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Entry Requirements and Fees
2019 UK fee: £9,250
Typical Offer (individual offers may vary):
A levels (or combination with AS / EPQ / BTEC / Cambridge Technical): 96 to 120 UCAS Tariff Points
BTEC / Cambridge Technical: DDD - DDM
International Baccalaureate: 28 points
Access to HE Diploma: Pass
Interview: Yes. Applicants who demonstrate relevant experience and/or understanding, as well as commitment to and enthusiasm for, the industry, may receive a lower (grades) offer.
IELTS 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5
Student view
Having worked as a teaching assistant for a time and developing a real passion for the role made, what I had considered, ‘taking a step back’ into education a particularly difficult decision. Taking a step back couldn’t have been further from the truth, I have expanded my knowledge on what it is to learn and to teach, expanding my understanding on the different types of education available to young people. I have, built strong relationships with my lecturers, who very early on got to know every one of us as an individual and developed life-long relationships with my peers. The degree has changed me in many ways including where I now see myself in the future.
Course content
Our four-year-degree links activity e.g. mountain biking to physiology or psychology. It is the only course validated with a one-year placement which you can do anywhere in the world. You will develop strong professional relationships because staff are highly qualified in the practical domain. All of our theory and practice is taught by our own staff.
There are three themes you will study:
Theme One
You will consider how the individual makes sense of the adventure education experience. This could be understanding your own physiology or your own motivation for adventure in psychology for example. Critical reflection on your own personal experience is central to the knowledge and understanding.
Theme Two
You will consider how groups perform in the adventure environment through an understanding of group dynamics and teaching strategies. Consideration will be given to aspects such as leadership, facilitation, decision-making and problem-solving.
Theme Three
You will focus on your impact on the adventure environment, considering environmental philosophy, user conflict and impact reduction.
Through these themes you reflect on your past experiences, laying down a framework for the understanding of new adventure experiences. To become an effective adventure facilitator, it is essential that practitioners are able to plan purposeful activities by actualising their intended outcomes rather than leaving them to chance.
We work alongside and with industry experts and companies to develop a hands on degree programme that will give students both the physical and classroom-based skills they need to start a career in the Outdoor Education sector. The core text used on all adventure education courses is written by our teaching staff.
Our residentials which include the Canary Islands, UK and France, demonstrate how theory is woven into practical sessions. Our videos showcase how practical the course is.
National Governing Body Awards
Each year, we typically offer:
- U.K.C.C/B.C.U courses at all levels
- Single Pitch Award (training)for Rock Climbing (S.P.A)
- The site specific indoor climbing wall award
- Mountain Bike Instructor Award (M.I.A.S)
- Mountain Leader Award (M.L Summer) training.
- Level 2 Powerboat (R.Y.A)
- First aid
During the third year many students gain governing body awards in the UK and abroad from The Professional Association of Diving Instructors, The Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors and the British Association of Snowsport Instructors.
Our facilities
We offer you some of the best sporting facilities available to study for a degree. All of our facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and for your social/recreational use throughout the week and weekends.
The world-class Tudor Hale Centre for Sport is the focus of sporting activities both academic and recreational at the University. It incorporates a suite of state of the art sport science laboratories, a sports injury clinic, a strength and conditioning room and a fitness centre. In addition there is a sports hall used for basketball, netball, trampolining, badminton, volleyball, cricket, soccer, table tennis, hockey and ultimate frisbee. Located beside the Tudor Hale Centre for Sport you will find our Sports Dome incorporating four indoor tennis courts, our all-weather astro turf pitch and a grass rugby pitch.
Facilities:
- Treadwall
- Modern fleet of kayaks and canoes
- High quality paddles, spray decks and buoyancy aids
- Traditional and sport climbing equipment
- Fleet of duckies
- Sports Dome
- Sports hall
- 110m synthetic athletics track
- Fitness suite
- Strength and conditioning room
- Two multi-purpose gymnasiums
- Indoor and outdoor climbing walls and climbing boulder
- Grass football and rugby pitches
- Outdoor netball and tennis court
- Floodlit synthetic Astro Turf pitch
- Two seminar rooms
- Cricket nets
Sport Science Laboratories:
- Four dedicated psychology labs
- Two dedicated biomechanics labs
- Five dedicated physiology labs
- An environmental chamber to simulate heat, altitude, etc
- A sports injury clinic and adjoining rehabilitation space
Students can access all equipment used on the course outside of sessions for free.
