Published on 5 September 2025

Studies Bachelor

The SFISM Bachelor of Science in Sports provides a solid foundation for a professional or academic career in sport. As the only university-level degree in sport, it covers both the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject.

Redesign of the Bachelor's degree programme

The redesigned SFISM Bachelor’s degree programme is being launched in the autumn 2025 semester. The previous degree programme structure will be phased out after the 2024–2027 cycle has been completed. Students pursuing a degree in the old structure will have access to all the elements they require to finish their degrees as planned.

Structure of the degree programme

Over the course of six semesters, students acquire core competencies in sports science and practice, setting them up for a successful career in the field of sport.

Study programme from 2025

• Flyer Bachelor of Science EHSM in Sports

  in german

  PDF1.61 MB4 November 2025

• Module manual bachelor's 25 programme 2025–2026

  in German

  PDF1.71 MB16 September 2025

Structure and content of Bachelor’s degree programme

The course seamlessly combines sporting, professional and scientific practice. The programme approaches these three areas as an interconnected whole, which is reflected in students’ learning and experiences on the course. Future-oriented interdisciplinary skills also play a key role.

Foundations

In the first part of the course (semesters 1–3), students acquire important knowledge that lays the foundations for a future career in sports teaching, sports performance analysis or sports organisation. In addition to field-specific modules such as learning movements or human performance, there are interdisciplinary weeks that develop the future-oriented interdisciplinary skills that are essential for a successful career in sport.

Programme content

Semester 1 (autumn)

• Module: Human Performance

  This module introduces the fundamental principles of sport physiology, focusing on the physiological processes that drive physical performance. Students explore how the human body responds and adapts to acute physical stress and how this contributes to performance development.

  Integration into the overall programme
  The Human Performance module provides the scientific foundation for understanding the physiological processes involved in physical activity, making it a core component of sport science education. It equips students with the essential knowledge to interpret how the body adapts to performance demands and physical stress, and prepares them to engage with more advanced topics in training science and related fields (optimising sport).

• Module: Learning Movements

  This module provides essential theoretical and practical knowledge on how movements are learnt, understood, analysed and optimised. It enables students to apply their knowledge of sport science to plan, facilitate and reflect on professional practices related to learning movements in sport.

  Key questions explored include: How is a movement learnt? What role does brain plasticity play in this process? What are play-based and fundamental movement patterns? What functions do anatomical structures such as muscles and joints serve? What core principles should be considered when designing technical and tactical training?

  Integration into the overall programme
  The skills acquired in this module are relevant across almost all areas of sport science and training. A solid understanding of the neurophysiological, anatomical, motor, and biomechanical foundations of motor learning is essential for a wide range of sport-related professions (teaching sport and optimising sport).

• Sport in Practice modules

  In the first semester, the focus is on ‘Running, jumping, throwing’ and ‘Racket sports – singles and doubles’.

• Interdisciplinary weeks

  Two interdisciplinary weeks are held each semester (in weeks 1 and 8). Interdisciplinary skills are increasingly important in order to succeed in the rapidly changing world of work. In the first semester, the interdisciplinary weeks are ‘Starting Days’ and ‘ICT/Learning Media’.

  Integration into the overall programme
  The interdisciplinary module in the first stage of the programme covers educational approaches and teaching methods such as project-based learning, problem-based learning, cooperative learning and personalised learning.

  The interdisciplinary weeks aim to help students acquire and develop four key interdisciplinary skills for the future:

  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Communication and collaboration
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Self-regulated learning and adaptability

Semester 2 (spring)

• Module: Training

  This module covers training planning, endurance training, strength training, speed training, and training in team sports.

  Students gain an understanding of the relationships and effects between physiology, biomechanics, the nervous system and training content. They are able to design training sessions according to specific requirements and optimise training stimuli. They are familiar with the logical processes involved in training design and the available methods for monitoring, tailored to different target groups.

  Integration into the overall programme
  This module teaches the fundamentals of creating physiological, biomechanical and neural adaptations (optimising sport).

• Module: Teaching and Coaching

  Teaching and coaching are professional activities carried out by sport teachers and coaches with clear objectives and a focus on effectiveness. They are grounded in scientific knowledge that can be applied in lessons or training sessions. The Teaching and Coaching module conveys an important part of this scientific foundation. The aim is for students to understand this knowledge and consciously apply it in their own teaching and coaching.

  Integration into the overall programme
  Teaching people about sport and physical activity, and supporting their personal development in the process, are activities that lie at the heart of a wide range of sport professions (teaching sport).

• Sport in Practice modules

  In the second semester, the focus is on ‘Sport for health and fitness’ and ‘Target shooting games – Goal shooting games’.

• Interdisciplinary weeks

  In the second semester, the interdisciplinary weeks are on ‘Communication’ and ‘Project management/camps’.

