Sport and health studiesYou are interested in sport, but also in health? Then we have good news for you: You can fit both into a degree program just fine. You can combine classic sports science with health science! To help you keep track, this page provides information on study options, study content, admission requirements and career prospects.
Table of contents
– Sports and health studies: Find the right university – Study contents – Requirements – Duration and progression – Study forms – Sports and health studies: The Master – Career and salary
There are numerous bachelor's and master's degree programs in the field of sports in Germany that focus on health ies. With so much to choose from, you'll be spoiled for choice:
Active sports or rather working out from your office chair? The range of studies in the field of sport. Health allows both. With the appropriate degree, you can work as a therapist and consultant, but also in the marketing department of a company in the sports business or health care. So it's especially important to take a close look at the different study options beforehand.
In most cases, the names of the courses of study already reveal which aspects are in the foreground in terms of content and which career paths can be pursued with them. If Sports Science is part of the course title, you can ame that you will have to go to the sports field yourself during your studies. In that case you study sports science with a special focus on health aspects, for example prevention, health promotion or diagnostics. Study based on business administration. The contents are particularly tailored to the health service. And then there are a number of study programs that deal with individual aspects of health, for example Nutrition or with sociological ies, that affect the health system, like the aging of society. You see – in the field of sport. Health there are many study possibilities. So there is something for every career aspiration!
Study tip
Study sports science in a dual program; the dba in Baunatal is the first university of cooperative education in Germany to offer this option. Particularly noteworthy is the very high practical part of the training. Over 40% practical modules have already convinced numerous students and training companies.
All information about the sport and health study
– Basic information – Suitable universities
Study contents
Due to the variety of study directions in the field of sports and health, we try to list the most important study contents of the bachelor study programs in the field of sports and health here. Depending on the course of study, the focus shifts. You will definitely not always learn everything! However, the basics of sports science, exercise science and training science always form the basis of sports degree programs with the focus on prevention and therapy dar.
The following contents are part of it resp. complement them:
– Sports medicine basics – anatomy and physiology – sports medicine diagnostics – performance diagnostics – chemistry, biochemistry – performance physiology, biomechanics – intervention through sports, sports therapy – prevention and secondary prevention – training evaluation – sports nutrition, nutrition physiology – sports sociology, Sociology of Sport, Pedagogy of Sport, History of Sport – Health Sport with Children, People with Disabilities, Elderly – Workplace and Public Health Promotion – Sport Practice – Sport Theory – Key Competencies, such as Interviewing, Communication and Behavioral Training – Research Methods
In sports study programs, which are explicitly dedicated to the
Health management you will also learn how to.a.:
– Fundamentals of Business Administration – Financing, Accounting – Statistics – Human Resource Management and Organization – Health Management
The spectrum of possible study contents is therefore huge. Exactly which contents are taught depends on the respective university. Inform yourself well before applying so that you end up in the most suitable study program for you!
Active Sports in Sport and Health Bachelor
In almost all sports courses with a health focus, you will be sweating on the sports field yourself. The practice of various sports is therefore part of the study program. The only exceptions are courses that have a clear management focus and thus prepare students for careers in the healthcare sector without practical sports experience.
Suitable universities for sports& Health
Bachelor full-time& dual
Master& MBA full-time& dual
– distance learning& Part-time attendance study Bachelor
universities
– distance& Part-time attendance study Master/MBA
Universities
Requirements
Formal prerequisites
For the admission to the sport/health bachelor you need first of all the University admissions. You will have these if you have successfully completed the Abitur, i.e. the general university entrance qualification. The Fachgebundene Hochschulreife or the Fachhochschulreife (Fachabi) are usually also recognized.
Many universities are opening up more and more for access Without a high school diploma. In this case, the special aptitude must be proven, for example by first practical activities in the field of study or an aptitude test.
Numerus Clausus (NC)
As soon as there are more applicants for a degree program than available study places, a local Admission restriction added. What does that mean? Each semester, only applicants with a certain grade point average are admitted – the NC. This is different every semester. Furthermore, the number of waiting semesters can also be helpful for admission. If you want to know more about NC and waiting semesters, then take a look at our article NC in sports studies. If you are in a hurry, take a look at the following overview to see how high the grade point average has been recently:
Examples: NC in sports health study
Study program
admission according to grade (semester of waiting)
Admission after waiting semester (grade)
Sport and health in prevention and therapy
Exercise and health
Prevention, rehabilitation and fitness sports
All applicants were admitted.
