Sport and Coaching Sciences

MPhil or PhD or Masters by Research

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Key facts

Start dates

January 2025 / September 2025

Application deadline

Please allow at least four months between submitting your application and your expected start date, especially if you are an international student arranging a visa.

Course length

Full time: 2 - 3 years

Part time: 3 - 4 years

Funding status

Self-funded

Overview

A research degree in Sport and Coaching Sciences allows you to:

  • develop your research skills
  • contribute to internationally recognised research
  • be supported by skilled staff and a vibrant research student community
  • enhance your employability within the domain of sport and coaching sciences
  • develop your ability to apply disciplinary theory in your applied practice.

We offer a number of flexible part-time and full-time research degree opportunities including MA by Research, MSc by Research, MPhil, PhD, and PhD by Published Work.

To get an overview of the research and groups within the department, and the areas where we can support research degree projects, take a look at our Research Centres and Groups page.

Fitness test

Research expertise

Our interdisciplinary and international research agenda seeks to understand, intervene and improve the lives of those involved in sport and physical activity from grassroots to performance. Our work is multi-faceted and focuses on relationships of individuals and communities with sport, physical education, physical activity and health. Through our approach to research, we seek to offer real world solutions that can:

  • contribute to the development and improvement of human performance in competitive sport
  • influence health promotion and rehabilitation through sport, exercise and physical activity
  • promote non-linear approaches to pedagogy in sport, exercise and physical activity, and their application in coach development
  • further enhance our understanding of participation, identity and social justice in sport, exercise and physical activity.

Degree routes

All students enrol as probationer research students. During the first year you will formally register your research proposal for one of the below routes. 

How to apply

Entry requirements

All students must be able to meet the University’s requirements for a research degree, which is to be able to devote a minimum of 35 hours per week (full-time) or 15 hours per week (part-time) to the programme of research.

The minimum entry requirement for the degree of MPhil, or MPhil with transfer to PhD, is a first-class or upper second-class UK honours degree or equivalent qualification.

The normal entry requirement for a PhD is a Masters degree, or exceptionally a good honours degree/equivalent.

The minimum entry requirement for the degree of MA, MSc and LLM by Research is a lower second-class UK honours degree or equivalent qualification.

English language requirements

Our requirement is IELTS: 6.5-7.0 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in each component (reading, writing, listening and speaking), depending on the subject. Please note that an IELTS certificate must be current; they are only valid for 2 years from issue. For further information about the test visit the IELTS website. Please note that we are unable to accept TOEFL qualifications.

However, there may be some exceptions. See UK Government visa information for more detail on the information.

English requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

Application process

We welcome initial enquiries. Please contact the Research Administrator (hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk) and/or the relevant Postgraduate Tutor or Supervisor.

  1. If you have a research proposal in mind, explore our research groups and supervisory staff webpages, to identify the relevant research group/s for your research.
  2. Check the fees information on the university website. Oxford Brookes Alumni may be entitled to a discount on course fees.
  3. Email your CV and an outline of your area of interest to hlsapplications@brookes.ac.uk. Give a brief explanation of how your studies will be funded.
  4. Once we have the initial information we will liaise with you as necessary and pass the information to the relevant Postgraduate Tutor/s, who will advise whether an application can be progressed. If this is possible we will invite you to submit an application through the university system. 

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£4,886

Home (UK) part time
£2,443

International full time
£18,400

International part time
£9,200

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) full time
£4,886

Home (UK) part time
£2,443

International full time
£18,400

International part time
£9,200

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

For International fees the following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. 

Home fees are set by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and are released approximately five months before the start of each academic year.

If you have any questions about fees, get in touch with the Research Degrees Team at rdt-researchdegrees@brookes.ac.uk.

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course