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Australian Catholic University (ACU)

  • 12% international / 88% domestic

Graduate Certificate in High Performance Sport

  • Graduate Certificate

The high performance sport industry is a global, multi-billion dollar entity that provides employment opportunities for a range of professions, including sport scientists, coaches and managers.

Key details

Degree Type
Graduate Certificate
Duration
1 - 6 months full-time

About this course

The high performance sport industry is a global, multi-billion dollar entity that provides employment opportunities for a range of professions, including sport scientists, coaches and managers.

In Australia, there are employment opportunities in professional and semi-professional sporting teams, Australian and state institutes of sport, academies of sport, and other sporting organisations. These opportunities extend to the international market. At the heart of this industry is the conditioning of the athlete, with the aim of optimising individual and team performance for successful outcomes.

A professional working in this industry needs to know about testing protocols to assess athlete performance, principles of strength and conditioning, and the technologies available for monitoring and training the high performance athlete. They will need to understand the relationships between fatigue, adaptation, performance and injury, how to acquire meaningful performance data, and how to work within the culture of a high performance industry.

The application of this knowledge and understanding to the planning and delivery of meaningful interventions for athletes to enhance performance and reduce the likelihood (and/or duration) of injury and illness, using appropriate techniques of analysis to accurately interpret competition and training information, and using advanced information literacy skills to communicate ideas and outcomes to specialist and non-specialist audiences is essential for a professional working in the high performance sport environment.

Professionals in this area also need to be equipped with problem solving and self-management skills that promote independent learning and thinking and for pursuing further learning if they are to maintain relevance in an industry that is, by definition, fiercely competitive and constantly evolving.

The Graduate Certificate in High Performance Sport aims to help students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to enhance the conditioning of high performance athletes, with the aim of optimising individual and team performance, within the context of a multidisciplinary environment and its culture and leadership structures, and to do so in an ethical manner characterised by a concern for respect, equity and social justice.

Entry requirements

An applicant must also comply with the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.

International students need to meet the English Language Proficiency requirements as defined in the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.

To be eligible for admission to the course, an applicant must have completed:

  1. hold a Bachelor degree or higher in Exercise Science, Sports Science, Human Movement or a related discipline;
    OR
  2. hold a Bachelor degree or higher AND have evidence of relevant industry experience.
    OR
  3. submit a resume alongside their formal application, demonstrating suitability for study and evidence of relevant industry experience and/or prior learning over a sustained period.

If applying as part of the Australian Government's Higher Education Relief Package (2020) initiative, applicants also must:

  • be over 18 years of age at commencement of course
  • be a domestic applicant
  • not be currently enrolled at ACU.

Career pathways

Examples of the types of work settings the course prepares graduates for:

  • Fitness advisor
  • Fitness coach
  • Football or other sport manager
  • High performance manager
  • Performance analyst
  • Professional coach
  • Rehabilitation coach
  • Sports science manager
  • Sports scientist
  • Strength and conditioning coach
  • Team manager