Bachelor of Sport

By JANINE OGIER

The course Unitec's Bachelor of Sport degree develops the knowledge and understanding of people interested in a career in sport coaching and management.

Graduates can work in coaching and sport training, fitness centre management, sports management, personal fitness training and consultancy, physical education teaching, sports bodies and trusts, sport co-ordination in schools or communities and sports support teams.

The three-year full-time course is studied at Unitec's Carrington Rd campus in Auckland and is a NZQA level seven qualification.

Students develop a broad knowledge of coaching and management in their first year, then choose subjects leading to a major in either discipline for the second and third years. Five courses are tackled each 14-week semester and there are two semesters each year.

Courses include accounting, anatomy and physiology, biomechanics, communication, exercise physiology, human development, sport coaching, sport management, sport nutrition and sport psychology.

Students have 15 hours of study with lecturers each week and are expected to spend another 25 hours working in their own time.

Assessment varies from laboratory practicals, to presentations, case studies, assignments, examinations and delivery of practical activities.

Potential students need to have at least three C passes in New Zealand University Bursaries or equivalent, have gained the Unitec Certificate in Foundation Studies, or be over 20 years of age and able to provide evidence of aptitude or appropriate work or experience.

Prospective students under 20 who have not completed a seventh form year need a maximum of 12 in their best four Sixth Form certificate subjects or equivalent.

The course starts in February and applications for the 40 places are preferred by November but are considered later if places are available. Candidates need to attend an interview.

Fees are $4000-$4500, including GST, depending on which courses are chosen.

What graduates think

Simon Brady, 25

Events manager

SMC Ltd

Auckland

"I was interested in sport throughout school but wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do for a job.

I liked the flexibility of the degree - it gives you a wide scope of career options and opportunities.

In the first year of the degree there are no electives, you do the set programme which is a broad range of subjects, then you get to veer off in the direction you want in the second and third year.

The course had a practical component to it, for example when we did anatomy we spent six weeks at the med school in the cadaver lab.

Also, I did a coaching paper and we went out to a school and took a programme for a month.

A positive thing was they had a lot of people from the industry come in to give lectures and I don't think there is anything more valuable than that if you are proactive in the classroom.

I did a sport management and sport marketing paper and decided it was what I wanted to do.

I did a practicum in the second year with the company I am working with now and ended up doing voluntary work for them during my holidays and breaks, and then another practicum in the third year.

The key to getting a job was doing the practicums."

What employers think


David Mee

Partner

SMC Ltd

Auckland

"As an employer you know the graduates have had some experience in events as part of their course.

We know they get a fairly broad education around the whole sport industry.

Most of the people we have employed from the course have come to us for practicum project work.

Most of the work is learned on the job, to be honest, particularly the sponsorship hunting, the more commercial side which you can't expect them to know at all.

With regards events co-ordination, usually people have been involved in a sport in some organisational role, they are the kind of people who have taken an interest and worked as volunteers on different things.

So they come with a reasonable level of skill in that area and you can give them some projects to do on their own with supervision.

With regards delivery of events, there are aspects that they are very skilled at, purely because they have been involved in their own sport and developed the skills that way."

Bachelor of Sport

Unitec

Phone: 0800 109510



email: courses@unitec.ac.nz

Initial salary: $30,000 to $35,000