Max Whittle
Graduate
Graduated: 2014
- 4 years with year in industry
- 3 years
- 4 years with foundation year
- 5 years with foundation and industry years
20222023
Solent’s foundation year in media offers students a stimulating introduction to both the study of media and the production of media content. The Foundation Year in Media provides you with the opportunity to develop technical, creative and academic skills across a range of media platforms before beginning the BA (Hons) Sports Journalism undergraduate degree.
Understanding that students are joining the foundation year from a range of previous experiences, the course is specifically designed to acclimatise students to the university experience.
You will be encouraged to situate your own media production within established traditions and styles whilst beginning to identify your own storytelling voice and signature style. You will lastly be introduced to the significance of the creative industries within the UK economy and will be encouraged to begin positioning yourself within this growing and exciting, but competitive sector.
Solent's sports journalism degree has more than twelve years’ experience of shaping the sports journalists of the future and enables you to jump straight into the practical world of sports journalism.
The course gets you into the thick of the action straight away, reporting on local and national sports for both online and traditional media platforms.
Taught by professionals and ex-professionals with more than 200 years’ experience between them, you will be a practicing journalist from day one – benefiting from outstanding teaching, facilities and contacts, along with plenty of opportunities to put your learning into practice.
This video 'Why study BA (Hons) Sports Journalism' is available as a text transcript, with a description of visuals.
The course has been recently redeveloped and is constantly refined to meet the needs of the modern sports journalism industry, offering a broad spectrum of skills from print or broadcast to online and social media reporting – training you to produce a comprehensive news package that will engage and excite your audience.
The proof is in our graduates. Solent sports journalists operate at a range of top broadcast companies, including Sky Sports, BBC Sport, ESPN and talkSPORT, as well as national newspapers such as The Daily Mail and The Times. Other graduates work in the media offices of football, cricket and rugby clubs, as well as creative agencies and organisations.
And the south is a fantastic location for sporting activity. Solent University is the official education partner of Premier League side Southampton Football Club, while the nearby Ageas Bowl is home to Hampshire Cricket Club and hosts regular national and international matches. Plus the Solent itself is a popular race sailing location, hosting major events such as the America’s Cup.
Why choose this course?
Course features
Additional qualification
This course offers additional qualifications for you to obtain with your degree
Foundation year available
If you're not quite ready for a full undergraduate degree, there's alternative entry through one of our foundation years
Specialist facilities
This course has access to specialist facilities
Further studies
After successfully completing your studies, there's an opportunity to continue your studies at Solent
Placement year
If you apply for this course with a placement year, you have the opportunity to undertake a year in industry between your second and third years
Who is this course for?
This foundation year is designed to help you build basic media making skills ahead of starting a full undergraduate media-related degree at Solent. Typical candidates either haven’t yet met the entry requirements needed to start on the first year of an undergraduate course or have spent time away from education.
Solent’s sports journalism degree is ideally suited for people with a passion for sport, excited by the prospect of working in a demanding, deadline-driven environment, and looking to build experience in state-of-the-art facilities and using the kind of professional-grade equipment you will find out in the industry. If you want to make an impact on the world, sports journalism at Solent could be the best choice you make.
What does this course lead to?
Graduating with hands-on experience as a practising journalist, you will find many doors open to you when looking for work in sports media. From film making, TV and radio presenting, to writing, editing, creative social media, or media officer roles, graduates have gone on to hugely diverse careers. We have former students working in the media teams of football clubs, presenting TV and radio bulletins on Sky Sports and talkSPORT, creating videos for social media giants, writing for broadsheet newspapers/magazines and much more.
Meet the team
Teaching staff for the BA (Hons) Sports Journalism degree have extensive experience of working in the journalism industry as practitioners and/or are actively engaged with current research within the creative industries.
The University cannot guarantee any particular members of staff will teach specific aspects of the course in the future, but will endeavour to ensure the teaching team maintains their balance of experience and qualifications.
