Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Health Fitness Management

NFQ Level 8 Major Award Honours Bachelor Degree
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CAO points history
412
Course code
LM105
Duration
4 Years
Fees
See what fees may apply to students
Subject area
Health Sciences
Course Director
Dr Frank Nugent
Email
EHFM@ul.ie
Tel
00 353 61 234844
Admissions:
Tel
+353 (0)61 233755
Queries
Contact the Academic Registry
Apply Now for September

This course qualifies you as a Fitness Professional with a strong portfolio of specialisms including Advanced Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning for Athletes and Teams.

Are you an athlete hoping to combine study and training? If so, you should highly consider this course as UL has a strong history of supporting our student athletes in pursing and excelling in their sport whilst also undertaking academic study at the University of Limerick.  

Why Study Exercise and Health Fitness at UL?

This course qualifies you as a Fitness Professional with a strong portfolio of specialisms which  include  Advanced Personal Training and Strength & Conditioning for Athletes and Teams.

Your final year will be interfaculty with a strong emphasis on business skills with modules including Financial Management, Public Relations and Marketing, Human Resource Management, Multimedia, Health Promotion, Diverse Populations, Event Management and more. This will provide you with strong supervisory and management skills in addition to your exercise and fitness specialisms.

Graduates of our programme are already out in the industry after the 1st year of the programme, working on a part time basis, “learning through doing....” This programme is a very practically applied programme and develops the practical skills in the formative years of the programme, whilst building on  academic and management skills in the later years.

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What you will study

This four year honours degree in Exercise and Health Fitness Management provides you with a broad introduction to a career in the fitness industry. In the first year, you will study a curriculum to qualify as a Fitness Instructor/Gym Instructor.

You will study two core specialisms in Year 2: Advanced Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning for Athletes and Teams.

Advanced Personal Training will provide you with the knowledge and skills to work with clients inside and outside of the gym environment, in their home or elsewhere with any fitness level, with any goal and with the minimal amount of equipment needed. 

The Strength and Conditioning for Athletes and Teams module focuses on training sports teams and athletes in their physical preparation for a season or specific sporting event. You will work on improving their overall performance by ensuring they are in optimal condition to meet the specific demands of their sport. 

The central focus of Year 3  is to move in the direction of business management and higher specialisation whist engaging in your co-operative placement. The modules you will study are Research Skills, Applied Multimedia in Exercise and Fitness and students will complete their co-operative placement which is viewed as an essential part of your professional development.There may be opportunities for Erasmus on this programme.

The Year 4 curriculum offers individuals the opportunity to research, study and practice in the area of Exercise and Health Fitness Management. The previous 3 years provide you with a wide variety of exercise and fitness qualifications and year 4 compliments and strengthens your qualification with a range of business and marketing skills leading to a highly employable graduate.

Lecturers / Tutors delivering on this interfaculty curriculum are from the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, the National Council for Exercise and Fitness, and the Kemmy Business School at UL. Guest lecturers with relevant backgrounds will also present on the programme. Modules include Financial Management, Public Relations and Marketing, Human Resource Management, Multimedia, Health Promotion, Diverse Populations, Event Management and more.

Graduates of the B.Sc. apply their knowledge, skills and competencies to provide direction, leadership and professional expertise at management and promotional levels in the Exercise and Health Fitness sector.

Entry requirements

CAO points history
412
Minimum grades

Applicants are required to hold at the time of enrolment the established Leaving Certificate (or an approved equivalent) with a minimum Two H5 (Higher level) grades and Four O6 (Ordinary level) grades or four H7 (Higher Level) grades. Subjects must include Mathematics, Irish or another language, and English.

Note: Grade F6 in Foundation Mathematics also satisfies the minimum entry requirements. Foundation Maths is not reckonable for scoring purposes.
Additional considerations

Applications are especially welcome from mature students, that is those over the age of 23 on 1 January of the year of entry. Mature applicants must apply through the Central Applications Office (CAO) by 1 February.

Application information for mature student applicants (PDF)

In addition to the minimum entry requirements outlined above, the following QQI Level 5 majors/awards are acceptable in fulfilling entry requirements. Distinctions must include a distinction in one from the list linked to the relevant award as outlined below:

Awards/Majors:

QQI Sports, Recreation and Exercise Level 5 (5M5146)

QQI  Sports, Recreation and Exercise Level 6  (6M5147)

QQI Laboratory Techniques Level 5 (5M3807)

QQI Community Health Services Level 5 (5M4468)
Non-EU Entry Requirements

How to apply

Where are you applying from? How to Apply
Ireland Irish students must apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found here. 
The UK  Students who have completed their A-Levels can apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found on the Academic Registry website. 
The EU EU students can apply to UL via the CAO. More information can be found on the Academic Registry website.
Non-EU country If you are outside of the EU, you can apply for this degree here.