Sport Science (focus: health and movement pedagogy)
Sports aptitude test
If you want to guide others in sports, you must be athletic yourself and have good skills in several sports have. Thus, applicants for a sports science degree must pass a sports aptitude test. This is usually offered twice a year. Takes place several weeks before the application deadline. If you miss the deadline, you are out of luck and have to wait one semester. So it's better not to dawdle and to prepare adequately, because the test is not easy. Which sports are tested and what exactly you have to achieve, we tell you in the sports aptitude test section.
Personal requirements
Besides being active in sports, having fun with people is an important key qualification. Communication skills and empathy are especially important for contact with customers and patients. An interest in mathematical-scientific subjects should also be given, since in the course of the study there are always interfaces to biology, mechanics and medicine. Those with a talent for English will also have an easier time: Many health science texts are written in English.
Duration and course
Until the bachelor degree you usually need six semesters. Individual reasons can also extend the study period: An additional internship, a semester abroad, a time-consuming part-time job or own private projects belong to it, for example.
Regardless of the chosen field of study, in the first semesters you will first learn the basics of your subject. These are successively deepened and extended in the further course of study.
Because pure theory often doesn't get you very far, an internship is now an integral part of a bachelor's degree at almost all universities. In a period of six weeks to six months (depending on the requirements of the university or. your own ambitions) you should practically apply what you have learned in theory in a company from the sports and health sector and gain insight through professionals. If you're lucky, you'll already make connections here first important contacts for the professional future. The choice of employer should therefore not be made lightly. Shorter internships can be completed during the semester break, longer internships can take up an entire semester.
Bachelor thesis
You write your Bachelor's thesis in the last semester of your studies. In consultation with lecturers, you choose a topic that particularly interests you. With the bachelor thesis you should show that you are able to deal scientifically with a sport and health relevant topic. With the submission you acquire the academic degree of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) or Bachelor of Arts (B.A.).
Forms of study
Most bachelor's degree programs in the field of sport and health are offered in Full-time offered. This means nothing else than that your studies are your main task and that you fully concentrate on them (besides a possible part-time job).
If you are already employed and want to qualify for new tasks with a bachelor's degree in the field of sports and health, you will even find the opportunity to complete the degree in Part-time to acquire. More and more universities are responding to the demand for part-time courses and are offering this form of study.
Sports and Health Studies: The Master
A master's degree is designed to deepen the knowledge acquired in a bachelor's degree, to specialize and to qualify for management positions. So it is not surprising that management skills and aspects of business administration take up a larger part in almost all sports and health master's programs.
These include, for example:
– Strategic management – Health management, -economics – Operational health management – Sport management, -economics – Event management and marketing in the sport and health sector – Quality management – Sport as a service – Sport and health communication – Business start-up – Social skills: communication, leadership, time management, work organization
Depending on the predefined and individual focus of the studies, there are other subjects To be added, such as:
– rehabilitation sciences – diagnostics – biochemistry – concepts and determinants of health – measuring and assessing health – diseases of different kinds and their therapy: internal, neurological, psychiatric-somatic, orthopedic – bioscientific basics – interventions: coordinative and conditional requirements – exercise in old age – nutritional medicine, nutritional physiology, human nutrition – pathophysiology and pathogenesis – sports psychology – evaluation and assessment procedures – research methods
Emphasis
These contents listed here are of course not the subject of every Sport and Health Master's degree. Just as with the bachelor's degree, it all depends on what goals are being pursued with the degree: Do you want to work as a therapist or consultant, or would you prefer a management position in a health care facility or company?? Each master is individual. Offers different perspectives.
Active sports in the sports and health master
Active sports are a fixed part of the curriculum of only a small number of sports master's degree programs with a health component. This is generally the case when therapeutic exercises be imparted. However, many study programs concentrate on business management ies in the master's program.
Requirements
Formal requirements
In order to be admitted to a master's program in the field of sport and health, you must have completed a first degree, i.e. a Bachelor's degree or equivalent, must be proven. Ideally, it is a thematically related degree program. A bachelor's degree in sports science most often meets the requirements for a subsequent master's degree in sports with a health focus.
