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BA (Hons)

Sports Journalism

Name: Sports Journalism, BA (Hons)
Price: £9,250 per year GBP

Attendance

Campus

Start

Book an Open Day

Duration

3 years

Start

September 2024

UCAS Code

P501

Delivery

In-person

Foundation entry

Sport is a world full of moving stories of human drama, joy and pain. Discover how to tell them, on our outstanding sports journalism course.

BA (Hons) Sports Journalism is all about telling stories and we’ll teach you how to do this in a variety of ways, from written news reports to television broadcasts, podcasts to digital videos, magazines to social media. We don’t stick to the classroom – we go out on location to report from football grounds and other sport arenas.

This course is about having fun and operating as a real sports journalist and helping you get a great job afterwards. Our course aims to help you graduate with the best possible credentials to get a well-paid job in the industry.

You will follow in the footsteps of previous graduates who’ve gone on to report on the Olympics and Champions League football, working with organisations like the BBC, ITV, ESPN and Sky. We work closely with our many industry partners to help you gain real-world work experience throughout the course.

In Year 1 you’ll be given the opportunity to write for a professional sports website. There is the potential to attend Women’s Super League and Football League games, and cover a variety of other sports.

In Year 2 one student will get to spend two weeks on an all-expenses-paid work placement at Chelsea Football Club. Two students will also have the opportunity to go on a year-long internship with the international graphics company AE Live. You’ll be paid £21,000 a year to travel the world covering major sporting events. You’ll also have the chance to study abroad in the USA, Asia, Australia or Europe, and we regularly arrange trips abroad. In recent years we’ve taken our students to China and Kenya.

In Year 3, the Football League (whose head office is based in Preston) and many major websites take on our students, giving them the opportunity to impress and leading to jobs covering sports like football, Formula 1, boxing, tennis, rugby and golf.

We work closely with the BBC, as well as many football clubs and sporting organisations such as:

Manchester City
Manchester United
Liverpool FC
Everton Women
Preston North End
Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Swim England
British Cycling
England Lacrosse
Archery England

We’re also partnered with the John Schofield Trust, which provides students with one-to-one mentorship from a professional reporter working at the BBC or Sky.

The whole point of the course is to make sure you learn while having fun. By the time you finish the course we aim to make sure you have all the skills needed to become a professional sports reporter with a successful career.

Why study with us

1st
in the North West for teaching quality
Guardian University Guide (Journalism)
2024
2nd
in the North West for graduate prospects (outcomes)
Complete University Guide (Communication & Media Studies)
2024
2nd
in the UK for career prospects
Guardian University Guide (Journalism)
2024
Top
5
in the UK for overall positivity
National Student Survey (Journalism) (compared with unis in the Guardian University Guide)
2023

We hold a unique, annual cJAM careers event at which employers from Sky, BBC, ITV and a string of other high-profile media employers spend the day meeting with and talking to our students – and at the end of it offer a host of work placements.
Two second years are paid £21,000 a year to work with an international sporting graphics company. You could spend an all-expenses paid fortnight in the press office at Chelsea FC. We offer placements to all at football clubs, sporting organisations and in television, radio and print news rooms across the UK. The whole point of the course is to get you a good job afterwards.
You’ll work in state-of-the-art TV and radio studios exclusive to journalism students. You will take part in industry-standard news days; producing shows, podcasts, digital videos and bulletins.

Interested?

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Slide 1 of 5

Ed Walker talks about what he expects from our Journalism students

A day in the life of a Journalism student

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Sports Journalism students

What you'll do

You’ll study the technical skills of broadcast and digital journalism, make podcasts, magazines and videos, as well as examining various topics across a wide range of sports.
This is a practical course, offering a wide range of modules, on which you’ll operate as a trainee journalist from day one and spend time on work placements. You’ll be out on location, reporting from stadiums and grounds – this isn’t a course where you sit in a classroom.
You’ll hear from a wide range of industry and sporting professionals – past speakers include presenters Dan Walker and Gabby Logan, BBC sports editor Dan Roan, commentators Alistair Mann and John Murray, and sports figures such as Ian Holloway, Ellen White and Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson.

Modules

Compulsory modules

These modules are set and you have to study these as part of your course.

Compulsory modules

These modules are set and you have to study these as part of your course.

Compulsory modules

These modules are set and you have to study these as part of your course.

Optional modules

Depending on how many compulsory modules you take, you may be able to choose optional modules to make up your course.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information. However, our programmes are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may cause alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses. Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of accrediting bodies or revisions to subject benchmarks statements. As well as to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.

