Description
This qualification is only available until 31 December 2017.
To claim this qualification, you must complete the required 240 credits by this date.
If you have any questions about your eligibility for this qualification, please contact the Centre for Qualifications and Ceremonies on +44 (0)1908 653003 or by email.
This diploma course will help put you on track for a career in fitness training, sports coaching or management. You’ll develop work-related and academic skills that will enhance your performance and prospects at work – and if you want to carry on with your studies, you’ll be able to top up to our BSc (Hons) degree. As well as increasing your current effectiveness as a coach or exercise instructor, the DipHE in Sport and Fitness will develop your understanding of sports science, training, leadership and management principles. Throughout your studies, you’ll always come back to what matters most – applying science and theory to practice, and meeting the physical and psychological needs of the participant or client. You’ll do this by using case studies and reflecting on real or potential work situations using film, text and online materials. In addition to your OU study, you’ll need to identify and complete a UK-accredited qualification in either coaching or exercise instruction.
The diploma course has been developed in consultation with employers and sector organisations, including the Register of Exercise Professionals and Sports Coach UK, to ensure that the content is relevant to contemporary employment needs.
The first part (Level 1) introduces you to key concepts in both sport and fitness with a strong emphasis on instruction/coaching, and customer focus. It also offers you the opportunity to develop individual work skills and investigate the wider business context in which organisations operate. If you successfully complete the two Level 1 modules, you’ll gain a Certificate of Higher Education in Sport, Fitness and Management (C88).
At Level 2 you will explore: the application of aspects of sports science including a focus on sport and exercise psychology, training/conditioning and exploration of how coaches/instructors learn. There is also a choice of further specialist areas to investigate.
All students will follow the same study material at Level 2 but you will relate your activities to your professional interest, either exercise instruction or coaching.
As part of the Level 2 work-based learning modules Making your coaching certificate count (EXC224) and Making your exercise instruction certificate count (EXF224) (or the discontinued modules EXC223 and EXF223), you will need to identify, enrol and study one of two types of UK-accredited qualification. This can be either:
- an exercise instruction qualification recognised by the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) or
- a coaching qualification from an established sport with a recognised National Governing Body.
This qualification will be submitted as part of the final assessment for the work-based module to demonstrate you have reached an accredited level of instructional/coaching competence. Details of which certificates and levels are acceptable are available here.
If you successfully complete the Level 2 modules (as well as the Level 1 modules), you will be awarded either the Diploma of Higher Education in Sport and Fitness with Exercise Instruction or the Diploma of Higher Education in Sport and Fitness with Coaching, depending on which qualification you have submitted as part of the work-based module.
The diploma course will take between four and six years part-time study to complete and may be ‘topped-up’ to a full degree. By completing a further 120 credits study at Level 3 you can gain the BSc (Hons) Sport, Fitness and Coaching (B76) or the BA or BSc (Open) degree with honours (BD), depending on which modules you choose.
This Diploma of Higher Education will be of particular interest to those living and working in Scotland. The same programme of study is also offered as the Foundation Degree in Sport and Fitness (G10).
Planning your studies
Whether or not you’re new to study with the OU we recommend that you start with a module at Level 1 and that you complete your Level 1 study before going on to Level 2.
For this diploma you may wish to study the knowledge-based module Introduction to sport, fitness and management (E112) (now discontinued) before studying Working and learning in sport and fitness (E113), but this is not essential. You can study the modules in either order.
Entry requirements – The diploma includes a specialist vocational component (work-based learning) that is underpinned by academic study. You do not need experience of working in the sector prior to starting the diploma. But you will find the modules and the assignments much easier and more fulfilling if you can draw on employment experience (paid or unpaid) in the sector during your study.
A range of assessment methods will be used including written assignments, case studies, the collection of evidence and work-based scenarios.
You should note that the University’s unique study rule applies to this qualification. This means that you must include at least 80 credits from OU modules that have not been counted in any other OU qualification that has previously been awarded to you. Before being awarded any intermediate qualifications, we advise you to check that you’ll have sufficient new credits to qualify for your diploma of higher education.
There is a time limit for studying this diploma of higher education. You must obtain the required 240 credits within eight years and have completed your studies by 31 December 2017.
Career relevance and employability
The DipHE in Sport and Fitness is ideal if you want to enhance your prospects in sports coaching, fitness training or the leadership of recreational groups. It’s also valuable if you’re self-employed in the sport and fitness sector, working at sports clubs’ or keen to develop your career in sports management or sports development. Some students use this qualification as a route towards physical education (PE) teaching, although you’ll need to complete an honours degree and subsequent post-graduate training.
Jobs in sport and fitness demand well developed skills for motivating customers; including the communication skills (written, oral and online) needed to enhance good relationships and coaching. This diploma course will boost your career potential and help you develop key skills that are highly valued by employers, including:
- leadership
- empathy with participants
- knowledge of safety and welfare issues
- understanding group and individual psychology
- searching for and presenting information
- use of IT.
Overall, you’ll become a more critically aware leader who can reflect on your own and others’ practice and apply scientific theory to practical situations.
Careers and Employability Services have more information on how OU study can improve your employability.
Modules
For this 240-credit diploma you require:
120 credits from the following compulsory modules:
Level 1 compulsory modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- The discontinued module E112
|
60 |
|
- Working and learning in sport and fitness (E113 )
|
60 |
|
And 120 credits from the following compulsory modules:
Level 2 compulsory modules |
Credits |
Next start |
- Sport and exercise psychology: a case study approach (E233)
|
30 |
|
- Sport and conditioning science into practice (E217)
|
60 |
|
- Making your coaching certificate count (EXC224)
|
30 |
|
- or
-
|
- Making your exercise certificate count (EXF224)
|
30 |
|
Or, at Level 2 the discontinued 90-credit modules EXC223, EXF223 in place of E217 (60) and either EXC224 (30) or EXF224 (30)
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of this qualification are described in four areas:
- Knowledge and understanding
- Cognitive skills
- Practical and professional skills
- Key skills
Read more detailed information about the learning outcomes, and how they are acquired through teaching, learning and assessment methods.
Credit for previous study elsewhere
If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of modules so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.
On completion
On successful completion of the required modules you will be awarded a Diploma of Higher Education in Sport and Fitness with either Exercise Instruction or Coaching, and you will be entitled to use the letters Dip HE (Open) after your name.
You will have the option of attending a degree ceremony.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
How to register
If you want to study for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of
our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the
module you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that module.
During the registration procedure you will be asked to declare which qualification you are studying towards.
See a full list of modules available for this qualification