| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-05-24 | - |
| 2023-09-14 | - |
| 2024-01-18 | - |
Program Overview
Wembley. The Olympic Stadium. Lord's. Wimbledon. Twickenham. Have you ever dreamed of working as a sports writer there? Well, our Sports Journalism degree students have reported from all of these iconic venues in the past few years.
Our course offers an exciting but practical, hands-on approach to learning how to report on sport. By the time you finish your degree, you'll be fully trained as a multi-platform journalist, ready to write for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, the internet and mobile apps.
During our course, you could end up interviewing the England cricket captain. Or reporting on a Football League match. Or being taken on a tour of Wembley or Sky Studios. Or, here in London's Olympic heartland, writing a feature from the University of East London's £21 million SportsDock facility for our website, Rising East.
Guided by expert lecturers and tutors who are all working sports journalists, we aim to develop your passion and knowledge of sport so that you can deliver and share it with others.
Foundation year
If you don't meet the entry requirements for a BA, you can study this course as an extended, four-year programme. You'll begin by taking a foundation year which prepares you for a successful transition to the BA degree. This means it will take you four years to complete the course full-time, and eight years to complete the course part-time.
Program Outline
You'll learn about all aspects of sports journalism from the challenge of filing a match report within seconds of the final whistle to producing sport for television.
Think of London as being your classroom. You'll develop your skills by attending sports events in the capital and tracking down interviewees. Our students have covered the Europa League final in Dublin and interviewed sports stars past and present such as Ray Wilkins, Andre Villas-Boas and Alastair Cook.
You'll be expected to attend matches and other sports events regularly, as well as going to press conferences. It's proper journalism, not taking in information second-hand through the internet and TV.
The course also aims to put sport and journalism in a wider context, looking at how they are linked to politics, national identity, commerce, and even film and music.
We're also the only university to offer you the chance of studying for the Professional Certificate in Journalism. That means you can earn an important professional qualification to go with your degree.
We consistently review our courses to ensure we are up to date with industry changes and requirements from our graduates. As a result, our modules are subject to change.
You'll be taught by a range of staff, many of whom are practitioners in the area they teach. Some of the assessments focus on practical skills and are presented as 'live or simulated briefs'. This ensures that the practice-led teaching is relevant to industry and practice. Our staff are well placed to take advantage of a range of professional networks and industry contact. Each module is designed with practical components and a reflective component, with the intention that students develop an ability to comment on and justify their creative process.
Guided independent study
When not attending timetabled lectures or workshops, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve skills development through online study, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects and preparing coursework assignments and presentations. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, specialist facilities, such as edit suites, the library, the full Microsoft Office software, including MS Teams, and Moodle: our Virtual Learning Environment.
Academic support
Our academic support team provides help in a range of areas - including learning and disability support.
Dedicated personal tutor
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.
Workload
Each year you will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.
The approximate workload hours per year for this course are:
Your timetable
Your individualised timetable is normally available within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible.
Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
Class sizes
To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 20-30 students a year. Lecture sizes are normally 20 plus students.
In the classroom you will be taught in groups of 18-20 students. However, this can vary by academic year.
The Sports Journalism course is assessed through coursework. Coursework will include practical outcomes, e.g written assignments, podcasts or research-based assignments, individual or group-based films, presentations.
The approximate percentages for this course are:
You'll always receive, in-person, written or audio feedback, outlining your strengths and how you can improve. We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 15 working days.