Facilities
Sports journalism students benefit from multi-million-pound investment in state-of-the-art media facilities. That means TV and radio studios, a wide range of TV, photography and video equipment freely loaned to students, an industry-standard newsroom and dedicated edit suites with the latest software.
Our vibrant campus brings state-of-the-art facilities to enhance your learning and elevate your student experience. Our award-winning teaching building, The Spark is centred around students and offers a stimulating study environment with flexible learning spaces. Away from studying, why not try out the gyms, fitness studios and sports halls in our £28 million Sports Complex, or watch a blockbuster film at our student-run cinema with Dolby Atmos audio.
Come to an open day
Fancy a sneak peek? Take a look around!
Core modules
Belonging (Media Design)
You will learn to present complex creative ideas in visual and compelling ways, work with others as a member of a collaborative group, become a student of the university, and meet with staff from your progression course.
Stories (Narrative Media Project)
On this module, you will be breaking down the theoretical and practical building blocks that stories are made from in order to become a better storyteller yourself.
Projects (Online Media Project)
This module will not only be an opportunity to undertake a creative project it will also teach you all about how projects work and how to ensure you get the best out of collaboration with a project team.
Discovery (Research for Media Making)
This module will teach you to find good quality information and to effectively present it. You will be eased into the process of exploring and accessing good quality sources of information in a variety of ways.
Ambitions (Individual Media Project)
This module will give you opportunities for further exploration of your own chosen field of media practice which leads to a deeper understanding of your own individual path through your course.
My Place in the Creative Industries (Media Industries)
By undertaking your own research about the branch of the creative industries you want to work in you will begin to build an understanding of the nature of work and employment in the sector.
How you will learn and be assessed
You will learn by:
You may be assessed by a combination of:
Portfolios
Individual presentations
Written exams
Practical exams
Essays
Solent’s curriculum framework builds on our unique, creative and applied approach to teaching. The transformation of students’ lives is at the heart of our mission as a university, and our curriculum – informed by the latest theory – reflects this shared educational vision.
Find out more
Study support
The student achievement team are on hand to help you succeed during your studies at Solent. They aim to contact you at key times during your time here with personalised information, advice and guidance, by email or phone.
Access Solent provides information, advice and guidance for disabled students.
All students can access Succeed@Solent, Solent's online guide to getting better grades. It offers extensive, practical information and advice on topics such as academic writing, research and presentations.
Why choose the industry?
Working in sports journalism can carry with it long, demanding and unsociable hours – but there is nothing better than being able to mix your working life with your passions. If you are willing to work hard and you have the right approach, the job satisfaction is huge.
Being a sports journalist gives you a free pass to some of the best events in the sporting calendar and the chance to meet your sporting heroes. Plus you can adapt the skills you learn on this degree to almost any workplace, as we embed in our students a need to question, research, fact-check and network.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2022/23 academic year are:
- UK, EU (settled status) and Channel Island full-time fees: £9,250 per year
- International full-time fees: £14,250 per year
For further information, please visit our tuition fees page.
Extra course costs
While most course costs are covered by your tuition fees, some essential resources and optional extras may need to be paid for separately. These additional costs are listed below. For advice on budgeting and managing your money, please contact student.funding@solent.ac.uk.
The 2022/23 other costs are not yet available. For guidance, previous other costs have been:
Optional costs:
Purchase of an external hard drive (£50) and SD cards (£6-20) is recommended.
Bursaries, scholarships and financial support
Solent University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships that provide financial assistance or waive fees for tuition or accommodation. Each bursary or scholarship has specific eligibility criteria. Check out our bursaries and scholarships pages to find out more.
Graduation costs
There is no charge to attend graduation, but you will be required to pay for the rental of your academic gown (approximately £45 per graduate, depending on your award). You may also wish to purchase official photography packages, which range in price from £15 to £200+. Graduation is not compulsory, so if you prefer to have your award sent to you, there is no cost. Extra guest tickets will go on sale after results publication and will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis. The cost per ticket is currently £15. Please note, we do not guarantee there will be any extra tickets available to purchase.
