For our rising champions | UniSC | University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

We put you in the heart of the sporting action, alongside the big names in sport. Our education partnerships with professional teams, like the NRL Dolphins, gives our students incredible Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities.

Like Ellen Szymanski, UniSC Bachelor of Sports Studies student, who got an “incredible and extremely unexpected” placement with the Dolphins. “I was blown away, I never thought it was possible to do a uni placement with a pro team like that. An unexpected blessing which I’ve loved ever since,” Ellen said. Ellen is now employed with the Dolphins as an events and hospitality assistant, while balancing uni.

Learn from the very best in sport.

Students learn from the very best, taught by experts in their fields, on and off the court.

Experts like Associate Professor Mark Sayers, who was the biomechanist and special skills coach for the New Zealand All Blacks and credited as a key part of their success during the past ten years.

And like our experts who have been selected for key leadership roles for the Olympics, including Associate Professor Gary Slater, the nutrition lead for Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Australian Olympic team, Associate Lecturer Bridie Kean, a dual Paralympic medallist and the Deputy Chef de Mission for the Australian team, and Professor Fiona Pelly who's expertise in exercise and sports nutrition has seen her work with everyone from the Wiggles to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Rugby League (NRL) teams, and individual Olympians.

We support elite athletes and rising champions to succeed in both sport and study, through the opportunity to earn a degree and broaden their academic horizons while pursuing athletic careers.

Like UniSC student Isaiya Katoa, who spends his weeks studying a Bachelor of Business, and his weekends crash tackling some of the strongest, fastest men in the country in front of thousands of screaming fans when he plays for The Dolphins in the National Rugby League.

Our world-class facilities make UniSC the ideal home for a multi-sport community of athletes, from school leavers who represent Queensland in age-group national competitions, like U19 Qld netball team and U20 cross country team, right up to Olympians, Paralympians, and world champions. Currently, 280 high performance student athletes in 28 different sports receive tailored academic and career support across 58 degree programs.

Learn more about the High Performance Student Athlete program at UniSC.

We know careers in sports are not just for athletes. For our sports-loving students who want to turn their passion into a career, we open doors to the many careers in sports, on or off the field.

As the sports industry continues to grow, we give non-athletes the knowledge and experience they need to pursue successful sporting careers from medicine to marketing to management, and everything in between. Students have the unique opportunity to learn from experts in their fields, from event planning to broadcasting, public relations, graphic design, education, and sports sciences. Whatever the specialisation, we offer the perfect mix of sports-focussed training, research, teaching and engagement opportunities.

We have a rich history of working alongside major sport stakeholders to create opportunities for athletes, sports teams, researchers and students in sport sciences. We’re a Queensland Academy of Sport Swimming Hub and our resident teams and partners include the Sunshine Coast Lightning, the Australian Cycling Academy, UniSC Spartans Swimming and the Queensland Academy of Sport.

Our researchers have a golden opportunity to contribute to Australian Olympic and Paralympic excellence. Daily training sessions taking place at the UniSC Sports Hub are also opportunities for UniSC researchers to collect consistent data that can in turn help improve training practices. It’s like having an evidence-based research laboratory on our doorstep.

The world-class facilities at UniSC make us the ideal home for a multi-sport community of Para athletes. Bringing together athletes, coaches, teams, sports organisations and the wider community, UniSC Para Sport is an inclusive program where partnerships are enriched, built upon a shared love of sport and a firm belief in the power of equal opportunity.

We have a successful history of supporting Para athletes and teams with industry funded programs for swimming, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and Para cycling. Through partnerships, we provide a pathway for athletes in our communities to reach the highest level of competition, while also providing supported education through the High Performance Student Athlete program.