Program Overview

If you’re passionate about keeping people moving, understanding biological, social, and cultural influences on the individual person, and are interested in how to improve a person’s psychological and physiological quality of life, this combined degree is for you.

With your interest in sport, exercise and health, this major gives you the opportunity to obtain the knowledge and skills of two complimentary disciplines to broaden your career options. With an increasing focus on the importance of healthy, active lifestyles, exercise science and psychology continue to be growing disciplines within Australia and around the world.

You’ll explore the major fields in psychology including human development, neuroscience, and emotion to gain an understanding of how both nature and nurture shape us as people. You will also become experienced in prescribing exercise, as well as assessing and improving the movement of both athletes the general population.

You’ll develop job-ready skills in analysis, writing, research, communication and teamwork and in your fourth year, you’ll have the opportunity to learn hands on and apply what you’ve learnt within an industry placement. This course is the first step towards becoming a registered psychologist and exercise scientist.

3 reasons to study a combined degree in Sport and Exercise Science and Psychology at Murdoch

• Learn practical skills in purpose built state-of-the-art facilities including an exercise physiology laboratory complete with a climate and altitude chamber, a rehabilitation, strength and conditioning laboratory, and a performance laboratory with a motion capture system and 50-metre running track.
• Put your knowledge and skills to the test in your fourth year through an industry placement in exercise science. You’ll have the chance to gain experience in a range of settings from community gymnasiums to professional sporting teams.
• Benefit from Murdoch’s partnership with the WACA and learn from academics who are actively researching professional sports.

What you’ll learn
Build the knowledge and skills you need to meet your career or study goals. Here are some of the things you’ll learn:

• How people think, plan, remember and make decisions
• The role of motivation and the environment on participation in exercise and health behaviour
• Cardiopulmonary, metabolic and neuromuscular rehabilitation
• Functional human anatomy and biomechanics
• Measurement and manipulation of exercise motor skills
• How psychological skills affect the performance outcomes of (elite) athletes
• Exercise programming and prescription