Financial information videos
Student finance in under three minutes Student funding - the essentials
Entry requirements
Please select an option below:
Key entry requirements
48 UCAS tariff points from:
- A-levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma at PPP or BTEC Diploma at MP, a T-Level Pass (D or E), or equivalent.
- We will consider mature students who have not recently undertaken a formal course of study at A-level, or equivalent, but can demonstrate relevant work or voluntary experience, that's indicative of their ability to complete the course successfully.
- For further information about UK qualifications, please refer to our course entry requirement statement.
Key entry requirements
As a general guide, we look for qualifications that are equivalent to the British high school A-levels.
If you are applying from outside the UK, find information about entry requirements, visas and agents for your country here.
For further information about EU qualifications, please refer to our course entry requirement statement.
Key entry requirements
As a general guide, we look for qualifications that are equivalent to the British high school A-levels.
If you are applying from outside the UK, find information about entry requirements, visas and agents for your country here.
For further information about international qualifications, please refer to our course entry requirement statement.
Note to all international students requiring a visa:
All international applicants need to be aware that the English language requirements to attend Solent University, and the English language requirements to obtain a visa from the Home Office, may be different. This means that if you meet the Solent University language requirement to gain a place on the course, you may still have to meet additional requirements to be granted with a visa by the Home Office.
We strongly advise all applicants to visit the Home Office website which outlines all the requirements for a successful visa application and to take a look at this PDF document which outlines both Solent University and Home Office requirements for a number of language tests.
48UCAS Points
Any questions?
Contact our admissions team!Call: 023 8201 5066Email: admissions@solent.ac.uk
How to apply
Any student applying for the first year of a full-time/sandwich undergraduate course must apply through UCAS (University and Colleges Admissions Service). This includes mature, overseas and EU students.
Nearly all schools and colleges offer their students the facility of applying electronically through the UCAS website using 'Apply'; it may also be used by those applying independently in the UK and overseas. This facility and all course information can be found on the UCAS website: www.ucas.com.
Your application should reach UCAS by 26 January if you hope to enter a course the following autumn. Early application is advised for the most popular subject areas. Late applications may be made until the end of June. The UCAS Code for the University is S30, code name SOLNT.
Language requirements
Applicants who do not have English as their first language will be required to demonstrate an approved level of proficiency in the use of the English language. The agreed minimum requirements for this course are:
-
IELTS 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each individual component
-
or equivalent.
Qualifications are checked before enrolment, and international students must bring their original certificates or certified copies when coming to study at the University.
Pre-Sessional English programme
The University also offers a pre-sessional English programme for international students who wish to improve their level of English before starting a degree course.
We will prepare you for your future
Suitable roles for graduates include
- Broadcast video or audio (sports) journalist
- Reporter/journalist
- Digital content producer
- PR/media officer
- Digital communications officer
- Social media manager
- Sports data journalist
We will help you start your career
The Solent Futures team is committed to getting students into great careers.
While you are studying, the team can help you with finding work experience or placements, link you with a mentor, check your CV, or offer one-to-one guidance.
If you're in your final year, we also have graduate job opportunities just for Solent graduates.
Find out more
Support at Solent
All students at Solent University have access to a range of specialist support services. Whether you are having financial difficulty, need additional help with academic skills or want advice on setting up your own business you'll find that help is always on hand.
Most of our specialist support services are based around the Student Hub, a central space where you can access all the information and support you may need during your time at University. The Student Hub is the first point of contact if you have any queries relating to your course, including questions about your timetable, options, and assessments and extenuating circumstances.
We work in partnership with the University to build a sense of pride and confidence in your Union, University and student experience.
Find out moreFurther study
Thinking about studying further than an undergraduate degree? Alumni can get up to 50% off their postgraduate study.
Sports Broadcast Journalism
Want to bring your sports knowledge to radio, the internet or television screens? Solent’s Sports Broadcast Journalism master’s degree is an advanced course designed to help...
Make your application
- 4 years with year in industry
- 3 years
- 4 years with foundation year
- 5 years with foundation and industry years