Where this can take you
A wide range of professional opportunities await Outdoor and Adventure Education graduates from Chichester. Careers include education, adventure tourism, recreation and leisure management, risk management, Harbour Master, Research Fellow, the military and the police. A small but growing number of graduates have set up their own adventure-based business either in the UK or overseas.
Many graduates have continued with their studies gaining Master's Degrees in physiology, psychology and education. Some graduates have also gained scholarships for doctoral studies leading to lecturing in Higher Education and research in the UK and overseas.
We understand the importance of ensuring that you have the knowledge, skills and experience to compete successfully in today’s challenging jobs market. Whilst these degrees will prepare you for a career in the rapidly growing field of adventure education it also provides an opportunity for students who simply wish to further their understanding of adventure education in an applied context.
Employability
In addition to the work placements and sector-specific employability and enterprise modules that many of you will have embedded in your course, we have developed a student and graduate internship scheme. Our commitment is to make sure that students and graduates from all disciplines who register on the programme, and successfully complete the necessary preparation, have the opportunity to apply for carefully-matched internships. *
This programme aims to ensure that students will graduate with:
- A focused high-quality CV
- Interview and selection centre preparation
- The ability to identify and articulate transferable skills
- Experience of a recruitment process
- Substantive relevant work experience
- Workplace skills
As part of the programme we aim to:
- Provide a free matching service to identify the needs and aspirations of both graduates and employers
- Identify and promote short-term student employment opportunities with a focus on specific sectors
- Ensure that there is a range of opportunities to be provided including internships of both short and long duration
- Sign-post Chichester graduates to other universities’ internship schemes in their home area, where available
* Gaining an internship is the result of a competitive interview process with the prospective employer so an internship cannot be guaranteed. The programme is intended to provide a progressive work experience package tailored both to your course and your career aspirations on graduation.
Careers
Alumnus Craig Lindsay, Centre Manager at Runways End Activity Centre:
"This degree has catapulted my career forwards, I have really benefited."
Postgraduate further study
- PGCE Primary
- PGCE Secondary
- School Direct
- School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)
- MA Sport Pedagogy and Physical Education
- MSc Applied Sport and Exercise Nutrition
- MSc Physical Activity and Public Health
- MSc Physiotherapy*
- MSc Sports Coaching Science
- MSc Sport and Exercise Biomechanics
- MSc Sport and Exercise Physiology
- MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology (BPS route)
- MSc Sports Performance Analysis
- MSc Strength and Conditioning
- Postgraduate Research (PhD)
*Subject to approval
Work placements
Placements opportunities are available on most programmes within the Chichester Institute of Sport which provide you with a strong vocational focus.
During the third year of your degree, you will undertake a placement year. In conjunction with the staff teaching team, you will plan a negotiated learning contract containing periods of work in the adventure industry, personal adventuring, and experiences towards governing body awards.
Whilst you are encouraged to find your own placements, we have developed a network of contacts worldwide that you could use should that suit your own ambitions.
Some recent student placements include:
- Working for a dog-sled team in Norway, teaching and guiding (after some training of course!)
- Surf coach in Sri Lanka
- Teaching sailing in China
- Teaching in a school in Korea
- Teaching skiing in Canada
Our year-long placement differentiates us from all other similar degrees.
Increase your employability – here’s what our students had to say.
The placement year is unique because you get the chance to discover what you actually want to do whilst still having the support and encouragement of the University and your lecturers. You are free and encouraged to test your limits, and challenging placements are definitely encouraged! I spent my time riding around the world on a motorbike and it was fantastic."
Cameron
Placements Office
Chichester Institute of Sport has a dedicated placement coordinator. Students are ultimately responsible for finding their own placement, however, the placement coordinator is available to assist students and has a network of contacts in local clubs and schools.
Our students are from all over the UK, with the majority from the South and South East of England, with a few students from overseas.
Many students find work placements in their home towns, as well as local opportunities in Sussex.
Placements are integral to your development as a student and are integrated within University-based work.
You will need to ensure you have all the necessary documentation in place before you start your placement.
