Graduate Certificate of Strength and Conditioning

2023 Deakin University Handbook

Note: You are seeing the 2023 view of this course information. These details may no longer be current. [Go to the current version]

Year	2023 course information
Award granted	Graduate Certificate of Strength and Conditioning
Course Map	This course map is for new Domestic students commencing from Trimester 1 2023. This course map is for new International students commencing from Trimester 1 2023. This course map is for new Domestic students commencing from Trimester 2 2023. This course map is for new International students commencing from Trimester 2 2023. This course map is for new Domestic students commencing from Trimester 3 2023. This course map is for new International students commencing from Trimester 3 2023. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
Campus	This course is only offered Online with on campus intensives
Duration	Trimester 1 commencing students: 1 year over 3 consecutive trimesters. Trimester 2 commencing students: 1 year over 3 consecutive trimesters Trimester 3 commencing students: 1 year over 2 consecutive trimesters
Deakin course code	H513
Approval status	This course is approved by the University under the Higher Education Standards Framework.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8
International students are strongly encouraged to undertake HSE724 Strength and Conditioning Methods for Athletes in Trimester 3 to align the intensive components with HSE721 High Performance Management in Sport and HSE725 Factors Influencing Training Design for Sport. This means you can complete all the course’s intensive requirements within the intensive in Trimester 3. International students who commence in Trimester 1 - you can either attend HSE724 Strength and Conditioning Methods for Athletes intensives in Trimester 1 and then attend the Trimester 3 intensive for HSE721 High Performance Management in Sport and HSE725 Factors Influencing Training Design for Sport OR defer the Trimester 1 intensives and complete them in Trimester 3, with the other 2 intensives for HSE721 High Performance Management in Sport and HSE725 Factors Influencing Training Design for Sport units. International students who wish to attend the intensives at Deakin University,Australia or at Universiti Sains Malaysia, please refer to the visa information below.

Course sub-headings

Course overview

The Graduate Certificate of Strength and Conditioning trains you to improve the strength, power and endurance of your athletes and have them in peak condition for competition. Upskill in key areas of sport science that allow you to solve more complex challenges. You will gain the expertise to develop customised strength and conditioning programs that are grounded in science and backed by evidence.

Want the career benefits of postgraduate study without having to commit to a longer degree?

The Graduate Certificate of Strength and Conditioning is designed for busy professionals looking to progress their career in the sport science industry. You can study while you work and complete your degree online in one year part time. You’ll also benefit from two short intensives on campus.

Develop the complex knowledge and skills to solve multi-faceted challenges. Your athlete might need muscular hypertrophy to improve their performance in a contact sport; or they may need a long-term training program that sees their endurance peaking for a tournament two years from now. No matter their goal, you will be able to create a program that gives them their best shot at success. Become an expert in leading methods across a range of areas, including:

strength and hypertrophy
plyometrics, speed, and muscular power
aerobic and anaerobic power
periodisation and tapering methods
high-intensity interval training
recovery methods
integrity, ethics and legal considerations
communication with athletes and coaches

Complement these technical skills by boosting your management capabilities through studies in leadership, culture development and continuous improvement. These management skills don’t just make you more employable, they give you a recipe for team success and allow you to develop your support staff, as well as your athletes.

The curriculum is underpinned by science and research, some of which is produced by expert Deakin academics who research training methods to optimise their use – just one of the reasons why Deakin has been the number one sport science school in Australia for four years running*. You will graduate with the ability to critically evaluate and apply research to make confident, evidence-based decisions in your role. Better still, you will have direct access to academics with expertise in a broad range of sport science fields. This includes specialist researchers within Deakin's multidisciplinary Centre for Sport Research (CSR) and Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN). Draw on their professional experiences in your everyday work and leverage their industry connections to start forming your own.

The course is made up of four of the ten units from Deakin’s Master of Applied Sport Science.

After completing this course, you may wish to enhance your credentials further by articulating into the Master of Applied Sport Science.

* Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments 2020

Indicative student workload

As a student in an online course with on campus intensives in some units in the Faculty of Health you will be expected to spend at least 11-13 hours per unit every week participating in a range of teaching activities. This could include classes, seminars, practicals, placements and online interaction. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time. Teaching, placements and assessment tasks may take place outside of Deakin University teaching periods.

Professional recognition

We are recognised as an industry provider for the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA).

Upon completion of the Graduate Diploma of Applied Sport Science or Graduate Certificate of Strength and Conditioning, you will meet the theoretical and practical skills gained through HSE724 Strength and Conditioning for High Performing Athletes and HSE725 Advanced Training Design for Sport for Level 2 ASCA accreditation. You would be required to provide ASCA with evidence of an article of publication standard for the Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning (JASC), and practical coaching experience, to meet the eligibility requirements for Level 2 accreditation.

For more details and to view the application form, visit ASCA.

Career opportunities

The course prepares you for career growth in the industry. Graduate with a sought-after combination of sport science and managerial skills that set you up for success in roles such as:

high performance manager
strength and conditioning coach (sports clubs, performance training centres, sports and private schools)

If you are looking to pursue further study, you may wish to articulate into the Master of Applied Sport Science after completing this course.

Participation requirements

HSE721, HSE724 and HSE725 require on campus attendance.

International students can choose to attend HSE721 intensive via on campus or online (video conferencing). We would recommend international students attend the HSE721 intensive on campus alongside the HSE725 intensive.

Pathways

H607 Graduate Diploma of Applied Sport Science

H707 Master of Applied Sport Science

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on your course, the type of fee place you hold, your commencement year, the units you choose and your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Use the Fee estimator to see course and unit fees applicable to your course and type of place. Further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods is available on our Current students fees website.

Course Learning Outcomes

Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Apply advanced knowledge of selected aspects of sport science to sport performance related problems including some key principles and concepts
Communication	Select and use appropriate modes of communication to transmit evidence based sport science knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences with a view to inform, motivate and effect change at the individual and organisational level.
Digital literacy	Use digital technologies to locate and disseminate information, ideas and resources related to sport science to specialist and non- specialist audiences
Critical thinking	Critically analyse complex theoretical and technical information related to a specialised sport science context.
Problem solving	Apply advanced cognitive and technical skills to autonomously analyse, generate and transmit solutions to complex sport science problems in a specialised sport science context.
Self-management	Employ high-level personal responsibility, accountability and autonomy to demonstrate expert judgement and adaptability to familiar and emerging challenges confronting sport scientists.
Teamwork	Contribute to an interdisciplinary team and establish constructive relationships, with a range of stakeholders to achieve successful outcomes and to advance sport science in a specialised sport science context.
Global citizenship	Engage in professional and ethical practice that demonstrates personal autonomy, awareness of, and adaptability to, diverse social, cultural and environmental contexts in sport sciences.

Course rules

To complete the Graduate Certificate of Strength and Conditioning students must attain 4 credit points comprising 4 one credit point core units. There are no elective units.

All commencing Faculty of Health Undergraduate and Postgraduate course work students are required to complete HAI010 Academic Integrity in their first trimester of study (0 credit point compulsory unit).

Please refer to the Course Map page for course map information.

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements.