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University of Limerick Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology MSc
University of Limerick

University of Limerick

Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology MSc

Limerick, Ireland

MSc

1 year

English

Full time

On-Campus

Key Summary

    About : The Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology MSc program focuses on the psychological factors influencing sports performance and exercise behavior. It combines theoretical knowledge with practical application, catering to students interested in enhancing athlete performance and promoting exercise adherence. The course is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of key psychological concepts in sport and exercise.
    Career Outcomes : Graduates can pursue various careers in fields such as sports psychology, exercise consultancy, or coaching. Opportunities may also exist within health promotion, rehabilitation programs, or working with sports organizations. This degree equips students with the skills to support athletes and individuals through psychological practices.

This MSc. program is dedicated to providing a thorough grounding in the knowledge and application of psychological principles to sport, exercise and performance settings in order to enhance wellbeing and performance. It seeks to equip candidates with a sound understanding of theory and research and develop core competencies and professional skills across a range of key domains including the following: motor cognition and skill acquisition; performance psychology; exercise and mental health; applied positive psychology; organisational behaviour and wellbeing; professional issues and ethics; and research design and methods. The core aims of the program are to create an outstanding and distinctive learning experience through innovations in teaching (e.g. e-learning module in applied positive psychology), instilling a scientist practitioner approach across both sport and exercise contexts and highlighting the role of ethical considerations in practice.

The MSc. aims to:

  • Provide a learner-focused and connected curriculum to enable students to develop their capacity to think critically and acquire a broad set of attributes as identified by the UL as knowledgeable, proactive, innovative, responsible, articulate and collaborative.
  • Extend the traditional remit of sport psychology by focusing on performance restoration, resilience and mental health, rather than exclusively targeting performance enhancement.
  • Enhance the understanding of mental health challenges in sport contexts using a positive psychology approach.
  • Develop a multidisciplinary mode of graduate enquiry coupled with an ethical scientist-practitioner basis.
  • Lead the provision of postgraduate training in this evolving field of Performance psychology.
  • Provide stage one of the recognition process for sport and exercise psychologists for PSI and BPS.
  • Include the appropriate skills to enable graduates to develop a case study submission as part of their application for professional membership of the Irish Institute of Sport.