Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Movement Sciences
The term ‘movement sciences’ contains the core of our study programme: an in-depth academic-scientific study of movement. Multidisciplinary in nature, the programme studies the human in motion from different perspectives.
What
For whom
Choosing the Physical Education and Movement Sciences programme means opting for a multidisciplinary study of the human in motion from different angles. The curriculum contains an equal set of physical activity and science course units.
Being in good physical shape and having experience with a broad range of sports branches is an asset.
The scientific component of the programme also requires a sound prior knowledge of chemistry and physics. The theoretical course units combined with many hours of sports activities also demand a healthy dose of perseverance.
Structure
- Bachelor
The Bachelor’s curriculum contains a fair number of biomedical and natural science course units. In combination with a broad range of life sciences, they make for a balanced curriculum. You will become intimately acquainted with the practice, theory and methodology of a wide range of sports activities. In each year of the programme, this amounts to eight hours per week. In addition to individual sports activities (athletics, swimming), we also offer interactive (football, handball, basketball and volleyball) and artistic sports activities (gymnastics, dance).
The first two years of the Bachelor’s curriculum focus mainly on a technical and tactical basic training in the various disciplines. The second year also contains a winter sport work placement. The last year of the Bachelor’s curriculum focuses on how to convey the basic skills you have acquired to others in a careful, systematic and didactic manner.
- Master
The Master of Physical Education and Movement Sciences focuses on in-depth research and professional competencies. Your acquired research competencies culminate in a Master’s dissertation. You acquire your professional competencies mainly by means of work placements. The three main subjects differ in their in-depth and specialised set of course units and two extensive main subject-specific work placements.
The Sports Training and Coaching main subject allows for a specialisation in a specific sports branch in order to obtain the highest possible degree as a licensed trainer, or for a specialisation as general (elite) sports coach.
With the Sports Policy and Sports Management main subject you become well-prepared for positions in policy and management of sports organisations like e.g. sports federations, sports clubs, and municipal as well as private sports centres.
If the current social trend related to physical activity and fitness in a health context appeals to you, then our main subject on Physical Activity, Fitness and Health is the right option for you. It focuses on movement coaching of specific target groups as well as fitness coaching, in fitness centres and beyond.
A Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Movement Sciences also gives access to other Master programmes than the ones mentioned here. Please take a look at the tab “Postgraduate Studies”.
Labour Market
In the past, a degree in Physical Education and Movement Sciences mainly resulted in a teaching job. Nowadays, however, the labour market has widened to include jobs that are typical of the increasingly professionalised world of sports, as well as the recreation and leisure sectors. Examples are: sports officials in municipal sports centres, managers of private sports and recreation centres, PhysEd teacher-animators in holiday resorts or large companies; trainers at sports clubs or sports associations, commercial positions in companies focusing on sports-related products.
A considerable number of our graduates continue in movement science research. Many of them find employment in the business world (ergonomics, commercial positions, ...).
Even in positions that are not at first sight a logical continuation of the programme, our graduates are appreciated for their academic training, their perseverance, their flexibility and their social skills. The assets described above make for graduates who can take on responsibilities individually or in a team, and who are able to communicate appropriately in a multidisciplinary and broad social context.
Consult our brochure on career possibilities(in Dutch).
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Commitment and enthusiasm: our programme boasts a closely-knit team of lecturers, (doctoral) assistants and support staff who operate from a great sense of collegiality and an intrinsic interest to educate young people.
- Curriculum: we have thoroughly revised our curriculum in the context of our transition from a one-year to a two-year Master’s programme. In the new curriculum there is more time for the Master's dissertation and the work placement, the four main subjects have been elaborated, and there is more room for international exchange.
- Research and education: opting for our study programme means opting for a curriculum in which sports practice is combined with a solid scientific foundation. From the first year onwards, our students learn to set up and carry out research assignments on their own in a step-by-step manner. This culminates in the Master's dissertation in the fourth and fifth year.
- Infrastructure: our students can count on education that is embedded in an excellent infrastructure. In addition to our own sports accommodations and the state-of-the-art Jacques Rogge Sports Science Laboratory, students are also welcome at our partners (the Flanders Sports Hall, the Bleau climbing hall).
- Talent development: our programme places great store by clear communication on who we are and what we do vis-à-vis prospective students. We offer a highly exhaustive set of support and coaching initiatives, both for students who need help as well as for students who need additional challenges.
Strengths
- Commitment and enthusiasm: we welcome students into a programme that boasts a closely-knit team of committed and enthusiastic lecturers with a passion for education.
- Research-based education: opting for our study programme equals opting for premium-quality education based on state-of-the-art academic research. There is a strong link between the course units in our curriculum and our lecturers’ research expertise.
- Participation and involvement: we invest in the participation of all our stakeholders, among whom students play an important role as do our alumni and future employers. In addition, we enjoy the support of (faculty) advisory committees in the day-to-day management of the programme.
- Assessment: we promote assessment based on clear and reliable agreements (on assessment) so that students know what to expect well in advance.
- Quality assurance takes centre stage in our study programme. We boast a long tradition of internal quality assurance, of which we still bear the fruits today.
Challenges
- Internationalization: only a few students embark on international exchange during their studies. We do our utmost to keep study-abroad experiences as low-threshold as possible for our students. Long-term study-abroad experiences are possible via the usual Erasmus scholarships. In addition, we have our own funding for short-term exchange initiatives. We are currently weighing our options to introduce a partly English-taught Master’s curriculum.
- Feedback and approachability: it is important to us that our students are fully involved in their education. We try to achieve this by means of a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, we encourage our lecturers to give sufficient (content-related) feedback on (written) assignments, during and after the writing process. On the other hand, we want to encourage our students to make use of the various existing feedback opportunities, and to emphasize our lecturers’ approachability.
- Career perspectives: our study programme does not automatically lead up to a career as a PhysEd teacher. This is a fallacy we want to counter together with the other Flemish Physical Education and Movement Sciences programmes. Our curriculum offers an academic training, in which sports practice is founded on a solid basic-scientific approach. A Master’s degree in Physical Education and Movement Sciences gives access to various career paths in the business world (fitness, management, tourism), as well as in the public sector (Flanders Sports, municipal and provincial sports departments).
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.