Sport Journalism MA (PGCert PGDip)

Course structure

The Sport Journalism MA comprises six 20-credit modules that each involve around 30 hours of contact time, plus an independent final project where you will work with an allocated supervisor. 

The course is taught by sport media industry professionals and highly respected academics who will help you develop key journalism skills as well as academic research and writing methods.

You will compile an e-portfolio of assorted journalistic work that acts as a showcase to prospective employers. The practical journalism modules will feed into your portfolio and you will also publish your work on our website, Overtime Online.

Your placement will enable you to demonstrate hands-on experience in a sport journalistic environment.

The course is flexible in that it allows you to exit with a postgraduate certificate at the end of one semester (three 20-credit modules) or a postgraduate diploma at the end of two semesters (six 20-credit modules). You must complete the 60-credit research project to qualify for the MA.

For international students, the MA offers an extended masters route with English language study for between two and six months before the course begins. 

Our journalism courses have moved from our Eastbourne campus to Brighton – see some of the students exploring the industry-standard facilities on offer and hear them talking about what they love about their degrees.

 Areas of study

The Sport Journalism MA enables you to develop the critical, contextual and practical skills and knowledge to be able to succeed in the sports media industry.

• Analyse the state of the industry and critically appraise how current professional standards can be improved with particular focus on ethically and socially responsible journalism.
• Explore the contextual knowledge needed to be a successful professional sports journalist, learn how to cover court cases involving high-profile sports people and how to avoid libel and breaches of copyright in the study of media law.
• Learn about sports governance, such as how UK Sport and Sport England work, and public affairs issues including planning that are essential to writing more complex sports stories such as new stadium developments.
• Study the purpose and function of the profession and reflect on industry standards and your own professional practice.

• Explore how the industry has changed in the digital age, the challenges posed, and what this new media environment has meant for what sport journalism is and could be.
• Explore the key shifts in sports media including the emergence of Sky in the early 1990s through to the development of global third-party production companies such as IMG and Perform Group.
• Apply theoretical models of understanding sport journalism such as the toy department concept, sociology of work and professions, and political economy in exploring these occupational and industry shifts.
• Evaluate key ethical debates affecting the industry including coverage of race, gender and sexuality issues within sports journalism and whether the profession is doing enough to hold those in power to account.
• Consider what implications the rise of public relations has had for sports journalism and how sports clubs and organisations now employ sports journalists as well as mainstream media. 

Modules

Core modules

• News Journalism
• Digital Journalism
• Critical Issues in Sport Journalism
• Sport Journalism Practice
• Professional Practice
• Journalism Dissertation

The Critical Issues in Sport Journalism module enables you to explore the critical and contextual knowledge needed to underpin good journalistic practice.

Professional Practice oversees your professional development and you will also synthesise your learning in the dissertation.

Practical journalism modules (News Journalism and Digital Journalism) explore newer, forward-thinking digital practices such as live blogging, social media and data journalism alongside the core, traditional skills of interviewing, writing skills and developing contacts. You will evaluate the most appropriate technique to the story in question and consider the ethical considerations in play.

You will study core sports journalism skills such as match reporting, preview pieces, long-form writing and sourcing sports news through the Sports Journalism module.

NCTJ Diploma

In addition to gaining a Journalism MA we offer you the opportunity to take the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism and include the examination costs within your university course fees.*

The NCTJ Diploma in Journalism is the qualification that editors look for when recruiting a trainee journalist.

The NCTJ Diploma examines in general reporting, ethics and regulation, public affairs, media law, court reporting, sports journalism, Teeline shorthand, and a portfolio of journalistic work.

Although not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to engage with this opportunity. Achieving gold standard of A-C in all components of the diploma and 100 words per minute in shorthand will boost your qualifications and your employment prospects.

* The university will pay for first assessment attempts of the NCTJ Diploma but you would need to finance any re-sits yourself.

Professional experience

Through our Professional-Based Learning module, you will spend time in an industry environment on placement. We have close links with national and local organisations including Sky Sports News and the Eastbourne Herald. The University of Brighton won the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Innovation of the Year award for its partnership work with Brighton & Hove Albion FC that involves paid opportunities for students to cover matches in the Amex Stadium press box.

Our Employability Hub is on hand to help you secure an experience that best meets your career goals and aspirations. Professional experience will enhance your practice and academic knowledge, and many of our students have started their careers with their placement organisation. You will also compile an e-portfolio of journalistic work that will act as a showcase to prospective employers.

We have links with many organisations for placements including:

• The Sun
• Sky Sports News
• The Independent
• Daily Mail
• The Times
• The Guardian
• Daily Telegraph
• Hayters Sports Agency
• Eastbourne Herald
• TalkSport
• FourFourTwo
• Brighton and Hove Albion FC
• Ricochet TV.

Features 

Field trips
Journalism students will also benefit from field trips. Previous trips have included:

• Sky Sports News tour and development day
• London Lions basketball
• Flat racing at Brighton racecourse
• County cricket at Hove, Sussex
• Football at Eastbourne Borough and Lewes FC
• Sussex Senior Cup Final

Guest speakers
The journalism subject area at the University of Brighton also has a vibrant guest speaker programme. Previous visitors have included:

• Paul Hayward, chief sports writer, Daily Telegraph
• Dick Pound, ex-CEO, World Anti-Doping Agency
• Jim White, sport columnist, Daily Telegraph
• Stuart Mawhinney, head of Sky Sports PR
• Geoff Shreeves, chief touchline reporter, Sky Sports
• Kelly Cates, touchline reporter and presenter, BBC 5Live and Sky Sports
• Sam Munnery, digital sports editor, The Times
• Derren Howard, head of sport, East Sussex Newspapers
• Adam Hurrey, author, Football Cliches
• Duncan Alexander, head of editorial, Opta Sport

Facilities 

Journalists in the digital age need to be able to multi-skill and our facilities ensure that you will gain all the skills you need.

You'll be able to explore photo editing, desktop publishing and audio and video editing.

The newsroom with live news and sports feeds gives you authentic real-life journalistic experience. And our sound, filming and editing equipment familiarise you with the latest technology and ensure that you graduate with the technical skills essential for your media career.

Staff profiles 

International requirements and visas

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

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

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, whilst studying a course in the School of Art are listed here.

• For most courses you will need to budget for the cost of specialist materials, equipment and printing and are likely to spend between £50–£300 per year.
• Costs in your final year of study are very likely to be higher than in earlier years as you bring together your final body of work and portfolio, and you may need to budget between £200 and £1,000.
• For some courses you may also need to budget up to £100 for specialist personal protective clothing which, with care, will last for the whole of your course and beyond.
• For most courses you will have the opportunity to attend field trips and off-site visits, for example to galleries, exhibitions and studios both in the UK and overseas. These are optional and are not required to pass your course. The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken, and typically range between £100 and £700 across the duration of your course.
• You will have access to computers and necessary software at City campus and at other locations across the university. However, many students choose to buy their own hardware – usually a laptop, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
• Course books and a wide range of magazines and journals are available in the university libraries. You do not need to have your own copies, but if you wish to, you should budget up to £200 over your course to buy them.
• For courses in which there is an optional placement year, you will need to budget for living costs (rent, food, travel etc) in that city/country, as if you were on site at the university.

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.

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