MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine

The M.Sc. i is designed for graduates of medicine and physiotherapy, as well as certified athletic training therapists and sports rehabilitation therapists, who wish to pursue new career opportunities.

This M.Sc. in Sports and Exercise Medicine is delivered full-time and in one academic year. It is comprised of six taught modules (60 ECTS) and a research project (30 ECTS).

All course material will wherever possible be presented by a core instructor group in face-to-face lectures, workshops, seminars, and practical class-based formats on campus for which students are expected to fully attend. In especially the second semester some clinician lead lectures will be delivered online.

All students who complete six taught modules but do not complete the research project according to college calendar timelines will be eligible for an exit award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Sports and Exercise Medicine. To achieve the award of the M.Sc. in Sports and Exercise Medicine, Masters, students must complete all six taught modules (60 ECTS) and the research dissertation (30 ECTS) within a year.

Course Content

In Semester 1, students take three basic science modules:

• Anatomy. Students will enhance their knowledge of musculoskeletal and neuroanatomy through instructor lead pro-section practical classes and personal dissection projects; and, in lectures revisit the organization of the central and peripheral nervous systems concerned with the control of human movement and/or relevant to sports-related injury and assessment.
• Exercise Physiology. Learning focuses on the key systems for sports and physical activity; energy systems, muscle, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems; and whole-body hormonal and homeostatic responses to physical activity, exercise, and training.
• Research Methods. Students will develop the skills necessary to critically evaluate published research, formulate a research question and design a high-quality research project, from initial statistical modelling, ethics application, and power analysis, through data collection, data handling, and statistical analysis; and finally enabling writing of a scientific report worthy of submission as a journal article or critical review. The research methods module runs in parallel and supports the research dissertation component which runs over the entire academic year.

In Semester 2, the focus shifts to clinical and applied aspects of SEM with the following modules: Clinical Sports Medicine; Musculoskeletal Assessment Imaging and Rehabilitation; and Exercise Science.

In these modules, students will develop the necessary entry-level knowledge, core competencies, and skills in musculoskeletal assessment, rehabilitation, and exercise laboratory testing. Modules cover aspects of team and individual athlete care within different sports reflective of the course participants, and physical activity and health in the generally active population or those with chronic disease. Critical thinking skills are developed in instructor-led lead clinical case scenario-based teaching and student-led clinical case presentations and modular seminars review current literature to demonstrate the scope of problems encountered in the day-to-day care of athletes and teams and the physically active of all ages and genders.

This course is designed to produce leaders in sports medicine. Graduates have pursued diverse careers in multi-disciplinary teams within the HSE, and in sport and exercise at all levels.