Undergraduate Endorsement Scheme (BUES)

Endorsed Courses

BUES assures the appropriateness of the curriculum, resources and opportunities that undergraduate courses offer for training sport and exercise scientists.

All endorsed courses are listed on the BASES Course Finder and marked with a tick

You can quickly search for BASES Endorsed Courses on the BASES Course Finder.

1. On the Type drop-down menu, click BASES Endorsed Courses.
2. Click Search Courses.

BASES Undergraduate Endorsement Scheme (BUES)

The BASES Undergraduate Endorsement Scheme (BUES) awards endorsement to those sport and exercise science related courses that provide undergraduates with the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills that BASES considers essential to enter into the profession; which may be postgraduate study, Supervised Experience, work in elite sport or in a health environment etc. What BUES does not aim to evaluate is the quality of the course - this is already done through internal quality assurance mechanisms under the auspices of the QAA. When reviewing a course, BUES will consider the curriculum, practical experience gained by students and resources available. In the first of these areas, courses will need to demonstrate that at least 10% of student time is spent in each of the sub-disciplines of biomechanics, physiology and psychology, and that at least half of their total time is spent in these three areas. Courses must also demonstrate that not less that 5% of student time is dedicated to study of an interdisciplinary nature. In addition, the curriculum must include at least 5% of student time devoted to both research methods and to a piece of independent study in the field of sport and exercise science.

Regarding practical/laboratory experience, it is vital that undergraduates gain at least 150 hours of this across the three sub-disciplines. As the majority of such experience is gained typically in laboratory/practical sessions that include, for example, around 20 students, it is appreciated that students will not become competent in all related skills but will have gained familiarity with a range of techniques.

In order to gain practical experience, courses need to demonstrate that they have access to facilities for students to gain this in at least 50% of the competencies that BASES identifies for Supervised Experience. This criterion only applies to biomechanics and physiology, as the competencies for psychology are not equipment-based. Finally, a course will only be endorsed if two of its staff are BASES Accredited Sport and Exercise Scientists in different pathways.

Further details of the above criteria and of the application and review processes are provided in the BUES documentation. The benefits of gaining endorsement under BUES are widespread. The course will be endorsed by the widely recognised leading UK professional body in sport and exercise sciences, which has obvious marketing benefits. More importantly, graduating students will be better prepared to enter into related professions. BUES will also be an invaluable resource, in addition to QAA subject benchmark statements, for departments who are validating, revalidating or reviewing sport and exercise science related courses.

BUES Fees

The BUES fee for the first course submitted is £1,000 + VAT. The Endorsement application fee for additional courses is £250 + VAT per course. Endorsement will be for a period of five (5) years. During this period the Endorsed Course/s will be listed on the BASES Course Finder for free. A course would normally be defined as a collection of units or modules that lead to a named degree outcome. Many Institutions now offer a variety of routes or pathways that emanate from a common core at level 1. A collection of relevant routes or pathways that lead to different named degree outcomes could also be considered as a single course provided that they share at least 50% of common units/modules.