Psychological Science of Sport and Exercise BSc Welcome Pack
Welcome to Psychological Science of Sport and Exercise BSc – September 2026.
I am delighted to welcome you to our exciting undergraduate course, the BSc (Hons) Psychological Science of Sport and Exercise. This course focusses on the factors affecting sport, exercise, and physical activity psychology, covering a fascinating range of historical and contemporary topics within the fields. The course has an excellent variety of modules dealing with real-world topics, providing you with opportunities to put many of the theories, approaches, techniques, and methods that you learn about into practise. This course has current accreditation from the British Psychological Society (BPS) and has received the following commendations:
- The BPS team commended the course team for providing outstanding support to their students, which fostered a sense of community.
- The BPS team commended the course team for the use of authentic and innovative assessments to encourage application of knowledge and theory to real-world examples.
You will cover six modules in your first year of study (listed below), three in the first semester and three in the second. Your assessments will enable you to show us how you can apply your learning of psychological science to real-world scenarios in sport and exercise.
All of the modules below have been created with a strong emphasis on active blended learning (ABL), the point of which is to encourage you to engage in and take ownership of your learning. We work hard to accommodate your own ways of learning and are committed to supporting your success for the future
Your first semester (Sept 26 – Jan 27) will involve the following modules:
- SPO1080 – Professional and Academic Skills in Physical Education and Sport (Module Leader – Dr Emma Whewell)
- PSY1003 – Introduction to Psychology (Module Leader – Dr Matthew Hopkins)
- SPO1024 – Introduction to Sport and Exercise Psychology (Module Leader – Dr Rob Lyon)
Your second semester (Feb 27 – May 27) will involve the following modules:
- SPO1051 – Doing Sport and Exercise Psychology in a Digital Age (Module Leader – Mr Scott Gunning)
- SPO1057 – Introduction to Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition (Module Leader – Mr Lee Waters)
- PSY1006 – Becoming A Psychologist (Module Leader – Dr Alasdair Gordon Findlayson)
Your Course Leader
Dr Robert Lyon
Senior Lecturer Exercise and Health Psychology
As your course leader, I am responsible for all aspects of your course, along with the support of your tutors, module leaders, and Personal Academic Tutors (PATs). Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about your course, your teaching schedule, or other broader aspects of studying at university. I am here to help and support your academic journey and your student experience.
Additional staff
- Dr Mairi Mulvenna, Senior Lecturer Sport and Exercise Psychology
- Scott Gunning, Lecturer Sport and Exercise Psychology
- Lee Waters, Senior Lecturer Sport and Exercise Psychology
- Danielle Madden, Graduate Teaching Assistant
- Helen Currums, Sport and Exercise Psychology Course Administrator
You will, of course, see other tutors across your modules, but the tutors above are specifically associated with sport and exercise psychology teaching and support.
Welcome and Induction Sessions
This is your induction timetable with an online session starting on Wednesday 16 September, and in-person sessions starting in Welcome Week from Monday 21 September. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me: Robert.lyon@northampton.ac.uk
We understand that going to university represents a huge change to your life. It can be incredibly exciting but also quite daunting. To support your first steps at UON, we have created an online support session for you to find out what’s what – from where to go on your first days and weeks of study, to where to find the library and other learning resources. This is an excellent opportunity to ask us any nagging questions you may have about the course before you start. The big thing you’ll often hear me say is ‘there’s no such thing as a stupid question, except the one you don’t ask’. So, whatever you need to know, never be afraid to ask.
Wednesday 16 September
Session: Introduction to new students for BSc Psychological Science of Sport and Exercise.
Where to go on your first day, how to read a timetable, how to use NILE, meet the programme leader and teaching team.
- Time: 11am (BST)
- Online Link: Introduction to new students for BSc Psychological Science of Sport and Exercise
Please use the Teams link above to join the session and make sure you arrive on time to avoid missing important information. The session will be recorded for data protection purposes.
Tuesday 22 September
Session: Library Quest
A tour of the library learning facilities at the University.
- Time: 10 – 11:15am (BST)
- Location: Learning Hub, second floor, library desk and seating area, Waterside campus
Your course leader will meet you here at 10am and your LibCal session will begin at 10:15am, lasting approximately an hour. Please arrive in good time.
Session: Meet the Team
Meet the course leader, teaching team, and your Personal Academic Tutor in person, tour of the campus.
- Time: 11:30am (BST)
- Location: Sports lab #3 in the Sport Pavillion, Waterside campus
Your course leader will meet you again after your LibCal session and take you to the labs, where we will continue to introduce the course team and discuss your first weeks at university.
There will be other sport activities to join over the course of the days/week, so make sure you have some kind of fitness clothing if you’d like to join in with these. Further details of these to follow.
Equipment
You are not required to purchase any mandatory kit or textbooks to start this course. All learning resources are provided for you. In addition to this, you will have the option of choosing one of three student perks when you begin your studies – a free laptop, £500 off accommodation, or ‘campus credits’. It’s your choice but the laptop would be our recommendation because of the nature of your study and because your programme requires you to use a variety of academic software.
As with all sport-related courses you may require sportwear for times when you find yourselves in the sports dome or fitness labs. We do offer you a very cool free Nike sport t-shirt, branded to your specific programme, but you can purchase further programme-specific kit from Kit Locker. While purchasing this is not mandatory, we do encourage students to consider an additional pair of tracksuit bottoms/leggings for practical teaching circumstances and for times when you may be representing your course and institution e.g. sporting events, etc.
Enhancing skills, building networks and engaging in the wider University community
In order to enhance your networking and engagement in the wider academic communities relevant to your studies, it would be a great idea to create a number of social network profiles such as LinkedIn and Researchgate. Part of the benefit of this is that you are able to develop contacts with a world-wide range of academics relevant to your field. Many of these post content about the most current research they are involved with, and many of the academics at UON post relevant content they come across that will potentially help your studies.
Developing your network can also help you with finding placement positions, full and part-time jobs, and future employment. Creating your online professional profiles can help your future development in what is a highly competitive field, and I’d encourage you to take every opportunity to give yourselves an edge. We have sport and psychology-specific network groups you can join and I’d encouraged to link in with or follow as many of the tutors on your programme as you can.
