Master of Applied Sport Science
2025 Deakin University Handbook
| Year | 2025 course information |
|---|---|
| Award granted | Master of Applied Sport Science |
| Deakin course code | H707 |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health |
| Campus | This course is only offered Online with on campus intensives |
| Online | Yes |
| Duration | Trimester 1 commencing students: 1 year over 3 consecutive trimesters, or part-time equivalent Trimester 2 commencing students: 1.5 years over 5 consecutive trimesters, or part-time equivalent Trimester 3 commencing students: 1.5 years over 4 consecutive trimesters, or part-time equivalent |
| Course Map - enrolment planning tool | These course maps are for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025: Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central. |
| Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition | The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9 |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Indicative student workload
- Professional recognition
- Career opportunities
- Participation requirements
- Mandatory student checks
- Pathways
- Alternative exits
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Course rules
- Course structure
- Work experience
- Fees and charges
Course overview
This industry-leading degree prepares you for the full spectrum of challenges faced by sport scientists and high-performance managers working at all levels of sport, from local to elite level. You will graduate with 220 hours of professional practice, or with the knowledge and skills to pursue entry into a PhD. Through our partnerships and your placements, you will build advanced skills and networks that open the door to senior roles.
If you are looking to elevate your career, why not do it with the #1 sport science school in the world?*
Jobs in the sports industry are set to rise in the next five years.^ But that doesn’t mean sport scientists expecting career growth can afford to be complacent. An industry that demands so much of its athletes also demands practitioners who are committed to self-improvement and finding new ways of optimising performance. Deakin’s Master of Applied Sport Science prepares you for this pursuit. It provides valuable professional development opportunities and trains you in skills that give you an edge in a competitive job market. You’ll study at the cutting-edge of sport science, access world-class facilities and benefit from extensive industry partnerships that help move your career forward.
The course prepares you for both the technical and managerial aspects of high performance sport. Build specialised skills in:
- high-performance management
- advanced sport performance analysis
- strength and conditioning
- training design and program evaluation
- scientific processes for sport scientists.
Complement these 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 the ability to implement systems to optimise opportunities for team success and allow you to develop your support staff as well as your athletes. Importantly, you will get to practise your new skills in simulated and real sports science settings. Just a few examples of these practical learning experiences include:
- 220 hours of professional practice – work at an organisation that matches your career aspirations and see what it’s like to be a leading voice within a high performance team.
- Research projects – work with a supervisory team to produce a critical review of literature that can be published in a journal relevant to your career path – and be ready for entry into a PhD.
- Hands-on access to world-class facilities – study, work and play at our new multi-million dollar Specialised Indoor Exercise and Sport Science Teaching Building and Elite Regional Sports Precinct.
The curriculum is underpinned by science and research. 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 and nutrition fields. This includes specialist researchers within Deakin’s multidisciplinary Centre for Sport Research (CSR) and Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN).
These ties to industry extend to our extensive partnerships. We have a network of over 150 industry connections, including Netball Victoria, Geelong Football Club, Deakin Melbourne Boomers, Cricket Australia, Swimming Australia, Tennis Australia and the Victorian Institute of Sport. This gives our sport science students a big advantage. It means that everything you study is closely linked to the state of the industry. It also gives you the opportunity to learn alongside established professionals, building relationships that shape your career.
The Master of Applied Sport Science is available on our premium online learning platform. This gives you the flexibility to study when and where you want, so you can complete your degree on your terms.
*Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools and Departments 2021, 2022, 2023
^ Australian Government 2018 Occupation Projections
Indicative student workload
As a student in an online course 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 each week. This will include online learning activities and may be inclusive of online discussion boards and seminars. 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 Master of Applied Sport Science, you may be eligible to apply for Associate level 2 ASCA accreditation.
In addition to the theoretical and practical skills gained through units HSE724 Strength and Conditioning for High Performing Athletes and HSE725 Advanced Training Design for Sport, you will need to demonstrate to ASCA that you meet the journal article and practical coaching experience that can be gained through HSE728 Sport Science Literature Review and Application and HSE730 Professional Placement and Development respectively.
For more details and to view the application form, visit ASCA.
Career opportunities
The course prepares you for career growth in the sports science industry. Graduate with a sought-after combination of sports science and managerial skills that set you up for success in roles such as:
- high performance manager
- sports scientist
- strength and conditioning coach
- rehabilitation coach
- sports performance analyst
Looking to become an Accredited Sports Scientist? This course may enable you to meet the study requirements to become a Level 1 or Level 2 Accredited Sports Scientist. Other requirements, such as work experience, may apply. Visit the Exercise & Sports Science Australia website for more details on gaining accreditation.
Accredited Sports Scientists are becoming more and more highly sought after by national and local sporting organisations across the country, with many organisations now choosing to exclusively hire sports scientists with a minimum level 1 accreditation as an Accredited Sports Scientist.