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image overlay — Journalism Broadcast Newsrooms

21370-newsroom — Journalism Broadcast Newsrooms

Global studies students chatting on sofas — Worldwise Learning Centre

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The knowledge, expertise and support from my lecturers has undoubtedly helped me secure my first full-time role in the industry.

Holly Bacon

BA (Hons) Sports Journalism

Read story

Future careers

With superb connections and a hands-on approach, our Sports Journalism BA (Hons) degree programme has a proven track record of turning students into sports journalists and communications experts.

Being a sports journalist is one of the most exciting jobs around – and for many years, we have been helping people like you make the move into the industry.

The modules you’ll study offer a practical approach, ensuring you don’t just learn, but do – going beyond the classroom to write, produce and deliver sports journalism in a real-world setting. As such, you’ll gain the kind of skills and experiences that employers look for.

In your final year with us, you’ll have the chance to go on a placement to put what you’ve learned into action in a professional environment. You could also boost your employability by studying abroad with one of our academic partners in the USA, Spain or China.

At our annual cJAM event you’ll have the chance to make some valuable connections and hear insights about careers in the creative industries. With a skills-focused speed-dating-style event, you can meet up to 30 industry professionals looking for a student like you to work on a placement – it’s your chance to impress.

Every year, our graduates have gone onto roles with some of the country’s leading sports broadcasters and news organisations – BBC, Sky Sports, Eurosport, ESPN, Talksport, Trinity Mirror – as well as a wide range of clubs, teams and sporting bodies, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Surrey County Cricket Club, UK Athletics, The Lawn Tennis Association and many more.

Fees and funding

2024/25

Full-time£9,250 per year

Sandwich year£1,500 for the sandwich year

International

Full-time£16,500 per year

Scholarships and bursaries

We have a wide range of bursaries, scholarships and funds available to help support you whilst studying with us.

Select your country to see eligibility information and how to apply by selecting more info on the cards below.

Select your country/region

The Royal Television Society Bursary
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is offering a Bursary Award to talented students from lower-income backgrounds with an interest in pursuing a career in television.
Find out more about The Royal Television Society Bursary
Care Leaver Bursary
Our Care Leaver Bursary is for students who need extra support because they have been in care or are estranged from their parents.
Find out more about Care Leaver Bursary
Estranged student support
Estranged Student Support Bursary is for students who need extra support because they are estranged from their parents.
Find out more about Estranged student support
Dependants Bursary
Students with financially dependent children may be eligible for our Dependants Bursary as part of our financial support package. 
Find out more about Dependants Bursary

This course offers a powerful blend of theory and practice, with the teaching methods to match. So, as well as a mix of lectures, seminars, tutorials and independent study, you’ll have plenty of practical work – learning how to work with the processes, people and technology you’ll find in the real world of sports journalism.

You’ll learn in our School of Journalism, Media and Performance, which is home to a wealth of state-of-the-art technology and multimedia facilities, ensuring that you’ll be up to speed with the latest industry developments. We have invested more than £250,000 in upgrading these facilities, from newsrooms and news feeds to TV and radio studios. Our sports facilities meet the same high standard. In fact, they were named the best in any new university in a recent national survey, with the highest possible rating.

We maintain an impressive network of connections across professional sport and media. We have close ties with Preston North End, as well as partnerships with Chelsea FC, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers and Fleetwood Town – giving our students the chance to report on matches and press conferences, and to go on valuable placements.

We are also part of the Google News Lab University Network, which provides training and resources on topics ranging from immersive storytelling, data journalism, trends, trust/verification and more, together with networking opportunities and the chance to learn from current experts and professionals in the field.

Interested?

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This course is based in the School of Arts and Media

For information on possible changes to course information, see our essential and important course information

You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at the University of Central Lancashire on our student contract page

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Sports Journalism

Why study with us

A day in the life of a Journalism student

Gallery01 / 05

What you'll do

Modules

Year 1

Compulsory modules

Year 2

Compulsory modules

Year 3

Compulsory modules

Optional modules

View the course facilities

Hear from our students

Accreditations

Future careers

Fees and funding

Scholarships and bursaries

The Royal Television Society Bursary

Care Leaver Bursary

Estranged student support

Dependants Bursary

Sports Journalism

Why study with us

A day in the life of a Journalism student

Gallery01 / 05

What you'll do

Modules

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Start university this September

View the course facilities

Adobe Creative Cloud

Are you serious about sport?

Hear from our students

Accreditations

Broadcast Journalism Training Course (BJTC)

Future careers

Fees and funding

Additional costs

Scholarships and bursaries

The Royal Television Society Bursary

Care Leaver Bursary

Estranged student support

Dependants Bursary

Learning and assessment

Industry links