Semester 3 (autumn)

• Module: Diversity and Values in Sport

  This module promotes the development of the following diversity and ethics skills:

  • In terms of knowledge, students understand the prerequisites and conditions for inclusion and dignified sport. They identify guidelines and scope for action in their own practice (rights and obligations).
  • In terms of skills, they use their awareness to formulate measures that lead to the development of inclusive sport contexts and activities. They implement the sport contexts and offerings and ensure their qualitative development through scientific evaluation.
  • In terms of attitude, they reflect on their own position and character in relation to ‘others’, examine their perception and interpretation of their environment, and practise empathic perspective-taking. Students discuss aspects of attitude and identify which issues related to inclusion and values are of central importance. They develop strategies for action to implement inclusive and value-oriented sport and test these strategies in a protected environment.

  Integration into the overall programme
  Diversity and values are key cross-cutting themes that are essential for shaping an inclusive ‘sport for all’ both today and, above all, in the future. They are embedded across all subject and application modules of the Bachelor's programme.

  In this module, students engage with these themes intensively and in depth. Through this process, they develop individual skills and translate them into concrete competencies that can be applied in their professional practice.

• Module: Swiss Sport System

  This module provides an overview of the Swiss sport system, including its various stakeholders, their roles and characteristics. These are presented within a three-sector model: non-profit sector, market sector, and public sector. Students acquire knowledge about the significance of sport, the development of the sport system, and the changing dynamics of supply and demand.

  With the help of the management basics they have acquired, students are able to describe the definitions and key concepts for managing a sport organisation from an economic perspective. They gain basic knowledge of how to manage sports facilities and are able to plan, implement and evaluate small sports projects, such as local sporting events.

  Integration into the overall programme
  The module offers a holistic perspective on the Swiss sport system (organising sport).

• Sport in Practice modules

  In the third semester, the focus is on ‘Movement on and with apparatus’ and ‘Wrestling and combat sports’.

• Interdisciplinary weeks

  In the third semester, there are interdisciplinary weeks on ‘Fundamental values in sport’ and ‘Sport management’.

• Module: Free Courses

  In the Free Courses module, students can individually design up to 10% of their coursework. They have the opportunity to distinguish themselves by taking advantage of suitable internal classes or those at other universities.

Applying new skills

The second part of the course (semesters 4–6) teaches students to apply the new skills they have acquired. In keeping with a Bachelor of Science programme, students learn throughout their studies to work scientifically. They are trained to cultivate objectivity, deal with complexity and think independently and analytically. Students carry out their own scientific project in the sixth semester.

Sport in practice

The entire degree programme places great importance on the practice of sports, i.e. learning and doing sports, which is taught every semester except the fifth. The practice of sports focuses on the following areas of sports and movement:

• Running, jumping, throwing
• Moving in water
• Moving on and with apparatus
• Creating, dancing, presenting
• Combat sports
• Invasion games
• Throwing sports
• Court sports
• Health and sport
• Outdoor sports

Immersion: apprenticeship or semester abroad

In their fifth semester, students undertake an apprenticeship. This provides a valuable opportunity to gain work experience and deepen their understanding of the practical aspects of sports science. Students can also grow their networks, and it is not uncommon for an apprenticeship to lead to job opportunities. Alternatively, students can choose to experience other cultures and broaden their horizons by studying abroad for a semester.

New: online self-assessment

Are you interested in the SFISM Bachelor’s degree programme? An online self-assessment (currently only in German) will help you to get a clear picture of the desired degree programme and to check whether your expectations match the programme content and requirements. It takes about 20 minutes to complete.

• Online-self-assessment

• Degree programme structure through 2024

  The Bachelor’s degree course will be held for the final time in its current structure during the 2024–2027 cycle. The content and structures required for students to complete their degrees as expected will remain in place.

  Students begin their programme by gaining a broad-based foundation, where they develop the key skills in sports science and practice that they need for their future career paths. From the third semester onwards, students pursue either sports management or sport didactics as their area of specialisation. This process is supported by a long apprenticeship in the fifth semester, followed by the Bachelor's thesis and further specialisation in the sixth semester.

  The central aim of the Bachelor's degree programme is to build up expertise and skill in the field of sport. In addition, students should also be prepared for Master's degree programmes in sports science, develop their own specialist profile in sports management or sport pedagogy, and (further) develop their key competencies. The range of subjects covered by course modules is correspondingly broad.

  • Module handbook bachelor's programme 2025-2026

    PDF20.15 MB16 September 2025

Full-time and part-time study

The Bachelor's degree programme is equivalent to 180 ECTS credits and takes six semesters for full-time students. The course may also be taken on a part-time basis over a maximum of 12 semesters. On application, this may be extended by a maximum of four semesters (cf. SFISM Ordinance, Art. 23).

Teaching languages

The course is taught in German and in French. Students are expected to be sufficiently competent in both languages, As a guide, students should be competent to the following language course levels:

• Goethe Zertifikat B2 for German
• DALF B2 for French

Links

• ILIAS: SFISM's eLearning plattform (in German)