Post-offer Visit Days

Welcome to Sport and Exercise Sciences!

Congratulations on receiving your offer to study with us here at Durham University. We're excited to welcome you to our Post-offer Visit Days which will be held on Wednesday 19th February, Monday 24th March and Saturday 26 April 2025.

Whether you're local to County Durham and the North East or you are travelling far to be with us, you are very welcome. We hope that you have an informative and enjoyable visit that helps you to decide if Durham is the place for you to come and study.

The Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences is a close-knit, collegiate, and vibrant community of world-leading academics, delivering a cutting-edge curriculum across the sport and exercise sciences. We offer two undergraduate programmes:

The departmental events taking place during our Post-offer Visit Days will be hosted at the University's state of the art Sports and Wellbeing Park at Maiden Castle, which is home to our Human Performance Laboratory.

We have chosen this venue so that you can see some of Durham’s sports facilities and maybe some of the University’s sports teams in action. Over the past 10 years, we've invested £47 million in redeveloping our sporting facilities. We celebrated being named The Times/Sunday Times Sports University of the Year 2023, reflecting this investment, the quality of our sport degrees, and how sport is central to life of so many of our students. Find out more here.

We have a host of activities to give you a taste of what it's like to study on our two undergraduate degree programmes. You will have plenty of opportunities to speak to staff and also current students to answer any questions you have.

Department information

In coming to study with us here at Durham you will join a fantastic community of world-leading academics passionate not only about improving sport performance, but to reducing inequality, promoting social justice, and ensuring better health and wellbeing through sport, exercise and physical activity. Our programmes allow our students the opportunites to develop employability skills, as well as unrivalled opportunities to play and compete in sport at all levels.

More information

Schedule for the day

Congratulations on your offer! Please find the schedule for the department here.

The Maiden Castle entrance during the day

Information for Guests of Offer-holders

Please find information for guests of offer-holders below.

Welcome to the Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences! You are joining us at a very exciting time in the development and growth of sport and exercise science provision at Durham University. We are an inclusive, vibrant and international community, with expertise that extends across the disciplinary fields that comprise sport and exercise sciences

Prof. Mark Stoutenberg

Head of Department, Sport and Exercise Sciences

Schedule: Wednesday 19th February, Monday 24th March and Saturday 26th April 2025.

Location: Dojo (Sports and Wellbeing Park, Maiden Castle)

1:30pm-4:30pm

Time	Activities
1:30pm – 1:50pm	Welcome Introduction to our UG courses Modules & Options
1:50pm – 2:20pm	Student Perspectives –Current students on what it’s like to study with us and student life at Durham
2:20pm-2:35pm	Learning, Teaching & Assessment on our courses Timetable
Discipline Specific Academic Taster Activities
2:45 – 3:00pm 2:05pm –3:25pm 3.30pm – 3.55pm	Applicants – accompanied by current students - will experience a ‘round-robin’ of 3x20 minute academic ‘taster’ sessions, sampling: Sport & Exercise Physiology and Nutrition Sport & Exercise Psychology Social and Political Sciences and Sport	During this time, applicants’ accompanying guests are invited to go to the Club Room adjacent to the café within the University’s Sports & Wellbeing Park where members of the academic staff will be present for informal questions.
4:00pm-4:10pm	Career Prospects
4:10pm – 4:30pm	Q&A
4:30pm	Close

Information for Guests of Offer-holders

We would like to extend a warm welcome to all those who are travelling with the applicant. We realise that many of you will have travelled a long way to be with us and also may have questions to ask. Rest assured that there will be an opportunity to do so. However, you will not be able to accompany the applicant to the Academic Taster Sessions.

During this part of the Post-offer Visit Day schedule (2.15 pm - 3.25 pm) applicants’ accompanying guests are invited to go to the Club Room adjacent to the café within the University’s Sports & Wellbeing Park where members of the academic staff will be present for informal questions.
Accompanying guests are welcome to re-join the main session for the Presentation and Q&A section of the schedule (3.30 pm - 4.30 pm)

You can find more information about the event in our Post-offer Visit Day Guide.

Alternatively, Durham City is a 10-20 minute scenic walk from Maiden Castle. Durham is a beautiful, historic city with so much to see and do. If you've never visited Durham before, then you may want some extra information about the area. We've included links to the This is Durham website and the Durham Pointers website, both of which are extremely valuable resources!

Directions

Directions to Durham are available on the Visit Us page.

Address:

Sports and Wellbeing Park (Durham University), Maiden Castle, Stockton Road, Durham, DH1 3SE.

The Sports and Wellbeing Park at Maiden Castle, home to the Department's Human Performance Labratory and Truscott Imaging Suite.

The Department has two undergradute programmes avaliable: BA in Sport, Exercise and Physical Activity and BSC in Sport and Exercise Sciences with opportunities to study abroad or complete a placement year.

Students using treadmills in human performance lab

The Human Performance Laboratory is focused on the analysis of physiological and metabolic responses to exercise, nutrition and other interventions.

Student in Durham Jersey pushing a bike on a racetrack

Our students will have opportunities to play and compete in College and University sport at all levels.

Durham University Amateur Football Club (DUAFC) celebrating a goal together.

Our students gain a hands-on learning experience and are trained to use the equipment and technology that sport and exercise scientists use in real-world athletic and clinical settings and careers.

Lab testing and analysis may involve taking and testing oxygen levels within the blood.

Two of our sport students using the exercise bike to test physiology of fitness.

Students participating in a canoe race on a river.

In your first year students participate in a fieldtrip to Weardale Activity Centre.

Students participating in high ropes activity in a tree

Students will participate in a number of activities from canoeing on the water to rope climbing in the trees!

Students testing out a man-made raft on a river

Our Outdoor and Adventurous Activities fieldtrip is orientated around team-building, collaborative working and communication skills - all vital for studying sport and exercise sciences and all key employability skills that are transferable to the work-place.

Student getting ready to participate in high ropes

Building teams. Building friendships.