Exercise & Health Sciences
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Undergraduate Exercise & Health Sciences brochure
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Exercise & Health Sciences
Our wide range of courses can lead to exciting careers in health promotion, nutrition, occupational safety and health, sports coaching, personal training, exercise rehabilitation and more. Many of our courses also provide a pathway to postgraduate study.
With access to state-of-the-art facilities, and lecturers who work in the industry, you have the potential to become the best trainer, therapist, assessor, evaluator, adviser, researcher or rehabilitator that you can be.
Hands-On Training Through the Spinal Injury Centre
We've recently announced an exciting partnership with Spinal Cord Injuries Australia (SCIA), resulting in the creation of the "Walk On" rehabilitation program, based at ECU's Health and Wellness Institute.
The Centre will provide access to hands‑on training to both ECU staff and students from the Exercise Science and Rehabilitation course, allowing them to develop specific rehabilitation exercises.
Health Science Students Travel Abroad
Our Health Science students have the opportunity to take part in international practicum placement in Bali throughout their course.
In collaboration with Health Communication Resources (HCR), students reside and work in a Balinese village for three weeks.
The placement offers students an inside look at international healthcare programs, enabling them to further develop their studies and skills in community development and health promotion.
ECU's Human Performance Centre
Our Human Performance Centre (HPC) provides undergraduate students studying courses including the Bachelor of Science (Exercise and Sports Science) and the Bachelor of Science (Exercise Science and Rehabilitation) with the chance to get involved in sporting and health‑related activities to gain practical experience. Students can put what they have learned in their classes into practice within the community, including sporting teams and elite athletes.
Occupational Therapy Teaching Suites
Our OT students have access to three well‑equipped occupational therapy laboratories and teaching resources in the Health and Wellness Building at our Joondalup Campus.
These labs have specialised equipment for students to learn hands‑on skills in physical rehabilitation, assistive technology and communication technology. These labs combine with a range of impressive facilities to create a state‑of‑the‑art learning environment.
Football Science (Soccer) course
Our Bachelor of Science (Sports Science and Football) course is the only one of its kind in Australia. It offers a solid foundation of both science and football‑related units including Physiology, Performance Analysis and Advanced Coaching and Leadership and Management in Football. The qualification can lead to careers in areas such as football coaching, sports coaching, sports science, physiology and teaching.
Health Science Students: Making a Difference Overseas
Our Health Science students were recently offered the chance to travel to Tulikup Village in central Bali to take part in a practicum placement run by Health Communication Resources (HCR).
Students lived and worked in the Balinese village for three weeks, gaining insight into the health issues of the Balinese community and conducting research through interviewing midwives, volunteer health workers and new parents at the child health clinics.
The aim of the placement was to offer students an inside look at international healthcare programs, enabling them to further develop their studies and skills in community development and health promotion.
A job secured before graduating
With professional experience and a Diploma of Occupational Health & Safety under her belt, Shaydeen Thompson decided she wanted to further enhance her skills and career, and so returned to study, commencing an undergraduate degree in Occupational Health & Safety with us.
Due to her professional and academic background, Shaydeen completed her three year undergraduate degree in just two years.
What's more, she completed her final three units online, rather than coming to campus, so she could work full-time.
Before officially graduating, Shaydeen secured a position with a renowned integrated energy company, which she commenced in February this year.
Seeing the effects first-hand
"I enjoy all aspects of sport and I find the mechanics behind human performance fascinating. So Sports Science at ECU was an obvious choice for me."
"As well as being enjoyable and rewarding, the course has given me the platform on which to build an exciting career in the sporting industry. I’ve been able to increase my knowledge and apply it to a field I am passionate about, and what’s more, I was able to see the effects of my work first-hand. It doesn’t get much better than that!"
Michael Noble
ECU Sports Science student
Work/Life balance - a great success!
Mature-age student Michelle Tegg returned to university after deferring for four years to care for her family. Tackling her studies head on, she attended both TAFE and university consecutively, completing her Exercise & Sports Science qualification with us part-time.
In her final year of study, Michelle received some unexpected news: she was due to have her fourth child.
Studying until only a few months before her baby was due to arrive, she deferred for one semester, then returned to University to complete her qualification with flying colours!
Michelle has now commenced postgraduate studies with us!
Exercise & Sports Science - Nationally Accredited by ESSA
Our Exercise & Sports Science course was the first Sports Science course in WA to be fully accredited by Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA).
Students completing a Sports Science program at ECU also have the option of doing a fourth year in rehabilitation, offering a Bachelor of Science (Exercise Science & Rehabilitation) qualification.
This offers students immediate accreditation as an "Exercise Physiologist" through ESSA.
Real-world experience for our Nutrition and Dietetics students
Our Master in Nutrition and Dietetics students have the chance to undertake a five-month practicum placement period, covering areas of clinical dietetics, community nutrition and foodservice.
