BA (Hons) Sport Journalism (Full Time)

This course is taught by sports journalist professionals ensuring that you will graduate with the skills needed to thrive in this highly competitive and dynamic industry.

Course overview

The sports media sector is constantly undergoing rapid and widespread transformation. Traditional media platforms – print, radio, television – which once stood alone are now converging.

You will learn to write sports news stories and features for print and web, to shoot/record, edit and produce video and audio sports bulletins and packages, to present in front of camera, voice radio bulletins and programmes, and how to use social networking sites as a valuable journalistic tool.

You will use industry-standard broadcast equipment that simulates the workplace and develop your interactive and electronic publishing skills to help run the course’s sport-specific website – the first of its kind in the country.

Students have opportunities to gain an insight into how the media industry operates by being encouraged to participate at all three levels in student newspapers and websites. In Year 2, students manage the course’s own sports specific website, covering all of the university’s sports teams, while at level one and three they contribute sports copy to the student newspapers.

The website is of professional standard and as well as sourcing their own stories, students must produce pages with video and audio content embedded.

The degree is underpinned by the sociological and cultural study of sport. This provides a well-rounded learning experience for students, progressively developing understanding of media organisation and practice, and sport and popular culture.

Industrial focus

The teaching staff has vast experience in Sports Journalism and all continue to work in the industry. They all have local and national sporting contacts. Strong industry contacts underpin our work placements which allow you to gain invaluable vocational experience. Students have worked at Sky Sports, BBC Sport, the Southern Daily Echo, the Portsmouth News, the Daily Mirror and The Independent, to name a few. 

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Course content

Year 1

Six core units:

• Careers Skills for Sports Writers
• Magazine Design
• Sports Studio Skills
• Sport, Society and the Sporting Media
• Sports Reporting and Writing
• Ethics and Sport Writing.

Year 2

 Five core units and one option:

• Making Magazines
• Web Production for Sport Writers
• Radio and TV Journalism
• Modern Policies in Sport
• Sport, Sociology and the Sporting Media.

Options

• News and Journalism
• Photo Practice
• Media and Public Relations
• Sport and the Law
• Curriculum Plus (Foreign Language).

• Magazine Journalism Major Project (either practical journalism or a theoretical piece)
• Sports Broadcast Journalism (Professional Practice)
• Contemporary Sports Issues.

Options:

• Advanced Magazine Design
• Travel Writing
• Political Communication
• Sport, Media and Culture
• Online Strategies and Management
• Sports Coaching
• Curriculum Plus (Foreign Language).

Why choose this course?

• This recently-established course (producing its first graduates in 2010) continues Solent University’s long history of teaching journalism to a very high standard.
• Good sports facilities and high level coaching to aspiring sports journalists who value being able to participate and compete in sport.
• Solent is a Skillset Media Academy and is officially recognised as a national centre of excellence in media education.

Assessment

Coursework, comprising journalistic writing and essays, group projects and presentations, workshops assignments, and written examinations.

Key career skills

Creative thinking, writing, presentation, teamwork, working to deadline, IT.

Projects/work experience:

• Sport journalism students produce the course's own website, covering all of the University's sports teams.
• We work with Hampshire Cricket to provide a team of writers during the season who attend matches and provide the material for Hampshire’s website.
• We also work with other sporting organisations (local and county football and cricket leagues, such as Winchester City FC.) to provide material for their websites.

Graduate profile

Jordan Clark

Multimedia Sports and Lifestyle Journalist

“I would put a large part of my success in the industry so far down to the skills and knowledge that were passed on to me by my lecturers. They have allowed me to step straight from life as a student into that of a full-time sports journalist.

"Since graduating from Solent I spent several months working for free in order to build my portfolio and gain more experience in the industry. The hard work and long hours have paid off though, as I am now working full-time for IssTV as a Sports Presenter/Reporter, where I am producing, writing, presenting, reporting and editing news and features on sports events and stories across the south coast. Including an exclusive interview with Harry Redknapp from his home in Sandbanks.

"I also have Solent to thank for giving me my first break as a broadcaster, after Solent Productions employed me to produce and present a feature on the BUCS Indoor Cricket Finals Day at Lord’s in 2010.”

Alexandra Fisher

BBC Sport

“The course taught me everything I needed to know to find my job with the BBC. I owe my current role to the Sports Journalism course at Solent.”