Viewing course details for 2025 year of entry

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Code: PGC61E
Start: September 2025
Fees: £10,700 (UK) £17,100 (INT)
Duration: 1 year full-time
Course Leader: Robert Walsh
Study mode: On campus
Location: Hendon campus
Placement year: No
School / Department: Faculty of Science and Technology

Currently Reading: Course Overview

Unleash your potential with the MSc Sport Rehabilitation and Return to Play program at Middlesex University! Designed exclusively for qualified therapy and performance professionals, this cutting-edge course bridges the gap in higher education by offering advanced training to the experienced professionals in the elite sporting and rehabilitation fields. Enhance your diagnostic, rehabilitation, clinical and leadership skills, and become a sought-after expert in sports medicine. Join us to elevate your career and transform the world of injury rehabilitation and human performance.

Why study MSc Sport Rehabilitation and Return to Play at Middlesex University?

Welcome to Middlesex University, where we offer an exclusive program tailored for qualified therapy professionals and performance experts. This innovative program addresses the need for advanced education across various therapy backgrounds.

Designed for mid to senior-level professionals in the sports industry, our program provides in-depth knowledge and skills in diagnostic, performance, and wellness applications. We strive to enhance the return to play and overall human performance. By exploring cutting-edge approaches in sports medicine, you'll learn to critically analyze and implement evidence-based treatment strategies. Moreover, you'll develop essential leadership skills required in high-performance sports.

At Middlesex University, we emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, empowering you to make unbiased decisions through data analysis. We also equip you with the ability to search for and critically appraise literature to inform your practice. Our key modules cover a wide range of topics, including diagnostics, manual therapy, rehabilitation, wellness, personal development, and research methods.

By joining our program, you'll have the opportunity to become a leader in sport rehabilitation and advance your career to new heights.

Course highlights

Dynamic and practice focused teaching with highly experienced staff
Content developed with leading industry professionals and employability centred.
Linked with industry leading professionals and organisations.
Based at StoneX stadium this pioneering complex has been developed over the past 18 months in partnership with Middlesex University
Saracens Rugby Club and London Borough of Barnet, which has funded the project through a £22.9m

What will you study on the MSc Sport Rehabilitation and Return to Play?

The MSc Sports Rehabilitation and Return to Play program is designed to enhance the skill set and critical reflection of experienced practitioners with a qualified therapy and performance professionals, preparing them to become leaders in sport rehabilitation. The program focuses on diagnostic, therapeutic, programming, and leadership qualities crucial for success in elite sporting organizations.

The course content covers various aspects, including diagnostics in sport performance, manual therapy and restorative input, rehabilitation and return to performance, wellness and recovery, and personal development and reflective practice. These modules provide an in-depth understanding of athlete performance profiling, the application of manual therapies, rehabilitation principles, wellness and recovery strategies, and leadership development.

Throughout the program, students will develop the ability to conduct reliable assessments, interpret diagnostic results, and communicate effectively with coaches and athletes. They will gain expertise in evaluating manual therapy techniques and formulating evidence-based rehabilitation programs. The program also emphasizes critical thinking, self-reflection, and leadership skills necessary for effective practice in a high-performance environment.

By the end of the program, students will possess the knowledge and skills to apply diagnostic procedures, critically analyze research and practice, construct evidence-based rehabilitation programs, apply soft tissue therapies, communicate complex issues effectively, and autonomously design research projects to support evidence-based practice. They will also understand the importance of wellness and recovery in athlete preparation and be capable of interpreting and applying wellness/recovery paradigms in performance sport.

Modules

Here is a brief overview of what you will study each year

This module aims to enhance your understanding of diagnostics and athlete performance profiling, specifically in the context of return to play and risk reduction. As a rehabilitation specialist, it is vital to possess the knowledge and skills necessary to accurately assess an athlete's physical performance, track rehabilitation progress, and determine readiness to return to play. This module will equip you with the critical tools needed to conduct reliable assessments, interpret the results, and communicate their implications effectively to coaches and athletes

The module will emphasize the importance of critical reflection on one's own practice, technical development, and the effective delivery of manual therapy. Students will be expected to demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the strengths and limitations of different manual therapy techniques and to evaluate their effectiveness in treating musculoskeletal conditions.

