BASES Postgraduate Endorsement Scheme (BPGES)

The BASES Postgraduate Endorsement Scheme (BPGES) awards endorsement to inclusive postgraduate sport and exercise science degree courses that provide postgraduates with the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills essential to enter the profession.

BASES is a professional membership association that has endorsed sport and exercise science undergraduate courses since the scheme was launched in 2005. BUES is now the recognised standard for all sport and exercise science undergraduate degree programmes in the UK. With the introduction of BASES SEPAR accreditation, there was an opportunity to develop an endorsement scheme to cover specialist post graduate programmes aligned to one of the other core disciplines of sport and exercise science (Physiology and Biomechanics), and to cover generic sport and exercise science postgraduate programmes.

BASES endorsement is awarded to postgraduate courses that:

1. Commit to providing inclusive learning, and professional practice, environments for students and an excellent student experience.
2. Commit to uphold the BASES pledge for Climate Change and sustainability.
3. Meet in full the Level 7 descriptor of the national frameworks for Higher Education in the UK. FHEQ UK[li1]
4. Develop and advance sport and exercise science knowledge, technical skills and professional development competencies required to succeed as an autonomous practitioner in the profession. It is expected that postgraduate courses will prepare students for individual BASES Accreditation as a Sport and Exercise Scientist.

Note: BPGES is not awarded to taught specialist postgraduate courses with ‘sport psychology’, ‘exercise psychology’, or ‘sport and exercise psychology’ in their named Award title. For more information on endorsement for courses aligned to psychology please see BASES Postgraduate SEPAR Endorsement Scheme or please contact BASES office: education@bases.org.uk.

When reviewing a course, BASES considers the curriculum, the practical experience gained by students, the academic delivery team, the research environment, and the resources and facilities of the institution. Further details of the criteria and application process are provided below.

Endorsement criteria

To gain BASES endorsement, applicants must demonstrate that a postgraduate degree satisfies the criteria outlined in the BPGES application form, which is structured around the following sections:

1. Learning environment
2. Scientific knowledge
3. Technical skills: Development & application
4. Application of knowledge and skills: Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
5. Research skills and experience
6. Professional development and practice
7. Staff profiles, professional accreditation and affiliations

Within the application form, applicants are required to provide a brief narrative explanation of how the course meets each of the specified criteria and reference the documents (e.g. module descriptors, laboratory manuals) that provide supporting evidence.

BASES is committed to widening participation in scientific research, education, practice, and the workplace with the goal to create greater opportunity for any individual in sport and exercise science to fulfil their potential, irrespective of their background or circumstances.

Postgraduate courses submitting for endorsement must demonstrate how the design of their course(s) and curricula, their approaches to teaching, learning, student support and assessment, including research and work-related opportunities, ensure an equitable and inclusive student experience.

At BASES, we are committed to Fairness, Professionalism, Honesty, Responsibility and Excellence. We strive to improve our ways of working to be more inclusive and diverse, to accelerate our impact on society and live up to our Values. Therefore, BASES endorsed programmes will be reviewed against the following themes:

1. Teaching and Learning: how the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion are embedded into the learning outcomes, teaching, and assessment of the postgraduate curriculum.
2. EDI Targets and Outcomes: measure, assess and reflect on annual equity, diversity and inclusion targets. This should demonstrate how your institution ‘closes the loop’ embedding actions from one year into the design and delivery for the subsequent year.
3. Representation of Teaching Staff and Guest Speakers: to increase diversity of thought, skills and experiences to enrich learning.
4. Partnerships with Students: engage a diverse range of students and stakeholders in the co-design of the curriculum to ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion underpin the learner experience.
5. Personal and Professional Development: ongoing active engagement to increase awareness and understanding and act around intersectionality and inclusion within the teaching and learning environment.

