The University of Canberra has 17 enrolments for a new Master of High Performance Sport which was announced on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And if Canberra Capitals coach and adjunct Carrie Graf was not already a coach-in-residence, adjunct Professor and the mother of twins, she would probably find the time to enrol herself.
"It is certainly something that interests me, so maybe I will be able to squeeze it in in the next couple of years."
Starting in first semester next year, the Masters course will have three streams - sports management, science and analytics or a generic high performance sport.
It is aimed at sports scientists, sports managers, performance analysts and coaches and joins an increasing number of bachelor and post-graduate courses in sport offered by the UC.
Australian Institute of Sport senior psychologist and UC Adjunct Professor David Martin said the UC was fast developing a national reputation as a centre of sports studies excellence.
He noted that elite sports offered a number of different and aspirational career paths.
"We used to say to students, aim to be a doctor or lawyer, but now we can say aim to be a head coach – it is a career path that has enormous potential."
"Sport is now recognised as a multimillion dollar industry and has moved from recreation to big business, and the University (of Canberra) has been very quick to maximise its appeal to those students wanting to get into the industry," Dr Martin said.
Associate Professor in sports biomechanics and head of the department of sport and exercise science, Dr Nick Ball, said the new Masters courses had been surprisingly popular – gathering 17 enrolments before even being formally announced.
He expected about 20 new students to commence next year but said sports enrolments across UC were growing exponentially.
"When I arrived [from the United Kingdom] in 2008 I had between 60-80 students in my biomechanics class, now that's up to 260."
The course would appeal to those already gaining experience in the industry who wanted to take their career to the next level.
"With industry-based professionals heavily involved in the process of teaching and learning about high performance sport, this new course provides the practical approach that elite sport requires," Dr Ball said.
Students would also have access to the UC's new $15 million Sports Hub, gyms, and laboratories and a community of professional athletes.
Applicants must have an undergraduate degree in sport or related fields, or alternatively, have an undergraduate degree in any field and at least three years' professional work experience in sport or a related field.
