BSc in Exercise & Health Fitness Management

Key information
About the course
What you will study
Entry requirements
How to apply
Fees and funding
Your future career

BSc in Exercise & Health Fitness Management
NFQ Level 8 major Award Honours Bachelor Degree

Apply now for September

CAO points history:

N/A

Course code:

LM105

Duration:

4 Years

† Indicates that students admitted to the programme are required to undergo a Garda Vetting process.

Fees: See what fees may apply to students
Subject area: Health Sciences

Course leader:

Ian Sherwin

Email:

ncef@ul.ie

Tel:

00 353 61 202829

Admissions:
Tel: 00 353 61 202015
Queries: www.ul.ie/admissions-askus

Work experience Electives Scholarships

Download our prospectus

If you are the type of individual that likes working with other people to help them improve their fitness and you have a broad interest in exercise, health and fitness, then this programme might very well be for you.

Are you an athlete and hoping to combine study and training then this is a course for high consideration. We work with you and your schedules supporting athletes as much as possible.

Why Study Exercise & Health Fitness at UL?

This course qualifies you as a Fitness Professional with a strong portfolio of specialisms which include Advanced Personal Training and Strength & Conditioning for Athletes and Teams.

Your final year will be interfaculty with a strong emphasis on business skills with modules including Financial Management, Public Relations & Marketing, Human Resource Management, Multimedia, Health Promotion, Diverse Populations, Event Management and more. This will provide you with strong supervisory and management skills in addition to your exercise and fitness specialisms.

Graduates of our programme are already out in the industry after the 1st year of the programme, working on a part time basis, “learning through doing....” This programme is a very practically applied programme and develops the practical skills in the formative years of the programme, whilst building on academic and management skills in the later years.

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Read about our students experiences

What you will study

This four year honours degree in Exercise & Health Fitness Management provides you with a broad introduction to a career in the fitness industry. In the first year, you will study a curriculum to qualify as a Fitness Instructor/Gym Instructor.

In Year 2, specialisms are introduced to build your portfolio of skills. You will choose the specialist areas you would like to study from Advanced Personal Training, Strength & Conditioning for Athletes and Teams.

The central focus of Year 3 Advanced Practitioner, you will move in the direction of business management and higher specialisation. DEHF Practitioners work in supervisory/business/management roles in the fitness industry and have advanced competencies in a broad range of areas. The modules you will study are Research Skills, Applied Multimedia in Exercise & Fitness and students will complete their co-operative placement which is viewed as an essential part of your professional development.

The Year 4 curriculum offers individuals the opportunity to research, study and practice in the area of Exercise & Health Fitness Management. The previous 3 years provide you with a wide variety of exercise and fitness qualifications and year 4 compliments and strengthens your qualification with a range of business and marketing skills leading to a highly employable graduate.

Lecturers / Tutors delivering on this interfaculty curriculum are from the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences,the National Council for Exercise and Fitness, and the Kemmy Business School at UL. Guest lecturers with relevant backgrounds will also present on the programme. Modules include Financial Management, Public Relations & Marketing, Human Resource Management, Multimedia, Health Promotion, Diverse Populations, Event Management and more.

Graduates of the B.Sc. apply their knowledge, skills and competencies to provide direction, leadership and professional expertise at management & promotional levels in the Exercise & Health Fitness sector.

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Entry requirements

CAO points history	N/A
Minimum grades	Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the established Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with a minimum Grade O6 in five Ordinary Level subjects to include Maths, Irish or another language, and English OR an approved equivalent or higher qualification. Note: Grade F6 in Foundation Mathematics also satisfies the minimum entry requirements. Foundation Maths is not reckonable for scoring purposes.
Subject requirements
Additional considerations	Applications are especially welcome from mature students, that is those over the age of 23 on 1 January of the year of entry. Mature applicants must apply through the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1 February.

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Fees & funding

Student course fees are broken into three components - Student contribution, Student Centre Levy and Tuition Fees.

A number of illustrative examples of fees for this course based on the current fee levels have been set out in the tables below.

An explanation of the components, how to determine status and the criteria involved is provided below the examples as is a list of possible scholarships and funding available.

Student course fees are comprised of three components:

Student Contribution

Annual charge set by the government for all full-time third level students. All students are liable unless they have been approved for a grant by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please refer to https://www.studentfinance.ie to determine your eligibility for a grant and for instructions on how to apply. The curent student contribution is set at €3000.

Student Centre Levy

All students are liable to pay the Student Centre Levy of €90. Please note the Student Centre Levy is not covered by the SUSI Grant.

Tuition Fees

These are based on Residency, Citizenship, Course requirements.

Review the three groups of criteria to determine your fee status as follows

Residency
- You must have been living in an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course
Citizenship
- You must be a citizen of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland or have official refugee status
Course Requirements (all must be met)
- You must be a first time full-time undergraduate (Exceptions are provided for students who hold a Level 6 or Level 7 qualification and are progressing to a Level 8 course in the same general area of study).
- You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 year’s duration
- You cannot be undertaking a repeat year of study at the same level unless evidence of exceptional circumstances eg serious illness is provided (in which case this condition may be waived)

Depending on how you meet these criteria your status will be one of the following -

Free Fee Status: You satisfy all three categories (1, 2 and 3) and therefore are eligible for the Higher Education Authority’s Free Fees scheme.
EU Fee Status: You satisfy the citizenship and/or residency criteria but fail to satisfy the course requirements and are liable to EU fees
Non EU Fee Status: You do not meet either the citizenship or residency criteria and are therefore liable to Non EU fees.

More information about fees can be found on the Finance website

These scholarships are available for all courses

Title	Award	Scholarships available
Johnson and Johnson WiSTEM2D Programme	Individual Award - a bursary to the value of €2000. Team Project Grant - €1750	1 of each
Plassey Campus Centre Scholarship Programme
All Ireland Scholarships - sponsored by J.P. McManus	€6,750	125
Higher Education Grants & VEC Grants
Financial Aid Fund
Elaine Fagan Scholarship	€5,000	5
Stuart Mangan Scholarship
Provincial GAA Bursaries Scheme	€750
The Michael Hillery and Jacinta O’Brien Athletics Scholarship	Various benefits equating to over €7,000 in value
Paddy Dooley Rowing Scholarship	€2,500
UL Sports Scholarships	Varies depending on level of Scholarship	Multiple
Cooperative Education Award		1 award per faculty
UL 40 Entrance Scholarship	€2,000	40

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Your future career

As an accredited undergraduate programme, this Bachelor of Science degree will allow you to progress in a range of careers in the exercise and fitness industry.

Careers open to you with a degree in Exercise & Health Fitness Management include:

Group Fitness Instructor
Gym Instructor
Advanced Personal Trainer
Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Fitness Professional & Advisor working on public health initiatives

Fitness Facility Management
Event management and marketing
Entrepreneurial fitness professionals develop and run your own ‘bespoken’ facilities
Diverse Populations Specialist

Further Study Options

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BSc in Exercise & Health Fitness Management

† Indicates that students admitted to the programme are required to undergo a Garda Vetting process.