BASES is also committed to help address the Climate Change Emergency and has signed up to both the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework and the Pledge to Net Zero. The Association has pledged to:

• promote greater environmental responsibility
• reduce its overall climate impact
• educate for climate action
• promote sustainable and responsible consumption
• advocate for climate action through communication

Postgraduate courses submitting for BASES postgraduate endorsement are expected to uphold the BASES values for climate change and sustainability and must evidence how their Department/Faculty/Institution is committed to Climate Change and Sustainability. They must demonstrate how the design of their course(s) and curricula, and their approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, including research and work-related opportunities, meet the pledges made by the Association for climate change and sustainability. Finally, they must explain how students become aware of professional expectations around sustainability and self-reflect on their sustainability attributes.

How to apply

Application submission deadlines are 31 January and 31 May every year. Applications can be submitted at any time through the year but will only be reviewed following these deadline dates.

To apply, complete the BPGES Application Form and submit along with relevant supporting documentary evidence and accompanying application documents which can be downloaded here.

Payment can be made either by invoice (please provide purchase order number) or by credit card (within the online form).

Further information can be found in the BPGES Application Handbook.

Endorsement Fees

The endorsement fee for a single degree course is £1,800 + VAT. This covers the cost of the application review and assessment process; and the five-year period of endorsement.

For additional courses, routes or pathways that are part of the same ‘programme framework’ and therefore submitted within the same application, the endorsement fee is £400 + VAT for each additional named route/pathway. To be classed a part of the same ‘programme framework’, all the different routes/pathways must share common ‘core’ modules making up at least 75% of the total course content.

If an application for endorsement is not successful 80% of the total application fee will be refunded. Where a course(s) is rated by reviewers as “Partially met” on the application form, the HEIs will be provided clear feedback, and invited to re-submit further evidence within three months, as part of the original BPGES application. If the additional evidence submitted subsequently confirms the course meets BPGES criteria, the course will be endorsed. If evidence produced is insufficient, and BPGES criteria remain unmet, the course will not be endorsed.

Where a course(s) is rated by reviewers as mostly “Not met”, the course will not be endorsed. HEIs will be offered clear feedback and expected to address areas of concern before re-submitting a new application for BPGES. If an application for endorsement is not successful 80% of the total application fee will be refunded. Full fees will be payable for any future BPGES application.

The endorsed programme will also be placed on the BASES course finder, and the provider will be able to use the BASES endorsed logo in relevant marketing materials. Any unique features of the MSc. provision (e.g., exposure to specialist sport and/or exercise topics) can also appear on the BASES course finder, enabling the programme and its USP’s to be marketed among prospective students.

Look out for the ‘BASES Endorsed Course Logo’, which is awarded to all successful applicants, or refer to the BASES Course directory to confirm whether a postgraduate degree course is endorsed by BASES.

Eligibility for BPGES

The award of BPGES will be restricted to Level 7 master’s courses, and exclude PG Certificate, PG Diploma, Professional Doctorate and PhD awards.

The following programmes are eligible to apply for BPGES:

• Postgraduate Taught ‘Generic’ (MSc) – a course where the taught content includes more than one of the three core disciplines of sport and exercise sciences (Physiology and/or Psychology and/or Biomechanics). Applicants are expected to meet most of the knowledge, skills and applications elements stated in each criteria, across the three sport and exercise science disciplines.
• Postgraduate Taught ‘Specialist’ (MSc) – a course where the taught content is focused specifically towards one core discipline of sport and exercise sciences, either Physiology or Biomechanics. Applicants are expected to meet most of the knowledge, skills and applications elements stated in each criteria, for the single sport and exercise discipline. Please note, courses, which include the word ‘Psychology’ in the named Award, are excluded from this endorsement route. Endorsement for postgraduate Sport Psychology, Exercise Psychology or Sport and Exercise Psychology courses must be submitted through the BASES Postgraduate SEPAR Endorsement scheme (PSES).

• Research (MRes, MPhil) – Whilst MRes and MPhil degrees are not automatically excluded from the BPGES, it is recognised that there is variation in the volume of taught elements within these programmes. Coupled with the individual nature of student specialism within these programmes, it is recommended that before you begin the application, you first make contact with the BASES office to arrange to speak with a member of the HE Endorsement Group to explore the suitability of any application.
  • Where a programme is suitable, you will be expected to utilise your programmes learning outcomes, in combination with the activities undertaken within the programme of study. Institutions are expected to fully meet most of the elements stated in each criterion.