About Bachelor Of Applied Science (wellness And Exercise) in Universal College of Learning (UCOL)

Overview

If you are passionate about using exercise to bring about positive change in the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities, UCOL's Bachelor of Applied Science (Wellness and Exercise) will provide you with specialist knowledge and skills to enable you to have a direct impact on:

• Diabetes prevention, obesity, corporate wellness, aged-care and mental health management;
• Strength and conditioning for high-performance and aspiring athletes; 
• Organising physical activity participation for community members and groups.

You'll progressively gain competencies and confidence to identify, plan, implement, evaluate and report on the impact of structured physical-activity opportunities and services delivered to clientele within your community.

Contextualised learning
Different from other degree programmes, you'll learn fundamental knowledge and skills in context. So, rather than just learn the theory in a foundation course, then build on it with practical knowledge, you'll learn the knowledge and gain the skills at once.

To further build on this, you'll be provided with many opportunities to apply your knowledge in supervised training environments. Firstly working one-on-one, with apparently healthy clients, then with groups, and then clients/communities requiring specialised programming needs (both in the sports, active-recreation and clinical health area). Thereafter students have opportunities to confirm their elected major and develop skills as an independent practitioner or project manager.

Majors

Although students will elect a major at the start of their degree, the first two years have been designed to give students a 'taste' of all the majors. Before starting their final year of study, students can confirm or change to one of the majors that suits their career plans the best:

• Physical Health and Wellness
• Strength and Conditioning
• Sport and Recreation Management

Practical experience

This degree comprises a large practicum component designed to create work-ready graduates as follows:

• First year - 100 hours
• Second year -  120 hours
• Third year - 360 hours

Career & Study Outcomes

Successful graduates of UCOL's Bachelor of Applied Science (Wellness and Exercise) programmes will be able to plan and implement physical activity opportunities and services that lead to positive impacts on the health and physical conditioning of members within their communities.

Beyond being able to register as a personal trainer (with Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) accreditation), employment opportunities for Bachelor of Applied Science (with majors in Physical Health and Wellness, Strength and Conditioning and Sport and Recreation Management) graduates are diverse and, depending on the student’s chosen Major, could include:

• Corporate wellness
• Health promotion/education
• Physical activity and dietary advisor
• Physical health coordinator
• Chronic disease intervention
• Clinical exercise rehabilitation
• Strength and conditioning coaching
• Sports performance trainer
• Sports coordinator
• Active-recreation, sport event and project/event management
• Secondary school or tertiary institution teaching

For some of these career options, further training and/or professional body registration may be required.

There are opportunities for further study at postgraduate or master level in the health, clinical exercise physiology, and sport sciences fields, or in teaching.

Academic qualification equivalents

•  Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC)

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS    :    Score of 6.0 with no band lower than 5.5
• TOEFL  :    Score of 60 (with a writing score of 18)
• PTE       :    Score of 50 with no band less than 42

New Zealand Living Expenses

You'll require between $20,000 and $25,000 a year ($380–480 per week) for housing/rent, food, transportation, phone bills, internet usage, and entertainment, in addition to your tuition and insurance fees. The average living expense will be the same for everyone, regardless of their tuition or course price. Please keep in mind that these are only suggestions; the Immigration New Zealand requirement is $15,000 per year including return travel or an additional $2,000.