We aim to delve deeper into the principles of return to play, performance testing, profiling, and programming. Our focus will be on exploring practice guidelines, consensus statements, and evidence-based approaches that underpin the rehabilitation or graduated return to performance. We will discuss the most effective strategies for achieving an accelerated return to play/performance as part of a multidisciplinary team. Additionally, we will learn how to construct and critically evaluate both performance and rehabilitation programs.

To provide an in-depth understanding of athlete wellness and recovery, which have become crucial components of athlete preparation. Students will examine current approaches and methodologies used in athlete monitoring and wellness. They will also engage in critical debates around the effectiveness of fatigue and load management, and how it informs decision making around adaptation, risk, and overload. Through practical application, students will learn to formulate effective wellness and recovery plans to manage athlete loads and facilitate recovery.

Leadership has been shown to be a fundamental factor influencing the performance of sport, this course is intended to develop leadership skills which will have a positive impact on career development and personal growth. Principles and practices of self- development and that of others will be discussed in depth. Management and leadership of performance teams with the goal of empowering others will be discussed in detail.

This module aims to equip students with the relevant knowledge and skills to undertake appropriate research in their subject areas. Students will learn searching strategies to identify relevant literature, how to critically appraise literature and relevant research methods topics such as research design, selecting and using suitable statistical tests appropriate to the subject area. This module will be delivered predominantly through shared and subject-specific online video tutorials allowing students to access a wide variety of resources which will prepare them for undertaking their dissertations. This innovative approach allows students to develop their research methods skills at their own pace with relevant step-by-step videos produced, allowing students to revisit the content at any time. This can be supplemented by traditional seminars and lecturers as deemed appropriate per programme. Students are also assigned an academic advisor which will support the students through their assignments and ensure that they receive appropriate and relevant guidance to successfully complete this module.

To support students to undertake research, with a focus appropriate to their programme and area of practice and building upon the research proposal formulated in research methods . To create a peer learning community for students to critically support each other in the research process. To provide guidance, additional to that provided by the students’ supervisors, on matters of ethical application, research methods, data collection, analysis and writing-up.

Sports Rehabilitation Specification 23/24

Course specification 23/24

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Teaching

You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience.

The programme is taught face to face with online supportive content. A large volume of time is dedicated to developing and fostering applied skills and the ability to justify your chosen thought processes

You'll be based at our Hendon campus, north London.

The assessments are heavily focused on employability and are designed to match the practical, presentation and clinical reasoning type questioning one would encounter when interviewing or working in the sports performance world.

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North London campus

Our north London campus is 23 minutes away by underground train, travelling from London Kings Cross.

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Our facilities

Student support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.

Additional needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work while you study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

Entry Requirements

Standard entry requirements

Students will require an undergraduate degree or UK equivalent in a therapy field such as Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic, Sport Rehabilitation and Sport Therapy with a minimum Lower Second Class and experience working in sport or significant clinical experience. Students with undergraduate science degrees (such as sport science, strength, and conditioning) will be considered based on experience in sport and aptitude.

Additional requirements

Students will be required to complete UK recognised 1st Aid course by the end of the 1st Semester if accepted on the programme.

We welcome students from the UK and all over the world. Join students from over 122 countries and discover why so many international students call our campus home:

Quality teaching with top facilities plus flexible online learning
Welcoming north London campus that's only 30 minutes from central London
Work placements and networking with top London employers
Award-winning career support to get you where you want to go after university.

Qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the accepted qualifications on your country's support page. If you are unsure of the suitability of your qualifications or would like help with your application, please contact your nearest international office.

English language

You will need to meet our English language requirements. And, don’t worry If you don't meet our minimum English language requirements, as we offer a Pre-sessional English course.

Visas

To study with us in the UK, you might need a Student visa. Please check to see if this applies to you.

Fees

The fees below refer to the 2025/26 academic year unless otherwise stated.

UK students*

Full-time students: £10,700
Part-time students: £71 per credit
Part-time students: £35 per dissertation credit

International students*

Full-time students: £17,100
Part-time students: £114 per credit
Part-time students: £57 per dissertation credit

*Course fees are subject to annual inflation so the total costs for part-time study are shown here as a guide.

For more information and to answer your frequently asked questions, please visit our postgraduate funding page.

Course costs

The following course-related costs are included in the fees:

A free electronic textbook for every module
All printing and copying required for your study
Self-service laptops available for loan for a maximum of 24 hours
Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders, digital audio recorders

Scholarships & Bursaries

As an undergraduate alumnus continuing postgraduate studies at Middlesex, you are eligible for an alumni award worth 20% off your fees.

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We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

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Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.

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