Sports & Exercise Medicine

Course Overview

The aim of this programme is to allow participants to commence entry level training or further their career progression in sports and exercise medicine by enhancing basic background knowledge in anatomy, exercise physiology and, sports and exercise medicine and science . The course will also help to develop high quality research, practical and critical thinking skills in musculoskeletal assessment, rehabilitation, exercise testing and prescription in health and disease.



Is This Course For Me?

The M.Sc. i is designed for graduates from medicine and physiotherapy, as well as certified athletic training therapists and sports rehabilitation therapists, who wish to pursue new career opportunities.



Course Structure

This M.Sc. in Sports and Exercise Medicine is delivered full-time and in one academic year. It is comprised of six taught modules (60 ECTS) and a research project (30 ECTS).



All course material will wherever possible be presented by a core instructor group in face-to-face lecture, workshop, seminars and practical class-based formats on campus for which students are expected to fully attend. In especially the second semester some clinician lead lectures will be delivered online.



All students who complete six taught modules but do not complete the research project according to college calendar timelines will be eligible for an exit award of Postgraduate Diploma in Sports and Exercise Medicine. In order to achieve the award of the M.Sc. in Sports and Exercise Medicine, Masters, students must complete all six taught modules (60 ECTS) and the research dissertation (30 ECTS) within a year.

In Semester 1, students take three basic science modules; Musculoskeletal Anatomy, Exercise Physiology and Research Methods.



In Musculoskeletal Anatomy students will enhance their knowledge through human donor dissection based practical classes, student seminar presentations on joint anatomy and clinical anatomy relevant to sports injury.



In the Exercise Physiology module learning focuses on the key systems for sports and physical activity; energy systems, muscle, cardiorespiratory systems and whole-body hormonal and homeostatic responses to physical activity during exercise and training, as well as under environmental extremes.



In Research Methods students will develop skills necessary to critically evaluate published research, formulate a research question and design a high-quality research project, from initial statistical modelling, ethics application, and power analysis, through data collection, data handling, and statistical analysis; and finally enabling writing of a scientific report worthy of submission as a journal article or critical review. The research methods module runs in parallel and supports the research dissertation component which runs over the entire academic year.



In Semester 2, the focus shifts to clinical and applied aspects of SEM with the following modules: Clinical Sports Medicine; Musculoskeletal Assessment Imaging and Rehabilitation; and Exercise Science.



In these modules, students will develop necessary entry level knowledge and develop practical core competencies related to sports medicine, musculoskeletal assessment skills, basic interpretation of clinical images, and formulate rehabilitation plans and exercise prescription in health and disease. Modules will cover aspects of team and individual athlete care within different sports, and physical activity and health in the generally active population or those with chronic disease. Critical thinking skills are developed in instructor lead clinical case scenario-based teaching and student led clinical case presentations and modular seminars review current literature to demonstrate the scope of problems encountered in day-to-day care of athletes and teams, and the physically active of all ages and gender.

Admission Requirements

• The programme is open to graduates from medicine and physiotherapy. There are a limited number of places on offer to certified athletic training therapists (Ireland, the USA and Canada only) and sports rehabilitation therapists (UK or UK accredited courses in Ireland).

• UK and EU Applicants require an NFQ Level-8 degree at an upper second-class (2.1) honours or equivalent and applicants with post-graduate clinical experience and especially health service provision to athletes and teams will be prioritised.

• Non-EU applicants require a first-class honours degree, preferably with 1st class honours in all undergraduate years; and, show evidence of at least 2 years post-graduate clinical experience in musculoskeletal injury and applicants who show health service provision to athletes and teams will be prioritised.

• Non-EU medical and physiotherapy applicants must especially note that an MSc in Sports and Exercise Medicine qualification from TCD does not qualify graduates for work in Ireland. Physiotherapy applicants should contact CORU at www.coru.ie and medical applicants should contact the Medical Council of Ireland (www.medicalcouncil.ie) to ascertain registration requirements for work in Ireland.

• Applicants should also provide two references and meet Trinity’s English language requirements, and all applicants should be aware that full or even part time clinical work is not permitted during teaching contact hours.

Closing Date: 30th May 2025

Modules are assessed by in-course and end of term examinations consisting of:


(a) Written examination – Multiple Choice Questions and Short Answer Questions


(b) Practical examinations – competence in musculoskeletal examination techniques, clinical cases, athletic and exercise laboratory and field based assessment skills.


(c) Written course work assignments – including critical reviews, case reports, data handling assignments and journal paper reviews.


All modules must be passed (>50%). In clinical modules there is no compensation allowed between written papers and any practical clinical skills examination component. For the 2 year part time option the dissertation can only be undertaken if year 1 taught modules have been completed successfully. The degree is externally monitored and examined.

1 year full-time

Next Intake: September 2025

Career Opportunities

Graduates have pursued diverse careers in multi-disciplinary teams providing fulltime or part time healthcare to professional and amateur athletes players and teams, as well as providing high quality musculoskeletal and exercise medicine to the general population involved in sport and exercise at all levels.