Sport – Integrated Foundation Year Welcome Pack
Welcome to Integrated Foundation Sport pathway 2026.
Congratulations on receiving an offer to study with us. The information provided below will give you a brief insight into the degree you’ve chosen to study, and what to expect for the year.
We are really excited to offer this sport specific foundation year that has been developed to provide you with the skills required to thrive in your degree, developed by lecturers who are highly experienced teaching on the sport degree pathways.
The course blends theory with real-world application, covering a range of topics tailored to your degree choice, with lots of hands-on learning in our state-of-the-art labs.
Your year is structured in the following way:
Semester 1:
- Foundations in Sport (Matt Carpenter, Lee Waters)
- Professional and Academic Skills for University Study (Matt Carpenter, Lee Waters)
Semester 2:
- Applied Learning Project: (Matt Carpenter, Dr Mairi Mulvenna)
- Professional and Academic Skills for University Study (Matt Carpenter, Dr Mairi Mulvenna)
Course leader
James White
Senior Lecturer in Sociology
Your course leader has an overview of the running of the course and can offer guidance and support throughout the year.
Additional staff
- Matt Carpenter, Lecturer in Sport, Exercise and Health
- Mairi Mulvenna, Senior Lecturer in Sport Psychology
- Lee Waters, Senior Lecturer in Sport Psychology
In preparation for your course starting in September, we hold an online session beforehand so you can meet your Academic Team and other students studying the same course. These will be held on 16 September at 10am, If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Matt Carpenter: Matt.carpenter@northampton.ac.uk.
Wednesday 16 September
Session: Integrated Foundation Year (Sport) – New Starters
- Time: 10-11am
- Location: Online
- Link: TBC
Saturday 19 September – Sunday 4 October
Welcome Week activities
From karaoke to movie nights, wellbeing walks to craft brunch, and our immersive event ‘The Rise and Fall of Lazarus Kane’ – there’s something suitable for everyone. See our Welcome Week activities to find out more.
When you arrive at the University of Northampton, there’s plenty to get involved with during Welcome Week. However, there are specific sessions taking place as part of your course induction that’ll help you settle in and prepare for teaching to start the following week.
Our Sport welcome will happen on Tuesday 22 September. This will begin with a library quest. So we will meet at the Drop-In Area on the 2nd floor of the Learning Hub. So please look out for me at the Drop-in Area. I will walk from the sports labs to the drop in area and get there for 10:45am, so you can arrive nice and early and prevent any last minute rushing.
After this, we will head into the sports labs where I will give you a full introduction and welcome, before going through a tour of the university. This second part will happen at the location below:
Tuesday 22 September
Session:Welcome Session
- Time: 11am – 3:30pm
- 11am-12:30pm – Library Quest – Drop in area on the 2nd floor of Learning Hub, Waterside Campus
- 1 – 2:30pm – Sport welcome session – SZ lab 1, Sports Zone
- 2:30-3:30pm – University Tour
Preparation and Pre-Arrival tasks
We recommend that you create a LinkedIn profile and join our University of Northampton Sports Network as this can help you with placement positions, jobs and future employment. We regularly share information and extra-curricular opportunities here.
It is not compulsory, but it will help. You will need to provide a profile picture on your account and a title explaining that you are Northampton University Student (including the course you’re enrolled on). You can then join the group.
In addition, we recommend that you search and find the following tutors – Lee Waters, Matt Carpenter and Mairi Mulvenna on LinkedIn to kick start this journey!
Equipment & Uniform
Students are not required to buy any mandatory kit or textbooks to start this course.
Since this is a very hand on, practical course, you will require sportswear for many of the modules. We’ll kick things off by giving you your very own course-branded t-shirt—perfect for all the hands-on, practical sessions you’ll experience in our labs and sports facilities.
You can grab extra branded gear from Kit Locker, but it’s totally up to you. We do recommend having an extra pair of tracksuit bottoms or leggings, especially for work placements or when representing our course at events.
Bonus Perks: At the start of your first term, you could choose from awesome welcome offers—like a free laptop or £500 off halls accommodation. We strongly suggest picking the laptop, since you’ll use it throughout your degree for everything from research to running specific software.
