Sport Psychology

Overview

Our MSc Sport Psychology programme at Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh campus combines expertise from our Department of Psychology with the sporting excellence of Oriam, Scotland’s Sport Performance Centre.

This programme is led by expert sport and exercise psychologists and is accredited by the British Psychological Society, a highly regarded marker of quality assurance that prospective employers value. Applicants for MSc Sport Psychology are eligible for Sports Scholarships that we offer for a variety of student athletes. These scholarships are available on an individual and team sport basis and give you exclusive access to benefits as well as a percentage reduction on your tuition fees based on the level of scholarship.

This degree will provide you with a stepping-stone towards the qualifications you need to work with athletes, coaches, and exercisers in sport and exercise contexts within elite sport and the community. This master’s degree is also ideal if you want to pursue further academic study and a career in research related fields.

While studying MSc Sport Psychology, you’ll develop knowledge and skills in Sport Psychology theory and practice in different contexts including elite sport, community sport, team sport, and individual sport. You’ll be supported to develop advanced psychology research knowledge and skills and complete your own independent research project on a topic you are passionate about. You’ll also obtain a variety of transferrable skills that will be useful in careers outside of sport and exercise psychology, both in the public and private sector.

You’ll benefit from the applied practice industry and research networks that are embedded in the programme, which will afford a highly successful trajectory in your career after graduation. Authentic assessments on the programme are designed such that you will build a portfolio of resources and experiences as trainee sport and exercise psychologists, providing a firm foundation towards progressing in the profession. You will gain knowledge of equality, diversity and inclusion and ethical practice throughout the programme, which are essential skills for a future career in sport and exercise psychology.

Our Expertise

Our MSc Sport Psychology degree is taught by experienced, leading academics who have published research which shapes their discipline, and which will guide your learning. Academics delivering courses on the programme balance teaching time with research and professional practice in their discipline, including as sport and exercise psychologists in elite contexts. They bring real-world experience to the classroom and extensive professional networks to provide a high quality, supportive learning environment and opportunities for your future careers after the programme.

Your learning environment

The MSc Sport Psychology programme uses teaching and research expertise within Sport Psychology to deliver a high-quality learning and teaching experience. The programme is supported by sport and exercise science provision across Heriot-Watt University and uses world-leading sport facilities and resources at Oriam – a trusted training base of many of Scotland’s top sports teams and athletes. Our facilities include a high-performance sport laboratory with specialist equipment, sport halls, pitches, gyms, studios and squash courts. The British Psychological Society commended our use of the cutting-edge Oriam facilities within the teaching of our programme.

Our small and interactive group teaching approach is provided by a team with diverse academic and practice skills. Our sport and exercise partnerships on campus will provide you with a truly unique community where your learning and professional development will thrive. The British Psychological Society also commended our outstanding student support that is catered to individual learning needs.

This degree is taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, workshops, and practical labs to allow you to develop a wide range of relevant theoretical and practical skills and knowledge. You’ll also have the opportunity to work in partnership with practitioners, coaches, individual sports people and/or teams as you develop your skills (e.g., through development of educational workshops).

You’ll be assessed through a mix of authentic formative and summative assessments. Reflective learning and equality, diversity and inclusion principles are embedded throughout the programme and in summative assessments, you’ll be required to show how you creatively explored and solved industry-relevant challenges.

Customise your learning

Our MSc Sport Psychology programme includes innovative, contemporary courses and teaching methods which will allow you to acquire the knowledge and skills to successfully contribute to performance and wellbeing initiatives in dynamic sport and health-related contexts.

You’ll learn from eight courses on the syllabus which includes professional practice in sport psychology, psychology of elite sport, community sport, team sport, individual sport and research methods.

In semester three, you’ll choose a topic within Sport Psychology and produce an independent research project. This will provide you with opportunities to learn and demonstrate your ability to use a range of techniques and research methods. You’ll critically evaluate relevant literature and apply detailed knowledge and understanding of psychology theories and methods to justify your project approach and methodology. In doing so, you will be supported to undertake cutting-edge research.

Examples of research topics include:

• Exploring the relevance of ‘us' through examining social identities in sport
• Evaluating the use of Virtual Reality simulation methods in competitive sport
• Examining social support processes in sport
• Examining leadership and active (engaged) followership in sport
• Exploring career transitions of elite athletes out of sport
• Examining pressure training in high performance sport
• Exploring the benefits of sport and exercise for neurodiverse individuals
• Examining the psychophysiology of stress and resilience in high performance athletes

You can choose whether to study the programme full-time or part-time. This flexibility allows you to fit your postgraduate studies around your lifestyle. Part-time study is particularly well-suited to people in work, people involved in sport and looking to study alongside their work, and for athletes and who are performing at a high level in their sport and need more flexibility than a full-time programme can afford. The part-time structure of the programme affords you with the opportunity to engage in the themes-based courses in year 1 and, in year 2, engage in the professional practice and research focussed courses.