Participation requirements
HSE721, HSE724, HSE725 and HSE726 have on campus intensives. Intensives are typically delivered up to 5 days.
Domestic students must attend HSE721, HSE724 and HSE725 intensives on-campus at Deakin University. HSE726 can be completed on campus at Deakin University or online.
International students must attend HSE724 and HSE725 intensives on campus at Deakin University, Australia or at Universiti Sains Malaysia. HSE721 and HSE726 intensives must be completed either on-campus at Deakin University, Australia or online (video conferencing). International students who wish to complete intensives in person are recommended to attend all intensives in Trimester 3 and refer to the visa information under 'Additional course information' section.
Mandatory student checks
Applicable only to students undertaking practicum unit as an elective. Not mandatory for all students.
Working with Children Check
Applicants will be required to hold a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC) for the relevant state prior to undertaking a optional placement as part of this course. Further information and guidance will be provided to students if they enrol into an optional placement unit. Learn more about the Working with Children Check.
Police record check
Applicants will be required to hold a valid National Police Record Check for any optional placements as part of this course. Further information and guidance will be provided to students if they enrol into an optional placement unit.
Pathways
Students completing the appropriate elective (HSE729) with the appropriate grade (>70%) will be eligible for entry into higher degree by research (i.e., PhD) studies.
Alternative exits
Course Learning Outcomes
| Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes | Course Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities | Apply expert and integrated knowledge of sport science to sport performance related problems and contribute to the development of new knowledge through use of appropriate research principles and methods of sport sciences. |
| Communication | Use appropriate modes of communication to interpret, contextualize and transmit evidence based sport science knowledge to specialist and non- specialist audiences. Create, disseminate, and exchange sport science knowledge with a view to inform and effect change at the individual and organisational level. |
| Digital literacy | Use digital technologies to effectively locate, use, curate and disseminate information and resources relevant to sport science and to connect, engage and share with professional networks and communities. |
| Critical thinking | Critically analyse, reflect on and synthesise complex information, problems, concepts and theories in sport science. |
| Problem solving | Investigate complex sports science problems and respond effectively using an evidence-based framework and a range of sources to identify and define problems, locate, analyse and organise information, and generate and evaluate practical solutions, contributing new insights or understanding. |
| Self-management | Employ high level personal responsibility, accountability and autonomy to demonstrate expert judgement, adaptability to new situations and responsibility as a sport scientist. Plan, implement, evaluate and continually adapt strategies to learn and work effectively, autonomously and responsibly. |
| Teamwork | Establish, contribute to and maintain a key role in collaborative and interdisciplinary relationships, with a range of stakeholders to achieve successful outcomes to advance sport sciences across the broad spectrum of contexts. |
| Global citizenship | Engage in professional and ethical practice that demonstrates a high level of personal autonomy, awareness of, and adaptability to, diverse social, cultural and environmental contexts in sport sciences. |
Course rules
To complete the Master of Applied Sport Science students must pass 12 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:
- DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
- 12 credit points of core units
Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.
Course structure
Core units
Year 1 - Trimester 1
| DAI001 | Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0 credit points) |
| HSE070 | Exercise and Sport Laboratory Safety (0 credit points) |
| HSE720 | Athlete Development and Performance Management |
| HSE722 | Evidence Based Practice for Sport Science |
| HSE724 | Strength and Conditioning for High Performing Athletes ^ |
| HSE726 | Notational Analysis of Sport Performance ^ |
Year 1 - Trimester 2
| HSE723 | Program Evaluation for Sport Science |
| HSE727 | Time and Motion Analysis of Sport Performance |
| HSE728 | Sport Science Literature Review and Application (2 credit points) |
Year 1 - Trimester 3
| HSE721 | Management and Leadership in High Performance Sport ^ |
| HSE725 | Advanced Training Design for Sport ^ |
Plus
| HSE729 | Sport Science Research Project (2 credit points) * |
Or
| HSE730 | Professional Placement and Development (2 credit points) * |
* Unit is offered through start anytime periods - pre-requisites must be met.
^ These units have practical Intensive components. Please refer to ‘Participation requirements’ section for further information.
Students will be able to undertake the research pathway with HSE728 and HSE729 OR the professional pathway with HSE728 and HSE730.
Work experience
Work integrated learning
For those enrolled in HSE730 Professional Placement and Development, a minimum of 220 hours of practical experience in an exercise and sport science work practicum in the final trimester is required.
You have the opportunity to undertake hands-on experience in a variety of sporting environments. These may vary from local, state or national sporting organisations, elite and semi-elite sporting clubs and state and national institutes of sport.
Course duration
Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.
Further information
Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.
- Contact Student Central
Fees and charges
Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or 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.
For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.