You may need a DBS check depending on where your placements is.
Please check that you have completed all necessary documentation before commencing your placement.
To contact the Placement Co-ordinator please email Clare Deacon c.deacon@chi.ac.uk or tel: 01243 793542
Indicative modules
Our four-year degree has a distinctive focus upon the adventure education experience which it achieves through three themes. You will reflect on your past experiences, laying down a framework for the understanding of new adventure experiences.
Year 1
- Conceptualising Outdoor and Adventure Education - What is outdoor and adventure education?
- Understanding Groups - Practical, problem solving group tasks
- Introduction to Psychological Issues in Outdoor and Adventurous Activities
- Developing Professional Skills
- Understanding Performance (Water based) - Canoe/kayak each week
- Adventures in Education 1 - Practical sessions to explore the nature of teaching/instruction
- Introduction to Psychological Issues in Outdoor and Adventurous Activities
- Understanding Performance (Land Based) - Indoor and Outdoor rock climbing each week
- Exercise and Health for Outdoor and Adventure Education
Year 2
- Outdoor Environments 1 - Taught by a national teaching fellow nominated for lecturer of the year for the whole country
- Adventures in Education 2 (Developing Pedagogy) - Learning how to teach in the outdoors
- Management Issues in Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning - Theory and practical visiting sites, conducting risk assessments, understanding the law
- Psychological Dynamics of Adventure or applied techniques - A choice of modules looking at developing higher levels of performance through physiological and/or psychological interventions
- Research and Enquiry in Outdoor and Adventure Education - Learning how to collect and analyse evidence
- Applied Meteorology - Using weather knowledge to make learning safer, more enjoyable, more likely and more fun
- Outdoor Environments 2 (Asking and Answering Environmental Questions) - Practical and theory environmental module mostly completed in Lanzarote
- Expeditioning and Journeying or SCUBA Diving or Reflective practice - Practical modules looking at expeditioning or diving. Diving has additional costs due to: Location in Lanzarote, use of outside providers and a professional diving qualification being included (about £300) We are proposing that the expedition next year is a canoe trip down the Ardeche which will cost about £150 per person
Year 3
Placement
Year 4
- Dissertation - Self-selected but supported research project
- Research Methods for Outdoor and Adventure Education
- Environmental Exercise Physiology
- Plus Elective(s) e.g. Wilderness, Outdoor Environments 3, Soft Skills Facilitation
- At least one module from Applied Coaching or Adventures in Education 3
- Improving and analysing your own teaching
International English Studies
Teaching and assessment
How do we teach?
You’ll build subject knowledge and practical experience through core modules in all years with option modules allowing you to specialise more in years two and four. Learning centres on theory in practice where each module will have practical application of academic frameworks to relevant outdoor and adventure activities and contexts. The work placement year develops your practical skills, knowledge of the diverse nature of the outdoor sector, theory in practice and professional skills.
Teaching comprises of:
- small group lectures
- small group practicals to allow for maximum personal skill progression
- blended practicals focussing on bringing theory to life
- off-campus visits
- laboratory practicals
- small group seminars
- individual tutorials
- residential filed trips
How will you be assessed?
You will typically study four modules each semester with each module worth 15 credits to gain 120 credits to complete each academic level. Modules are assessed usually at the end of each semester with most modules having at least two modes of assessment.
Assessment comprises of:
- presentations
- reports
- essays
- practical
- plans and proposals
- portfolios
- commentaries and reviews
- short exams
Additional Costs
Additional Costs
Trip and clothing costs
Mandatory additional costs:
Contribution to international residential programme: £750 (payable in 2 installments over years 1 and 2) to cover all equipment, teaching/coaching, insurance, accommodation and travel in the UK and overseas. Currently includes Brittany (8 days), Fontainbleau (7days) , Peak District (5 days) and Lanzarote (8 days with an optional extra 5 days for a small additional cost) . Although it is rare, the exact locations and timings are subject to change due to environmental constraints.
Personal protective clothing: £260 (approx) Provided by Mountain Equipment this includes waterproof and thermal clothing. In exceptional cases students may already have clothing that meets the required standard.
Students must have a full wet suit and boots at the start of the course. There are many options available but students typically spend £100 on a wet suit.
