Sports Psychology

Sports psychology is both an academic subject and a profession. As an academic topic it makes an important contribution to undergraduate degree programmes at all levels. A substantial proportion of undergraduate students applying to read psychology do so because they have a career in applied psychology in mind. As a profession, sports psychology is an important component of the provision of scientific support aimed at increasing performance for professional and elite athletes. It is also an important component in terms of increasing and maintaining exercise adoption, working alongside private and public sectors. Professionally-trained sports psychologists carry out an increasing range of duties within those services, including tasks of assessment, intervention and evaluation.