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BA (Honours) Sports Journalism with Foundation Year

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Year of Entry 2024/25
BA (Honours)

Sports Journalism with Foundation Year

Gain a degree in sports journalism, with an initial foundation year to prepare for the course.


Everything you need to know...

What is the fee? Home: See fees section below
International/EU: £16,655 per year (£1,200 for placement year)
How long will I study? 4/5 Years
Where will I study? City Campus
What are the entry requirements? 80 UCAS Points
What is the UCAS code? A043
When do I start? September 2024
Placement year available? Yes

Teaching Quality

Sheffield Hallam University is ranked 8th amongst UK providers for journalism in the Guardian University Guide 2023 league table.

Course summary

  • Prepare for the degree with an extra foundation year at the start.
  • Learn how to gather, organise, write and present sports news, features and commentary to a professional standard across a variety of platforms.
  • Gain a critical understanding of the historical, cultural and global context of sport.
  • Equip yourself with the skills necessary to enter a competitive industry as a freelance sports journalist.

You will examine the ethical, legal and regulatory context in which sports journalists work and learn about the historical and cultural significance of sport. You will learn how to produce content for print, web, social media, radio and TV audiences.

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Find out more about the Media Arts and Communications department and view the work of some of our students.

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How you learn

All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

The course is suitable if you don't meet the entry requirements for our BA (Hons) Sports Journalism course, or you want extra preparation before starting degree-level study. You share the first year with other media arts and communication foundation year students, then move on to the degree.

You learn through

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Practical sessions
  • Work Placements

You will have opportunity to study abroad in Europe, Australia or America and the option to take a placement year to work in industry.

In the foundation year, you will study wide-ranging media arts and communication topics, while also focussing on your particular subject area and completing assignments in that field. You will grow as a creative, and begin developing a professional portfolio. You will also become familiar with our exceptional facilities and staff, so you're fully prepared for undergraduate study.

Applied learning

On the course you learn how the sports department of media organisations operate, how to produce news stories, match reports, commentary, preview features, opinion pieces and personality profiles and how to research and plan sports coverage for radio and television broadcasts. You will gain an understanding of public relations and media liaison techniques, such as how to devise and organise media opportunities and how to write web pages, press releases, news items and promotional material.


Future careers

This course prepares you for a career in

  • newspaper sports journalism
  • broadcast sports journalism
  • sports public relations
  • online sports journalism
  • magazine sports journalism

Previous graduates of BA (Honours) Sports Journalism have gone on to work for

  • Talk Sport
  • Liverpool FC TV
  • Charlton Athletic FC
  • Everton Football Club
  • Leeds Rhinos
  • Perform
  • National Golf Magazine
  • Sheffield Star
  • William Hill TV
  • Chesterfield Football Club
  • Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.

Where will I study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

City Campus

City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.

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Location

Howard Street
Sheffield
S1 1WB

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Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.

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Equipment and facilities

On this course you work with

  • industry standard, state of the art broadcast studios and exclusive access to three news rooms.

Learn more about your department

Media, Arts and Communications Facilities Tour

Take a look around the media, arts and communication facilities at Sheffield Hallam University with lecturer Saskia Wilson.

Department page

Entry requirements

All students

UCAS points

  • 80

With at least 32 points from one A level or equivalent BTEC National qualifications. For example:

  • CDD at A Level.
  • MMP in BTEC Extended Diploma.
  • Pass overall from a T level qualification with C from core.
  • A combination of qualifications which must include an A level grade C or BTEC grade M.

GCSE

  • English Language or Literature at grade C or 4 or equivalents*
  • Maths at grade C or 4 or equivalents*

You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.p>

• An Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2. At least 15 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.

We may also accept you, if you have limited qualifications but can show evidence of ability and a genuine commitment to studying Media Arts and Communication.

We treat the foundation year as part of the Media Arts and Communication degree programme. Offers made to students will be for four years of study (or five years of study including a placement). This is made up of the foundation year plus one of our Media Arts and Communication degrees.

Some applicants may be invited to attend an informal interview with the course leader to ensure that the programme is suitable for themselves and their aspirations.

If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.

Additional information for EU/International students

If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.

For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.


Modules

Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.

Important notice: The structure for this course is currently being reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment are all likely to change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Once the changes have been confirmed, updated module information will be published on this page.

You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.

Year 1

Compulsory modules
Module Credits Assessment
Module: Creative Synergies In Media Production Credits: 40 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Media In Context Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Media Project Credits: 40 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Preparing For Independent Practice And Study Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework

Year 2

Compulsory modules
Module Credits Assessment
Module: Audio Visual Journalism Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Media Law And Democracy Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Multimedia Storytelling Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Social Media And Web Journalism Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Sport History And Society Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Sports Reporting And Commentary Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework

Year 3

Compulsory modules
Module Credits Assessment
Module: Ethics And Responsibility Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Media Management And Public Relations In Sport Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Radio And Sound Production Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Sports News And Features Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Tv And Video News Skills Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Elective modules
Module Credits Assessment
Module: Football And Popular Culture Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Podcasting Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework

Year 4

Optional modules
Module Credits
Module: Placement Year Credits: -

Final year

Compulsory modules
Module Credits Assessment
Module: Applied Project / Dissertation For Journalism Credits: 40 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Multiplatform Sports Journalism Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Elective modules
Module Credits Assessment
Module: Digital Journalism And Data Visualisation Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Gender, Disability And Sport Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Pr And Power Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Radio Broadcasting Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework
Module: Tv Journalism And Production Credits: 20 Assessment: Coursework

Fees and funding

Home students

Our tuition fees for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2024/2025 are regulated by the UK government and are yet to be confirmed. For an indication, our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2023/2024 is £9,250 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.

International students

Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2024/25 is £16,655 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.

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Financial support for home/EU students

How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.

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Additional course costs

This link allows you to view estimated costs associated with the main activities on specific courses. These are estimates and, as such, are only an indication of additional course costs. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.

Additional costs for Media, PR and journalism courses (PDF, 220.5KB)

Legal information

Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.

 

How do I apply?

Apply now via UCAS

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