Rachel Arnold

Dr Rachel Arnold is the Academic Director (Doctoral) and a Reader in Sport and Performance Psychology. Before starting at the University of Bath in 2012, Rachel completed her BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science (2005-2008), MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology (2008-2009), and PhD on organizational stress in sport (2009-2012) at Loughborough University.

Dr Arnold is a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, accredited Sport and Exercise Scientist with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Chartered Scientist with The Science Council, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

She has published widely in leading peer-reviewed journals on the area of stress, performance, and well-being and has presented her work at national and international conferences. Applying her research to sport, organizational, and health settings; her research spans the topics of organizational stress, thriving, performance environments and cultures, leadership and management, and the enhancement of personal, team, and organizational performance. Dr Arnold is the co-lead of a GW4 community (see GW4 | Understanding Occupational Stress (gw4occstress.com)) and has received funding from various bodies for her work, including the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR); GW4; the Medical Research Council; and Age UK, Sport England, and SSAFA. She has also collaborated with various organizations on research and consultancy projects, with examples including the English Institute of Sport; Premier League; Help for Heroes; Royal United Hospitals, Bath; Rugby Football Union; World Rugby; and the Swedish and Irish Olympic Councils.

Dr Arnold is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Sport Sciences, Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, The Sport Psychologist, and Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology. She is also a Section Editor for Stress and Health, and has received awards for her research from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, the British Psychological Society, and at the International Convention on Science, Education, and Medicine in Sport.

Rachel has supervised a number of PhD students to completion, has acted as an internal and external PhD examiner, and is also currently an external programme examiner at University of Birmingham.

I am interested in supervising new PhD students researching the areas of interest listed on this page. Please contact me directly to discuss your research and opportunities for supervision.