Fees and funding

Student course fees are broken into three components - Student contribution, Student Levy and Tuition Fees.

A number of illustrative examples of fees for this course based on the current fee levels have been set out in the tables below.

An explanation of the components, how to determine status and the criteria involved is provided below the examples as is a list of possible scholarships and funding available.

EU Students with Free fees status in receipt of a SUSI grant

HEA pays Tuition Fees €4,262
SUSI pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€7,362

EU Students with Free fees status not in receipt of a grant

HEA pays Tuition Fees €4,262
Student pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€7,362

Students with EU fee status not in receipt of a grant

Student pays Tuition Fees €4,262
Student pays Student contribution €3,000
Student pays Student Levy €100
€7,362

Non-EU Students

Student pays Tuition Fees €20,900
Student pays Student Levy €100
€21,000

Student course fees are comprised of the following components:

Student Contribution

Annual charge set by the government for all full-time third level students. All students are liable unless they have been approved for a grant by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). Please refer to https://www.studentfinance.ie to determine your eligibility for a grant and for instructions on how to apply. The current student contribution is set at €3000.

Student Levy

All students are liable to pay the Student Levy of €100. Please note the Student Levy is not covered by the SUSI Grant.

Tuition Fees

These are based on Residency, Citizenship, Course requirements.

Review the three groups of criteria to determine your fee status as follows

  1. Residency
    • You must have been living in an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course
  2. Citizenship
    • You must be a citizen of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland or have official refugee status
  3. Course Requirements (all must be met)
    • You must be a first time full-time undergraduate (Exceptions are provided for students who hold a Level 6 or Level 7 qualification and are progressing to a Level 8 course in the same general area of study).
    • You must be undertaking a full-time undergraduate course of at least 2 year’s duration
    • You cannot be undertaking a repeat year of study at the same level unless evidence of exceptional circumstances eg serious illness is provided (in which case this condition may be waived)

Depending on how you meet these criteria your status will be one of the following -

  • Free Fee Status: You satisfy all three categories (1, 2 and 3) and therefore are eligible for the Higher Education Authority’s Free Fees scheme.
  • EU Fee Status: You satisfy both the citizenship and residency criteria but fail to satisfy the course requirements and are liable to EU fees.
  • Non EU Fee Status: You do not meet either the citizenship or residency criteria and are therefore liable to Non EU fees.

More information about fees can be found on the Finance website

These scholarships are available for all courses

Your future career

As an accredited undergraduate programme, this Bachelor of Science degree will allow you to progress in a range of careers in the exercise and fitness industry.

Careers open to you with a degree in Exercise & Health Fitness Management include:

  • Group Fitness Instructor
  • Gym Instructor
  • Advanced Personal Trainer
  • Strength and Conditioning Specialist
  • Fitness Professional and Advisor working on public health initiatives
  • Fitness Facility Management
  • Event management and marketing
  • Entrepreneurial fitness professionals managing a bespoke fitness facility
  • Diverse Populations Specialist

Further Study Options

Student Profile

Daniel Hiam

Daniel Hiam

I joined the first cohort of students on LM105 BSc in Exercise and Health Fitness Management in 2021/22. This course has been a great addition to my previous health and fitness knowledge and has helped me shape the idea of what type of Fitness Professional I want to be.

Throughout the first year, we have had a mixture of theoretical and practical modules, with the emphasis on practical instructing. We have covered Resistance Training, Exercise to Music, Step Aerobics, Body Conditioning and Circuit Training, and after passing our Year 1 exams, we will have the skills and knowledge to instruct these classes in the real world. Even though you would think that these modules and learning how to instruct fitness classes would only benefit you if you have the desire to follow this career path in the future, I believe now that you learn interaction skills with a client whilst both you and they are under the physical stresses of an exercise class. I believe I am much more capable to take on any kind of client in a group or one-to-one setting then I was before doing the practical modules and the first year of LM105.

The theoretical side of 1st Year gives an insight into biology and kinesiology, gym management and overall health and wellbeing. These modules have helped me understand how to cater for my clients needs, understand how bodies react to different stresses and stimuli and how to maintain and improve overall health and wellbeing in all populations, from general populations, older adults, and people with medical conditions, to athletes.