Sport Management BSc(Hons)

Course structure

You will experience a dynamic blend of academic study, practical application, research and hands-on experience. This balance of knowledge and practical skills is designed to prepare you for career success in this fast-paced and growing industry.

In your first year, you will be introduced to the components of sport business management and the impacts of sports policy, finance and economics on effective sport management.

In your second year, you will develop project management skills and analyse the role of management for the successful organisation of sport.

In the final year, you will investigate the roles of marketing and strategy in sport business management and undertake an extended piece of research.

Year 1

In year 1 you will be responsible for organising the promotion and running of a sports event. This will develop your commercial awareness and business skills.

Modules

• The Global Sport Industry and the Media

  This module will introduce you to globalisation with specific focus on sports media and the global sports industry. Key concepts will be explored via globally mediated flows of sport events, sport commodities, and sport agencies and organisations. You will learn about how the media drives the sports economy and the consequences of this dynamic, such as shifts in the roles of fans from citizens to consumers, the rise of sports mega-events, gambling, corruption and performance-enhancing drug taking.

• Who Runs Sport?

  Understanding why sport is structured and organised in the way it is has become the most important factor for anyone thinking of developing a career in sport. This module will introduce you to issues of governance, government, policy initiatives, funding and media coverage. Content includes a view of the relationships between sport and sports coaching, sport and health/physical activity, sport and physical education, the sources of funding for sport and why sport is such 'big business'.

• Finance and Economics for Sport Management

  This module focuses on economic and financial knowledge, on the business environment and on the theory and practice of financial management in sport business organisations. You will be introduced to basic economic and financial concepts that underpin the analysis and interpretation of the business environment, the construction and presentation of key financial and economic data, and how to analysis and use such data in the management of sport business organisations.

• Introduction to Sport Business Management

  This module will introduce you to the underlying principles, theoretical concepts and practical issues associated with managing the business of sport. Using a stakeholder-based approach, you will look at business structures, ownership, external environment and commercial characteristics of sport business.

• Sport Events

  Consumers as a consequence of the continued commercialisation of sport, have ever-increasing expectations. This has resulted in intense competition for attendance, spectators and membership. Sport business managers must understand the needs of their consumers and provide commercially viable high levels of customer satisfaction. This module will provide you with an understanding of the theories of service delivery, quality revenue and expenditure management. You will translate this knowledge into practice through organising and running a sport event.

• Preparing for the World of Sport

  This module will support you in the transition to academic study at university. You will be encouraged to take responsibility for, and reflect upon your own learning, development and employability. You will be given support to develop the skills needed to produce high quality academic work. This module will also introduce you to research skills and practices used to investigate sport as well as raising awareness of careers information and services.

Year 2

Your second year of study is split into two halves. The first half is about learning the role of sport business management and preparing for your placement, while the second is based in a sport business organisation.

Modules

• Power and Politics in Sport
• Conducting Research in Sport
• Placement: Management in Sport Business Organisations
• Leading and Managing People in Sport Business
• Personal and Professional Development in Sport Business Management
• Reflective Practice in Sport Business Management

Final year

Your final year of study is based around the strategic implications of sport business management, including the investigation of marketing and strategy. You will have the opportunity to conduct research on a topic of your choice, based on the experience gained during your placement.

Modules

• Dissertation
• Strategic Change in Sport Business Management
• Marketing for Sport Business

Options*

• Community Sport Development: Policy and Practice
• Theorising Critical Issues in Sport
• Martial Arts and Combat Sports: Theory and Practice
• Sport and Deviancy
• Gender, Sexuality and Physical Culture
• Football and its Communities
• Racism in Sport and Popular Culture
• Sport Event Tourism
• International Management
• Customer Relationship Marketing
• Enterprise and Innovation
• Public Relations and Digital Marketing

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Meet the team

Placements

During your second year, you’ll put your classroom learning into practice during a professional work placement. Our employability hub will help you to find a placement that meets your specific interests and career aspirations. Our students have spent time in Professional sports clubs and venues, with leisure organisations and with charities.

You’ll spend approximately 150 hours with your placement organisation.

We will support you before, during and after your placement – as much or as little as you need. We will also keep in touch with your placement host to see how you are getting on. 

There will also be a timetabled study day to encourage reflection, feedback and to provide tutor assessment before your placement assignment deadline.

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included, while studying a course in the School of Sport and Service Management are listed here.

• DBS checks, where required, are included in the fees.
• For all journalism students there are professional body examinations from the National Council for Training of Journalists. The university pays for your first attempt at each examination and this cost of around £400 is included in the course fees. But if you don’t pass an exam you will be responsible for resit fees, at an average cost of £45 per examination.
• UK-based field trips are available in some option modules in the final year. You do not have to take these option modules to complete the degree programme. Where a field trip is present costs are covered but you are expected to make a contribution towards food. Typically this is £50.
• For courses which require a placement, you’ll be expected to pay for your living costs and travel. Physical Education (QTS teacher training) students can claim travel costs to their school placement.
• The school runs a number of day trips which students do not pay for. There may be some food and drink costs and you should budget around £30 per year.
• All work is electronically submitted. You may need to provide a printed copy of your final dissertation. Estimated cost £5 per student in the final year.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships, as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2021–22.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

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