BA (Hons) Sports Journalism

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 Â£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.

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. 

• Tawjihi: 60% for Foundation
• 3 x AS Levels: Foundation
• US High School Diploma: GPA 2.0 for Foundation
• US High School Diploma: GPA 3.0 + SAT1 1070 for Direct Entry to Bachelor's
• International Baccalaureate (IB): 25 points with minimum 15 at Higher Level for Direct Entry to Bachelor's
• 3 x A Levels: Direct Entry to Bachelor's

The professional grounding you receive in all areas of sports writing will arm you with the skills needed to help secure many different types of jobs within the sports business.

After earning their degrees, our students have gone on to work not just in sports media but other areas connected to the sports world.

For instance, recent graduates now work for organisations such as media management company Red Bee, public relations firm Weber Shandwick and Coral bookmakers.

Our work placements and the chance to learn from journalists who have made their names at organisations like BBC Sport, talkSPORT radio, Sky and World Soccer magazine open up invaluable pathways for your future.

They'll offer you the chance to earn valuable contacts, as will your close ties with the athletes you’ll be lucky enough to meet during your course.

For example, in 2012 our students worked with TeamUSA before the Olympics. Since the Games, we've maintained close contacts with UEL's elite sportsmen and women who train at the SportsDock centre, including sprint stars Adam Gemili and Bianca Williams and leading swimmer Aimee Willmott.

One of our recent graduates now works in the marketing and communications department at SportsDock.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.