Physical Education Degrees, Courses and Programs

Physical education (PE) degrees combine the science of movement with pedagogy: how to plan, teach and assess physical activity for children and young people. Many include supervised school placements.

In most countries, working as a school teacher requires registration or certification from a teaching regulator in addition to a degree. Some PE degrees embed that route; others are academic and require a separate postgraduate teacher-training year. This difference is one of the most important things to check on a program page.

Outside schools, PE graduates work in coaching, sports development, youth work, fitness and recreation.

Typical topics: Pedagogy and curriculum, Child development, Motor skill development, Sport coaching basics, Assessment, School placements.

Also called: PE teacher education, Sport and physical education, Lehramt Sport, Education physique et sportive, Educación física. These names lead to this one page.

A physical education degree does not automatically grant teacher registration. Registration is decided by the national or regional teaching regulator; where a program states its status, we show the provider’s statement and link the regulator’s current requirements.

Each program below states its intended audience, whether prior professional registration is required, and links to current official requirements where we found them.

• Bachelor of Education (Physical & Health Education) (Australian College of Physical Education (ACPE)): We are not ATAR dependent; direct entry requires at least three Band 5 HSC results including one in Standard English or higher.
• Bachelor of Education (Secondary Health and Physical Education) (Flinders University): Guaranteed Entry ATAR 75.00; IELTS 7.0 overall with 7.0 in each band (English requirement).
• Sport and Exercise (Atlantic Technological University): Leaving Certificate five subjects at O6/H7 including English or Irish and Maths (or Foundation Maths at F2); CAO AU222; 261 CAO points (2026); Garda vetting may be required.
• Physical Education with Biology (Dublin City University): Leaving Cert minimum O4 or H6 in Mathematics and in one of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics with Chemistry, or Agricultural Science; CAO DC205; minimum points 532 (year not stated).
• Bachelor of Science in Physical Education (University of Limerick): CAO code LM090; 521 CAO points in 2026; successful students must undergo Garda Vetting.