However, admission often works out with another sports degree as well. In some cases, students simply have to prove that they have earned a fixed number of credit points in certain subjects. If this is not the case, there is sometimes even the possibility to obtain these achievements through Additional courses to be made up.
Other requirements
The field of study described here is predominantly covered by state universities Offered. But there are also private institutions that train in the field of sports and health. Private universities have their own selection procedures, which, for example, require a letter of motivation, conduct their own test and/or invite students to a personal interview. You can find out exactly what this looks like in the article Applying for a sports degree program.
One's own athleticism is not necessary in every aspired profession, but it is indispensable in all therapeutic fields. Those who can relate well to others, are empathetic and patient, fulfill two other important personal characteristics. In addition to other social skills, such as a certain assertiveness and a talent for communication, an analytical mindset is a good prerequisite for management positions. Mathematics should not be foreign to you and a feeling for organization and clarity will help you both in your studies and later in your job.
Duration and progression
Most master's programs are limited to four semesters created. Since master's students already have basic knowledge of their subject and the master's program is much shorter in time than a bachelor's program, it goes into depth right at the beginning of the program: At most in the first semester, the most important basics are covered again. In the second and third semesters, the main focus is on acquiring specialized knowledge.
Internship
A mandatory internship in a company corresponding to the study focus, for example in health management, in the field of therapy and prevention or in sports and health marketing, is partly required in the Master. If no internship is required, it is of course possible to complete one voluntarily during the lecture-free period in order to gain important experience shortly before the end of the degree program, which will look good on your resume.
Master thesis
The master thesis is written in the last semester. With this you can prove that you are able to deal scientifically with a special topic of the sports and health industry. With the successful submission of the academic degree Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Master of Arts (M.A.) awarded.
Forms of study
In addition to the normal Full-time study, the most common form of study for a master's degree in sports and health care, some universities also offer a master's degree with the Master of Business Administration (MBA) at. This is aimed primarily at professionals who have already been working in a relevant field for several years, for example in health management or sports management, and who want to qualify for top-level management positions.
Alternatively, working professionals have the option of earning a master's degree through a Distance learning to acquire. This form of study has the advantage that you acquire most of your knowledge through self-study and only rarely have to attend compulsory attendance events.
Career and salary
The career path you choose after graduation depends in particular on the focus of your studies. With the right major, you can become a therapist, a gym manager, a product manager in sales, or consult to businesses in health promotion. This opens up a wide range of career prospects with different tasks:
Therapeutic tasks can be found in therapy practices and centers, rehabilitation clinics, hospitals, wellness and fitness studios. You diagnose diseases, treat patients of all ages and carry out preventive measures.
Business management tasks with and without management responsibility, you will find yourself, for example, as a project manager for health insurance companies or as a product manager for companies that develop and sell sports and health products. Consulting activities You can work as a sports psychologist for athletes, in sports education in educational institutions or in corporate health management to develop concepts that promote and improve the health of employees and successfully reintegrate sick employees after a long period of absence.
Managerial functions You can find a career as a location manager of a therapy practice, as a sports director of a club or in the top management level of a company. Of course, setting up a business is also an option, and one that is particularly sought after by Master's graduates.
Research activities are carried out at universities themselves, but also in companies that develop new products.
We describe specific careers in the field of health and prevention in more detail on the page Careers in Health and Prevention. There you will learn u.a., What exactly a medical product consultant, a project manager in health promotion or a sports therapist does.
Salary
The salary structure is as varied as the career prospects are diverse. In general, the salary prospects in the healthcare sector look average. What does that mean? Nothing other than that you can usually make a good living from the money. However, if you have a luxurious lifestyle in mind, you will quickly find that the really well-paid positions are rather scarce. There helps only the step into the independence, which – if it runs successfully – also on the account becomes noticeable.
Factors that determine the content
The following aspects are considered to be influencing factors when it comes to salary. Note, however, that nothing is set in stone: a master's degree does not always lead to a higher salary than a bachelor's degree, and careers can also be made in small and medium-sized companies. Sports development-. Health Industry. Thus, salary data of graduated sports therapists are not yet available in a meaningful amount. However, it can be amed that the salary level of sports therapists who have completed a sports science degree with a focus on prevention and therapy is in the same range as that of graduated physiotherapists. The diploma degrees listed here are comparable to bachelor's degrees.