Every country has its favourite sports. In the US, football reigns supreme — more than half of Americans consider it their national sport. North of the border, Canada’s love for lacrosse, played by Indigenous communities for nearly a thousand years, remains the national summer sport while hockey, invented in the 1800s, is its winter counterpart.
Behind every athlete and game are professionals who support, study, and advance the industry. University College Dublin (UCD), one of the world’s top 1% universities and the largest English-speaking institution in the EU, opens doors to these exciting career possibilities. Through its School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science (SPHPSS), you can turn your passion for sport into a career that makes a difference.
Competition is strong for UCD SPHPSS undergraduate programmes, which have among the highest entry points in Ireland. Source: University College Dublin
One school, many journeys
At UCD SPHPSS, students from around the world are pursuing its undergraduate and postgraduate sports and exercise programmes. They are designed with students at its heart and backed by research that challenges and inspires.
Curious about how the business of sport works? The three-year BSc Sport & Exercise Management programme prepares you to lead, manage, and grow the industry at home and abroad. Prefer to explore the science behind sports and health? The BSc Sport, Health & Exercise Science programme can set you up for exciting exercise, health, and sports performance careers, while meeting Ireland’s accreditation standards for exercise scientists.
Learning here is immersive and practical. “The core aspects of the course such as individual and group work, critical thinking, and applied case study investigation, gave me the skills to positively transfer my knowledge into real-life sporting environments,” says BSc Sport, Health & Exercise Science graduate Orla Hayes. Partnerships with major sports organisations mean you can take your skills outside of campus too. BSc Sport & Exercise Management graduate Orla Prendergast, for example, “enjoyed the 10-week placement in a sports organisation after second year,” she says.
If you’re already in the industry and want to take your career further, the MSc Sport Management could be your next step. This one-year full-time or two-year part-time master’s is ranked among Europe’s Top 10 by SportBusiness Postgraduate Course Rankings. “The quality of teaching, guest speakers, and diverse modules, combined with engaging field trips, kept the experience dynamic and motivating,” says graduate Liz Rouine.
But sports are just part of what makes UCD SPHPSS special. As a multidisciplinary school, you can study programmes in Physiotherapy, Public Health, Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics, and Occupational Safety & Health too. All programmes are taught by supportive academics and industry professionals. “I am a member of the Irish Women’s Cricket team and had numerous tours and competitions to juggle alongside completing this degree,” says Prendergast. “The staff and lecturers were always extremely helpful and accommodating in ensuring I kept up to date with course lectures and content.”
Known for its academic excellence and modern facilities, UCD is ranked among the Top 100 universities in the world for Sports-Related Subjects (QS World University Rankings 2025). Source: University College Dublin
A campus built for everyone who loves to move
Academics aside, when you walk through UCD’s green campus in Belfield, you’ll quickly notice that sports live at its heart. Students swim in a 50m pool and run along an International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) approved 8-lane athletics track. With 133 hectares of space, you have access to a range of facilities: three full-size synthetic grass pitches, 10 natural grass pitches, UCD Bowl (a rugby union and football stadium), the national hockey stadium, tennis and squash courts, a climbing wall, handball/racquetball alley, 5-A-Side pitches, a fitness centre, state-of-the-art sport and performance laboratories and a High-Performance Gym.
For many, this environment is as much about personal growth as it is about performance. “Sometimes, you need something more refreshing, and it’s really nice to come to a place where everyone has diverse backgrounds, and just kind of explore the other areas of your personality,” says volleyball player Mila Uzelac.
Behind every UCD athlete’s success is a network of world-class support. It’s part of why the school was awarded the Athena Swan Silver Award. The UCD Institute for Sport & Health (ISH), ranked #1 in Ireland, offers everything from fitness assessments and physiotherapy to nutrition guidance and strength training. Then there’s the UCD Ad Astra Elite Athlete programme, which supports 60 top student-athletes with mentoring and financial aid.
It’s this mix of teaching, facilities, and support that helps UCD students go far. “The skills and knowledge I obtained supported me in securing a full-time intern position in Athletic Performance, which I started at the end of my BSc,” says Hayes. “I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in athlete development or sport performance.”
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