Master of Strength and Conditioning

If you've always wanted to work with athletes – or you're a current practitioner who'd like to enhance your skills – La Trobe's Master of Strength and Conditioning offers a unique opportunity to excel in this high-demand field as a qualified strength and conditioning coach.

Enhance your career as you learn the latest skills and knowledge on strength, speed and endurance. You'll study with expert academics and industry leaders as you learn how to work with elite, professional and amateur athletes – and help enhance their performance. You'll investigate and work with diverse athlete populations, including para-athletes, able-bodied athletes, and athletes of different ages and cultural and gender identities.

This course was developed in collaboration with the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA), so you'll learn the latest best practice. Our academic staff have a wealth of recent industry experience, and many have held positions with professional sporting teams, and state or national institutions. They have worked closely with development athletes through to Olympic medallists.

Immerse yourself in La Trobe's state-of-the-art sport and exercise facilities in Melbourne, including our Strength and Conditioning, Biomechanics, Physiology and Performance Analysis Labs. Located in La Trobe Sports Park, they boast the latest technology and research facilities. La Trobe Sports Park is also the new home to Rugby Victoria, Football Federation Victoria and Australia's women's national soccer team, the Matildas.

You'll benefit from both in-person and online learning. This flexible course includes four separate week-long blocks of intensive face-to-face classes and experiences in the first year , two of which are timed to coincide with the Australian Open and the AFL Grand Final. If you live interstate, it's a fantastic time to visit Melbourne – one of the world's top sporting cities – and meet likeminded professionals while you strengthen your skills and experience.

Take advantage of La Trobe's connections to Melbourne's top sporting organisations and work directly with athletes from professional clubs and our extensive partner network in your second semester. You'll also complete an applied industry project or research thesis as part of your studies, which will open up a pathway to further research and study in this exciting field.

You'll graduate confident, experienced and ready to take your coaching career to the next level – both here in Australia and sporting organisations around the world.

You'll learn:

• How to assess and develop strength, power, speed, agility and endurance qualities
  • Learn how to design and implement training plans to improve the physical characteristics of athletes in preparation for competition.
• High-performance management
  • Learn how to work in high-performance environments and explore the principles underpinning an athlete's success. You'll learn how to design and deliver training plans across a range of sports and performance levels.
• Coaching
  • Learn how to develop meaningful relationships with the athletes you work with and understand how to work with other stakeholders who can help improve their performance.
• Research methods
  • Plan and execute research projects that focus on strength and conditioning practice.

The qualification awarded on graduation is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) as Level 9 - Masters Degree.

Successful completion of an Australian bachelor degree (or equivalent).

Specialisation - compulsory: Sport and/or exercise science and/or related field

6.5 IELTS (Academic) with no individual band less than 6.0.

After graduation, you could work with professional athletes across Australia and around the globe.

As a strength and conditioning coach, you'll be equipped to support both elite and amateur athletes as they strive for peak performance. You could work with professional sports teams; performance training organisations; sport schools, academies and institutes; specialist and private schools; private practice; and other multi-disciplinary workplaces.