Undergraduate Study

The School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences offers the following majors and minors:

Careers in Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences (PDF)

School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences student handbook (PDF)

Exercise and Sport Science (BSc)

The Exercise and Sport Science major curriculum is aligned with the accrediting bodies Sport & Exercise New Zealand and Exercise and Sport Science Australia. This major consists of four main sub-disciplines:

• Biomechanics
• Exercise physiology
• Motor control and motor learning
• Sport and exercise psychology

About the Bachelor of Science

This major sits within the Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Minors and second majors can be taken as part of the degree, but they are not compulsory. Please note that any of the School's majors and minors can be combined with the Exercise and Sport Science BSc major.

Physical Education, Activity and Health (BSc)

Topics covered in this major include:

• Health and wellbeing
• Physical education
• Exercise prescription
• Community health promotion
• Practical experience, including exercise laboratories and outdoor classrooms.

Sport Development and Management (BA or BSc)

This major is the one only of its kind in New Zealand. Topics covered in this major include:

• Sport marketing and management
• Sport policy and law
• Media studies
• Sport sociology

Choosing between the BSc and BA

Depending on the papers chosen, this major can be taken in either the Bachelor of Science (BSc) or the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees offering flexibility for those interested primarily in sciences or arts/humanities. Minor and second majors can be taken as part of either of these degrees, but are not required.

Please note that any of the School's majors and minors can be combined with the Sport Development and Management major.

Sports Technology (BAppSc)

Please note: No new enrolments for the major will be accepted. Sports Technology is available as a minor subject for a range of degrees.

Study in this subject could lead you to applications such as:

• Modelling of human movement
• Sports performance analysis
• Athlete workload monitoring
• Brain-blood flow neurophysiology
• Broadcasting of sporting events

How to apply to study in the School of PE, Sport and Exercise Sciences

To apply for our majors, please follow this step by step process:

See Enrolling at Otago and the Guide to Enrolment for an overview of the process, and create an eVision account if necessary.

Apply for the overall programme that the major sits in

• A Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc) for the Sports Development and Management major (SPDM)
• A Bachelor of Science (BSc) for the Exercise and Sports Science Major (EXSS)
• A Bachelor of Science (BSc) for the Physical Education  Activity and Health Major (PEAH)

Then you will be asked to choose the major that you want to apply to, e.g., SPDM, EXSS, PEAH

If  you run into any problems the quickest way to get help is to contact AskOtago and they can walk you through  it or enter data while you are on the phone to them.

What are the entrance criteria?

The entrance criteria is University Entrance, refer to Otago website for more detail

Otago students also have a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of our global student exchange/study abroad programme.

We accept applications for entry into the programmes offered by the School throughout the year.

Please see Enrolling at Otago for the process.

For specific course related advice email: physical-education@otago.ac.nz