Sports Science is a very wide field of academics which is slowly coming into prominence in India and abroad. This curriculum can make a sports enthusiast understand the ambit of the course, its applications and finally choose any of the numerous paths that lead to further specialization. This blog talks about a career in sports science and how can one become a sports scientist.
In a country where youngsters get passionate about not only cricket but many other games and bringing in priced medals from international games competition, a subject like sports science has to come forward for good quality of sports and fitness.
What is Sports Science?
Sports Science is a wide topic on sports dealing with the theories and principles to do sports and exercise in the most scientific way. This field of studies is growing every day and it makes way to a career in fitness, leisure-related industries, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. Sports Science aims at covering the following topics
- Physiology: The branch of science that deals with the reaction of the human body to exercise and proper training.
- Biomechanics: Its aims at understanding the causes and effects of muscular movement and the body’s response to exercise equipments.
- Psychology: It aims at studying the human mind in terms of sport and exercise settings. This branch can also give rise to many managerial level and coach level career activities.
How to pursue Sports Science as a career?
The sports science can be studied in some of the selected institutes and universities of India. In your 10+2 level, it is best to have Physics Chemistry and Biology as your subjects as this will keep both the options of pursuing a bachelors in Arts as well as a bachelor’s in Science for the stream of Sports Science.
It is a good option to study your masters abroad as it will increase your exposure to the market and help you contemplate the prospects in a global perspective. However there are institutes in India where you can pursue masters with Bachelor’s pursued in any subject.
Indian Colleges offering Sports science courses
Some of the colleges where you can study Sports Science in India have been enlisted below.
| Serial No. | Names of Colleges | Courses offered |
| 1 | Institute of Sports Science and Technology | Distance program – Diploma in Sports Sciences Diploma in Sports Management, Diploma in Sports and Exercise Psychology, Certificate course in Sports and Exercise Nutrition, Masters Program in Sports Management. |
| 2 | Delhi University, Department of Sports Science | Masters in Physical Education, PhD in Physical Education |
| 3 | University of Mysore | Bachelors in Physical Education, Masters in Physical Education, |
| 4 | Amity University | Bachelors in Physical Education,P.G. Diploma in Sports Psychology, Masters in Physical Education, M Phil in Physical Education, PhD. In Physical Education. |
| 5 | University of Punjab | M. Sc. In Sports Science, M. Phil in Sports Science. |
| 6 | School of Allied Health Sciences Manipal University | M. Sc. In exercise and Sports Science. |
Certificate courses are usually priced within Rs.10000/– Diploma and bachelor courses are priced within Rs. 25000/– and Masters are Priced within Rs. 35000/-. Most courses are low priced for Indian nationals. Universities that collaborated with foreign Universities can charge as high as Rs.1800000/- for an integrated course in Sports Science.
Salary Structure
In India, you cannot afford to move much forward with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Science. The ones with a master’s degree can expect a monthly salary of Rs.50000/. Depending upon what other specialization you do, in terms of management, Psychology, life coach and many more, your salary figure can increase further.
People working as health experts in established sports fields like Cricket and Badminton in India are expected to draw a good salary figure per month going up to Rs. 200000/-.
Career options abroad
If Sports Science is the field you wish to pursue in deep, then probably you need to head towards U.K. In U.K. high profile sports events like Silverstone Motor racing or the world-famous Wimbledon put a lot of emphasis on developing a good infrastructure for the nurturing of sportsman and incubating new talents.
A degree from U.K. is respected worldwide. Depending upon the kind of specialization you do your salaries may range within £18000-£ 35,000 annually. High profile professionals can touch a figure of £60000-£ 100,000 annually. It is a good idea to become a member of The British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences to practice anywhere in U.K. and around the world.
International colleges offering Sports Sciences courses
Some of the well-known colleges abroad, suitable for excelling in Sports Science. have been enlisted below.
| Serial No. | Name of colleges | Courses offered |
| 1 | Nottingham Trent University | Sport and Exercise Science B. Sc. Hons. |
| 2 | University of Leeds | Sport Science and Physiology M. Sc. |
| 3 | Birmingham University-School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences | M.Sc. And PhD. In Sport Science,Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences |
| 4 | University of Edinburgh | Applied Sport Science B. Sc. Hons, M. Sc. Sport Science |
| 5 | University of Durham | B.Sc. Sport Science |
The course fee ranges from £12000-£ 20,000 depending upon the duration of the course and whether it is B.Sc. Program, M Sc. Program or PhD program.
Analysis of career in Sports Science
The idea of Sport Science and the disciplines that are covered under its spread is somehow a bit vague in India. A lot of awareness has to come up to make people encourage and pursue a course in Sports Science.
The amount of money spent on specialization can be way too higher than the salary drawn in India due to a lack of awareness. But in a sport ardent nation, the sports science career is sure to come up in a big way. Be prepared to receive some eyebrows up reaction to the reply “I study Sports Science”, but It will be a highly rewarding career abroad, and in India in the near future.
Call for action
So if you are a spirited sportsman, apart from practicing your sport, you can consider studying this field to give you an overall idea about sports, which has so much to it. Also, shed all your inhibitions while working on the field while performing technical as well as nontechnical jobs to get a good understanding of the field of Sport Science. Many Sports professionals, athletes, and practitioners have said that the study in this field has immensely helped them improve their career as a zealous sportsman.
Hotel management graduate followed by Masters of Sports Management…!!
How do I proceed further with my career during this crisis ?
Hello,
You shall focus on the key skills learned during your courses and during your work, there are some transferable skills that can be used in any industry – communication, people management, ability to work under pressure, managing crises etc. Once you are able to figure out what those skills are, it should not be too difficult to find which jobs require them, and look beyond the two industries you have mentioned which are affected by the current crisis.
I am a commerce student so my question is do these colleges offer sports science courses for students from commerce background??
Hello,
The eligibility criteria may differ as per the University’s requirements. But an important point to note is that most of the Sport Management organizations in India today, don’t make a huge fuss about the type of degree as long as you have the right skills.