Sport Management

Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence

Top 5 in UK for Research in Sports Studies in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise

Sport Management is an exciting degree that will help you develop your career in the sports industry. It has been designed to meet the industry’s need for well-qualified managers who can combine management and financial skills with specialist knowledge of sport.

Taught by staff with consultancy and research experience, this MSc reflects the current industry trends and employer needs. Your studies will include: sports management, marketing, finance, monitoring and evaluation, law, research methods, venture management and policy.
 

Programme Objectives

You will have the chance to work on case studies, gain expertise from people in the business, and to develop specific interests through a research dissertation. 

The programme will help you acquire the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills to enable reflective management practice in a range of sport settings. Throughout the programme you will be challenged to evaluate the dynamic environment in which sport organisations in the public, commercial and voluntary sectors strive to flourish, and to apply your developing knowledge and management skills to meeting the inherent sport management challenges.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• identify and evaluate recent changes in sport participation and policies, and their implications for sport management practices.
• apply management theory to the context of managing sport organisations.
• conduct research into sport issues relevant to managing and developing sport organisations and events.

Entrance Requirements

A lower second class Honours degree or better (or equivalent professional qualification). Applicants who do not hold the normal academic qualifications but who have an appropriate level of relevant experience in sport administration and/or management may also be admitted.

English Language Requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence of your  proficiency such as a minimum IELTS score of 6.5 (minimum 6 in each skill), or  TOEFL: Listening 23, Reading 23, Speaking 23, Writing 23.

Funding

information on possible sources of funding

Modes of Study

Full-time: one year Part-time: Normally two years, while stand-alone modules can be taken over four years.

September

Structure and Content

You can study either full-time or part-time to Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma or MSc levels.

You must attain 180 SCQF points to be awarded an MSc in Sport Management. You will achieve this by successfully completing taught modules and a dissertation.

You will take the following modules:

• Principles of Management in Sport: This double module provides students with a critical understanding of how environmental factors influence strategic and operational decisions in the management of sport businesses.
• Sports Finance: This module examines the role of finance and business in contemporary sport.
• Research Design and Process: This module provides an introduction to designing and implementing research projects, and the use of key methods.
• Research Methods for Sport: Developing from Research Design and Process, this module helps students develop research skills in qualitative and quantitative methods.

One from the following in Semester One:

• Sports Marketing
• Ethics in Sport
• Intellectual Property

• Sports and the Law
• Venture Management
• Economics of Sports
• Sports, Culture and Society
  

Dissertation

For successful completion of the MSc, you will need to complete a 12,000-15,000-word dissertation.

Delivery and Assessment

Theory will be turned into practice through through case study analysis, discussion with sport management practitioners, seminars and research. You will acquire ‘softer’ management skills such as problem-solving, team-working, leadership, analysis, evaluation and presentation, all of which are essential if you are to become an effective manager.

The modules are assessed by a mixture of coursework and examination.

Timetable

Contact the School for information on your timetable and reading lists.

RAE Rating

In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) sports research at Stirling was ranked 1st in Scotland and in the top five in the UK, with 85 percent of publications classed as ‘International level’ and 15 percent as ‘World-leading’.

Career Opportunities

Gaining this degree will prepare you for sport management jobs with a local authority, a commercial organisation or with a voluntary sport organisation such as a governing body of sport.

A key benefit of this programme is the opportunity to gain expert management knowledge which can be applied to a wider range of industrial sectors than just sport.