Pre-arrival

In addition to your core courses, MSc Physical Activity for Health students must choose 30 credits of option courses. Before commencing your studies, you must select which option courses you would like to take in the 2024-25 academic year by completing the Option course preference form below. ​​​​​

You can select either: 

• 30 credits of Level 11 courses (this is Masters level study in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework; SCQF) from a combination of either a 10-credit course and a 20-credit course; or 3 x 10-credit courses.

OR

• 10 credits of a Level 11 course and 20 credits of a Level 10 (Honours degree level study in the SCQF).

Student feedback suggests that the combination of one 20-credit option (at either Level 10 or 11) with a 10-credit option work best (rather than 3 x 10-credit courses). They report that the 20 credit options are often the courses with greater links to previous undergraduate degree knowledge and have content more closely related to our core programme content. Students state that in some 10-credit courses the workload appears more than half of the 20-credit option, therefore with 3 x 10-credit courses the combined workload may end up being more.

Option courses should be in Semester 2 (January to April) so that there is an even balance of work across the two semesters. 

It is your responsibility to ensure that the timetable of courses you select does not conflict with your compulsory core courses which take priority. Your core courses in Semester 2 are currently scheduled as follows:

• Assessment of Physical Activity and Body Composition (EDUA11420): Weeks 1-5; Mondays 14:00 – 16:00
• Physical Activity Across the Lifespan (SPRT11004): Weeks 1-5; Tuesdays 14:00 – 16:00
• Research Process (REDU11011): Weeks 6-10; Mondays 15:00 – 17:00; Thursdays 14:00 – 18:00

Generally, we suggest looking at courses that might be available within the Public Health Masters (there are lots of 10-credit options around public health and research methods) or within the Sport programmes of our own Institute for Sport, PE and Health Sciences, to link most closely to the content covered in our programme.

Here are some option courses that our students have taken in previous years:

• Preventive Dance Medicine
• Exercise Prescription for Rehabilitation
• Sport and Exercise Medicine 4
• Sport, Society and International Development
• Social Determinants of Health and Public Policy
• Developing and Evaluating Complex Public Health Interventions

You may have an interest in other courses and we encourage you to browse the course catalogue to identify potential options.  The best way to do this is through Path but you will need a student record to access this. You can also find information about available option courses in the Degree Programme Table. 

Visit the Degree Programme Table

We cannot guarantee that you will be allocated a space on your selected course. Course choices are subject to approval by Course Organisers and Programme Directors and are dependent on course capacity. Course choices may be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We will do our best to allocate all students their preferences.

To indicate your preferences, please fill in the form below by Wednesday 4 September. Students will be enrolled on their courses after this deadline.

For questions related to the academic nature of your option courses, contact your Programme Director Dr Chloë Williamson. If you have questions regarding the option course selection process, contact the Student Experience and Support office.

Contact Dr Chloë Williamson

Contact the Student Experience and Support office