Graduate Certificate in High Performance Sport

Examples of the types of work settings the course prepares graduates for:

• Sports scientist
• High performance manager
• Strength and conditioning coach
• Professional coach
• Fitness coach
• Rehabilitation coach
• Performance analyst
• Fitness advisor
• Sports science manager
• Football or other sport manager
• Team manager

Higher education

To be eligible for admission to the course, an applicant must:

• hold a Bachelor degree or higher in Exercise Science, Sports Science, Human Movement or a related discipline

OR

• hold a Bachelor degree or higher AND have evidence of relevant industry experience

OR

• submit a resume alongside a formal application, demonstrating suitability for study and evidence of relevant industry experience and/or prior learning over a sustained period.

Work and Life

An applicant must comply with the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.

Students who do not hold a Bachelor degree or higher in Exercise Science, Sports Science, Human Movement or a related discipline may apply if they:

• hold a Bachelor degree or higher AND have evidence of relevant industry experience.

OR

• submit a resume alongside a formal application, demonstrating suitability for study and evidence of relevant industry experience and/or prior learning over a sustained period.

English Proficiency Requirements

Students must meet English Language requirements as follows:

• IELTS: Overall score 6.5, Individual score of 6.0 in all test
•  PTE: 58 with a minimum of 50 in all four communicative skills
•  TOEFL: Internet based total of 79: minimum 21 in writing, 18 in speaking, 13 in reading and 12 in listening
•   ACU English Language Test: B (65-74%)
•   CAE: Overall CAE of 176, Minimum individual score of 169 in all tests

ACU will consider requests for advanced standing based on prior studies to a maximum equivalence of 2 subjects (or 20cp).

For further information see https://www.acu.edu.au/study-at-acu/credit-and-prior-learning. 

The high performance sport industry is a global, multi-billion dollar entity that provides employment opportunities for a range of professions, including sport scientists, coaches and managers. In Australia, there are employment opportunities in professional and semi-professional sporting teams, Australian and state institutes of sport, academies of sport, and other sporting organisations. These opportunities extend to the international market. At the heart of this industry is the conditioning of the athlete, with the aim of optimising individual and team performance for successful outcomes. A professional working in this industry needs to know about testing protocols to assess athlete performance, principles of strength and conditioning, and the technologies available for monitoring and training the high performance athlete. They will need to understand the relationships between fatigue, adaptation, performance and injury, how to acquire meaningful performance data, and how to work within the culture of a high performance industry. The application of this knowledge and understanding to the planning and delivery of meaningful interventions for athletes to enhance performance and reduce the likelihood (and/or duration) of injury and illness, using appropriate techniques of analysis to accurately interpret competition and training information, and using advanced information literacy skills to communicate ideas and outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences is essential for a professional working in the high performance sport environment. Professionals in this area also need to be equipped with problem solving and self-management skills that promote independent learning and thinking and for pursuing further learning if they are to maintain relevance in an industry that is, by definition, fiercely competitive and constantly evolving.

The Graduate Certificate in High Performance Sport aims to help students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to enhance the conditioning of high performance athletes, with the aim of optimising individual and team performance, within the context of a multidisciplinary environment and its culture and leadership structures, and to do so in an ethical manner characterised by a concern for respect, equity and social justice.

The Graduate Certificate in High Performance Sport will provide career and industry relevant knowledge and skills. The degree is delivered online, with a single intensive on-campus component for hands-on practical experience and for networking opportunities. Its curriculum will provide knowledge and skills immediately applicable to the employment situations of the students, thereby having a focus of developing an applied skill base in each student.

Recommended Study Pattern

Students are required to follow the pattern of unit enrolment set out in the relevant Course Enrolment Guide, unless otherwise approved by the Course Coordinator. In all aspects of progress through the course, students will be advised by the Course Coordinator.

For this course students are allowed to enrol in up to 4 subjects per study term. To enrol in more than 3 subjects please contact us.

To qualify for the degree, a student must complete a total of 4 subjects, comprising four of the Coursework Units below. These units are to be selected as stipulated in the Course Enrolment Guide and/or in consultation with the

Course Coordinator, and must include:

Strength and Conditioning for the High Performance Athlete

and

Data Analysis and Interpretation for High Performance Sport.

Specified Unit Offerings include:

• Strength and Conditioning for Performance and Rehabilitation
• Leadership and Culture in High Performance Settings
• Data Analysis and Interpretation for High Performance Sport
• Fatigue, Recovery, Adaptation and Performance
• Sports Injury Prevention
• Performance Nutrition 

Award Requirements

Completion of 4 subjects from the Specified Units in the Graduate Certificate in High Performance Sport

Submission of Application to Course Complete form to ACU