| Qualifications |
Duration |
Start dates |
Application period |
| PhD or Professional doctorate |
PhD:
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years
Professional doctorate:
Part-time: 4–8 years |
October |
November to January |
Qualifications
PhD or Professional doctorate |
Duration
PhD:
Full-time: 3–4 years
Part-time: 6–8 years
Professional doctorate:
Part-time: 4–8 years |
Start dates
October |
Application period
November to January |
The OU Sport Research Group is a sub-group of the Childhood, Youth, and Sport Group led by Dr Ben Langdown, which includes an interdisciplinary team of researchers designing, managing, and completing research projects which are ultimately aimed at understanding and improving the lives and working practices of athletes and sports coaches.
The multi-disciplinary team draws upon various approaches and methodological expertise (including auto/ethnography, phenomenology, narrative inquiry, grounded theory, and creative analytical practices). The team’s research spans numerous sport and exercise-related disciplines, including coaching pedagogy, psychology, sociology, nutrition, strength and conditioning, motor control biomechanics and youth development in sports. Qualitative and quantitative research projects cover expertise in different sports, including athletic injury, athlete analysis, monitoring and training, wellbeing, post-traumatic growth, athlete welfare, identity, embodiment, career transitions, coach education and specific sports activities.
Entry requirements
Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) and an MA or research methods training at MA level (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.
Potential research projects
- Equality and sport
- Sporting women’s sporting lived experiences
- Abuse, maltreatment and athlete welfare in sport
- Chronic illnesses (e.g. asthma) and sporting participation
- Athlete transitions (e.g. retirement, motherhood and sport)
- Athlete adversity, post traumatic growth and resiliency
- Psychological aspects of a sports injury
- Coach-athlete relationships and reflective practice
- Expertise in a variety of sports (e.g. combat sports, team sports, athletics, swimming, golf)
- Golf biomechanics
- Golf strength and conditioning
- Youth development in sport / physical education
- Sport coaching and coach education
- Professional and personal development of students/trainees and staff in education/sport science
- Children’s experiences of physical activity during Covid19
- Wellbeing of informal carers and professional development
Current/recent research projects
- Embodied sporting/exercise experiences
- Female sports participation and experiences
- Transitional experiences of elite sportswomen from high, moderate and low risk sport
- 7–11 year olds’ perceptions about physical activity
- The socio-economic influences on children’s participation in sport
- Career transitions for Winter sports UK Olympic athletes
- Massage therapy for strength and conditioning programmes to improve chronic non-specific musculoskeletal pain
- PE programmes and the mental health and academic achievement of underprivileged schoolchildren
- Professional practice within the UK talent and high-performance sport system.
- Wellbeing of informal carers, their relationship with physical activity and supporting them to access education and professional development opportunities
Potential supervisors
Fees and funding
PhD fees
| UK fee |
International fee |
| Full-time: £4,786 per year |
Full-time: £12,146 per year |
| Part-time: £2,393 per year |
Part-time: £6,073 per year |
Professional doctorate fees
| UK fee |
International fee |
| Part-time: £3,643 per year |
Part-time: £9,250 per year |
Some of our research students are funded via The Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership; others are self-funded.
For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.
To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.
Links