Students gain valuable insight and industry experience though placements at a variety of locations, including Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nutrition Australia and Gourmania. The first cohort of Dietetic students set out on practicum at the start of 2011.
Promising ECU Researcher Awarded a Research Scholarship by the Cancer Council
PhD in Sports Science student, Greg Levin, was recently awarded a top-up Ancillary PhD Scholarship by the Cancer Council of Western Australia.
The $12,000 scholarship supports the work of promising young PhD students with a research interest in cancer, and will allow Greg to conduct research into the effects of exercise on the mental health and quality of life of cancer survivors.
Greg is currently working with the team at ECU's Health and Wellness Institute, and hopes to understand why and how cancer survivors experience a boost in self‑esteem and quality‑of‑life when they combine exercise with their treatments.
ECU researchers awarded a research grant in partnership with Woodside
A team of researchers from the School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, were recently awarded a $60,000 research grant by the Australia China Natural Gas Technology Partnership Fund (The Gas Fund) to test heat stress interventions under operational conditions.
Led by senior staff in the Faculty of Computing, Health and Science, Associate Prof Jacques Oosthuizen, Mr Joseph Mate and Mr Martyn Cross, the project will look at workers as occupational athletes, analysing how they perform their work in hot environments. The analysis will include field work on Woodside offshore facilities, as well as land-based operations conducted over the summer.
Exercise and Sports Science facilities
Our Exercise and Sports Science area operates a number of laboratories in each of its program areas which are fully-equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, available for use by undergraduate and postgraduate students, in Australia.Each purpose-built lab is catered to the different functions in biomedical science such as biomechanics and digitising, exercise physiology, rehabilitation, phlebotomy, human movement, motor control, strength and conditioning and skill acquisition.
Nutrition Laboratories
Our Nutrition labs play an essential part of our nutrition courses:
- The dedicated Nutrition Food laboratory is designed for students to work on practical projects involving food. The multifunctional lab has a food demonstration and teaching area, computing stations for dietary analysis and diet development and individual or group work areas for food preparation, cooking and tasting and food analysis. Students have access to equipment such as microwave / convection heating facilities, gas hotplates, modern freezers and automatic dishwashers.
- The Nutritional Assessment laboratory provides a range of equipment for teaching and learning for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, including anthropometric equipment for nutrition assessments. The lab reflects a realistic hospital setting with high tech equipment for measuring body composition and metabolic rate and analysing blood samples. It is fully functional for dietary and physical assessments which can be undertaken in the privacy of a clinical cubicle. Students have access to technical equipment and can undertake assessments of community clients. Dietary analysis software is used in order to give immediate paper based feedback to clients.
Occupational Therapy facilities
We have three well-equipped occupational therapy laboratories and teaching resources in the new Health and Wellness Building on our Joondalup Campus.
The laboratories have specialised equipment for students to learn hands‑on skills in physical rehabilitation, assistive technology and communication technology. They labs combine with a range of impressive facilities to create an environment that is supportive, colourful and fun.
Vario Wellness Clinic - Open to the community
Our Vario Wellness Clinic is staffed by allied health professionals and is open to the community for consultation.
You can book consultations for physiotherapy, dietetics, psychology, clinical psychology and exercise physiology.
The clinic also runs a range of programs designed for specific health conditions and populations. Programs include:
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Weigh 2 Go Kids
- Fighting Fit Veterans
- Living Longer Living Stronger
- Parkinson's
Please see the Vario Wellness Clinic website for information on services.
Keeping Children Fit for Life
Head of the School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences Professor Rob Newton has embarked on an innovative research project focusing on childhood obesity, exploring the notion that the risks on a child's health due to dieting without accompanying exercise are at least as great as being obese and could be higher.
Findings concluded that the impact on a child later in life could be detrimental, causing early-onset frailty, osteoporosis and other personal injuries, particularly if a cycle of dieting and weight gain is established.
Professor Newton and his team have published the results of their research into the outcomes of resistance training of variable duration on pre-adolescent children aged 7 to 12. The cohort was divided into three and the participants were given, respectively, 8, 16 and 24 weeks of resistance exercises three times a week. They and their parents were also given dietetic information and psychological counselling. Professor Newton states that all the epidemiological research shows that it is fitness rather than fatness that determines your outcome in terms of mortality and morbidity.
"ECU enhanced my research skills and helped me gain experience."
"My Masters by Research was hard work but it would have been much harder without the guidance and support of ECU staff and supervisors. They kept me on track, enhanced my research skills and helped me gain employment as a research assistant in the area of Child and Adolescent Health Promotion. Anyone wishing to further their career should consider postgraduate studies at ECU. They're flexible, supportive and focused on you achieving your goals."
Patricia Cardoso
Masters by Research (Public Health) graduate