BA (Honours) Sports Journalism

Study Mode Full-time
Year of Entry 2025/26
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BA (Honours)

Sports Journalism

Develop the practical skills and knowledge needed to succeed as a sports journalist or public relations professional.

Everything you need to know...

  • Pound sign

    What is the fee?

    Home: See fees section below
    International/EU: £17,155 per year (£1,200 for placement year)

  • Time

    How long will I study?

    3 / 4 Years

  • Location

    Where will I study?

    City Campus

  • Bookmark

    What are the entry requirements?

    112-120 UCAS points

  • Checkmark

    What is the UCAS code?

    A003

  • Date

    When do I start?

    September 2025

  • Avatar

    Placement year available?

    Yes


Course summary

  • 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. See articles written by our current students. 


Employability

100% of our graduates are in work or further study fifteen months after graduating (2021/22 Graduate Outcomes Survey).

Teaching Quality

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

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View our students' work

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

Watch course leader Martin Smith talk about this course.

At Sheffield Hallam, all our courses are designed to engage you with the world and challenge you to think in new ways. You’ll get to collaborate with others, and you’ll be taught in a supportive environment where you can thrive.

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.

 

Applied learning

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.
 

You learn through
 

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Practical sessions

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 this course 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.

City Campus map | City Campus tour 


City Campus map
Location

Howard Street
Sheffield
S1 1WB

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Adsetts library

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

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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

Equipment and facilities

On this course you work with

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

Media Gallery

Entry requirements

All students

UCAS points

  • 112-120

This must include 64 points from two A levels or equivalent BTEC National qualifications, including at least 32 points in a relevant* subject. For example:

  • BBC-BBB at A Level.
  • DDM in BTEC Extended Diploma.
  • Merit overall from a T Level Qualification
  • A combination of qualifications, which may include EPQ and general studies.

GCSE

  • English Language at grade C or 4
  • Maths at grade C or 4

• Access - 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, in a media-related programme from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate

If English is not your first language you must have an IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.5 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.

* Relevant subjects are • media studies • communication studies • film studies • English • creative writing • a foreign language • sociology • politics • history • psychology • accountancy/finance • business/economics • hospitality/events management • dance/performing arts • drama/theatre studies • geography • art and design • graphic design • IT/computing • music/music technology • sciences • sport • world development

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

Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, 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
Audio Visual Journalism
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Media Law And Democracy
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Multimedia Storytelling
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Social Media And Web Journalism
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Sport History And Society
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Sports Reporting And Commentary
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Year 2

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Ethics And Responsibility
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Media Management And Public Relations In Sport
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Radio And Sound Production
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Sports News And Features
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Tv And Video News Skills
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Elective modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Football And Popular Culture
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Podcasting
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Year 3

Optional modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Placement Year
Credits -
Assessment
Final year

Compulsory modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Applied Project / Dissertation For Journalism
Credits 40
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Multiplatform Sports Journalism
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Elective modules

Module
Credits
Assessment
Digital Journalism And Data Visualisation
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Gender, Disability And Sport
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Moral Panics
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Pr And Power
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Radio Broadcasting
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)
Tv Journalism And Production
Credits 20
Assessment Coursework(100%)

Fees and funding

Home students

Our tuition fees for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2025/26 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 2024/25 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 2025/26 is £17,155 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.

Learn more

Additional course costs

The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.

General course additional costs

Additional costs for Media, PR and journalism courses (PDF, 331.5KB)

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

Not ready to apply just yet?

Why not come to our next open day? Open days are the perfect place to talk to staff and students, visit our campuses and get all the information you need. Alternatively, feel free to ask us a question.

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Why choose us?

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Teaching

We are Gold rated in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) for the outstanding quality of our teaching and student outcomes

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Accommodation

We guarantee to find you an affordable place to live that’s close to campus and comes with all bills included

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Employment

95% of our UK graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating (2021/22 Graduate Outcomes Survey)

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