  - promote physical activity and health,
  - support clinical and long-term conditions, and/or
  - enhance sporting performance.
  
• Develop students' ability to collect, interpret, and critically evaluate quantitative and qualitative data, and to use this to assess the strengths, limitations, and impact of the support they provide in applied contexts.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to include interactive lectures, tutorial, seminars, and practical based sessions to support professional development, develop subject specific knowledge, and provide formative feedback and discussion. Several practicing applied sport scientists / exercise scientists will be invited as external speakers with the effectiveness and function of their individual disciplines critically assessed during seminar style lectures. Students will need to spend considerable time working independently to carry out acute interventions to enhance performance problems. This will enable students to complete the portfolio of work required (based on their intervention) which will be marked as their summative assessment.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: BMS3101

Other information

The School of Bioscience and Medicine is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Digital Capabilities: Students are required to provide remote coaching and monitoring during the module using a variety of digital means (apps, google sheets, other)

Employability: This module is centred on the importance of working as part of a wider performance team within the workplace. Collective problem solving and the need the importance of working towards common agreed objectives are main features of the module

Resourcefulness & Resilience: Students will need be expected to lead and manage an intervention, which will call upon their resourcefulness & resilience. This is evidenced by the portfolio of evidence they must collate during the semester.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2026/7 academic year.