This full-time programme critically examines the commercialised and media-orientated world of professional sport as well as the increasingly important realm of community sport. We recognise that sport managers operate in a highly politicised environment. The programme, therefore, reviews the role of government in shaping sporting opportunities. We also examine sport’s contribution to social policy agendas such as crime prevention, health improvement, educational attainment and community building. Finally, we review sport’s role in peace and reconciliation, leadership development, gender empowerment and disease prevention worldwide. We focus on issues relevant to managing sports organisations, examining them in relation to sport's unique social and political context. These issues include: strategic, performance, human resource, change and risk management leadership organisational culture and behaviour We also: study how mass media structures sport-management debates. assess how sport managers can use the media to their advantage analyse key sport marketing concepts to provide a foundation for managing sport communications through traditional and social media The programme studies fundamental aspects of research methods and links these to sport-management concerns. Programme structure Masters degrees at the University of Edinburgh comprise 180 credits. The first 120 credits are made up of taught courses. Students who achieve an average mark of 50% or more can continue to the dissertation component which makes up the final 60 credits of the programme. Successfully completing all 180 credits leads to the MSc. You will take seven compulsory courses. These courses consist of a combination of lectures, seminars, case studies, industry visits and discussions. Compulsory courses Sport and Culture Industry (20 credits) Sport Marketing and Communications (20 credits) Sport Policy (20 credits) Sport Resource Management (20 credits) Sport, Society and International Development (20 credits) Sources of knowledge: Understanding and analysing research literature (10 credits) Conceptualising research: Foundations, assumptions and praxis (10 credits) Please note that courses and course content may change each year. Course descriptions (2024-25) HTML This course gave me an opportunity to think critically and engage with concepts that were valuable to other courses. [The course organiser's] detailed responses to final course assessment was very helpful; I will be able to employ the recommendations to improve performance in future assessments. Sources of Knowledge: Understanding and analysing research literature - nominated for Outstanding Course in the EUSA Teaching Awards 2021 Dissertation Successfully completing the taught courses enables you to progress to the dissertation. You must complete the dissertation to receive the MSc. To complete the dissertation, you also need to take one additional compulsory course, Research Methods: Planning Research. The dissertation is an independent research project. You may select your topic from a list supplied by staff or, with the help of staff, you can tailor it to your own research or career objectives. Examples of dissertation projects from previous years: Re-thinking community sports development through sport social enterprises: a case study of the Crags Community Sports Centre The mediated representation of female athletes: a case study of Yani Tseng An exploration of how sport communications present culture: examining Nike UK and Nike China Stakeholder perceptions of talent identification and development in Scottish sport Using sport to prevent teenage pregnancies: a case study of the Chattanooga Sport Ministries Comparing local football development systems in India and England The effect of outdoor fitness equipment on community sport development in Dalian (China) Creating an effective brand for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games The opportunities and challenges with social media: a case study of Adidas Expand all Collapse all Teaching: Lectures, Seminars, Guest speakers Lectures You will attend approximately 10 lectures for each 20-credit course. These provide you with information on key debates around course issues. They also stimulate your knowledge and understanding, as well as your skills in research, listening and note-taking. Online resources such as videos, recommended reading lists and links to relevant materials such as articles support and inform the lectures. These are posted onto each course’s online learning site. Seminars We hold weekly, two-hour student-led seminars during which you can raise issues from the wider reading and clarify any queries with other students and staff. This allows you to learn from peers and develop your communication skills, knowledge and understanding, and personal and intellectual autonomy. By using case studies across a wide range of sport sectors, you will enhance your awareness and understanding of contemporary issues. You will also develop your autonomy and problem-solving skills. Visits and guest speakers We invite local sport organisations and prominent sport practitioners to come and share their knowledge of key issues with our students. Many of these visits and presentations are tied into assessments. This applied aspect will enhance your knowledge and understanding and make you think about future opportunities for research and enquiry. Our staff’s research and our use of industry-based tutors encourages this process. The tutors, when combined with assignments linked to the sport industry, ensure learning reflects sector concerns. Assessment and feedback Our assessment strategy uses several tools to deliver the programme’s aims and learning outcomes, to engage students, and to utilise approaches they may use in the workplace. We assess our students through: essays a management report a written communications strategy a policy brief oral presentations analysis of media texts a viva a poster presentation the research-based dissertation In a range of assignments, we encourage our students to examine sport organisations and issues from their own countries. These assignments allow students to learn independently and share their knowledge of the subject. They also allow us to assess students’ ability to address problems, construct arguments and critically analyse issues. Assessment feedback Feedback is key to enhancing the student experience. We deliver it throughout the course in several ways. Staff give informal feedback on seminar discussions and email questions. We provide discussion feedback in one-to-one tutorials and/or in more informal sessions after lectures or seminars. Students also receive individual and general feedback on non-credit-bearing class assignments. They can use this feedback to inform their credited assignments. To help the current cohort succeed, staff also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of previous students’ assignments. Where two assignments make up the course, we provide feedback on the first in time to inform the next assignment. We give formal feedback in writing and discuss it with the student in a one-to-one meeting with the relevant course organiser. Teaching informed by the latest research You will be based in the Institute for Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences (ISPEHS) where our staff are undertaking research in diverse areas, including: sport, poverty and homelessness sporting legacies from mega and major sport events sport and militarism the politics of North and South Korean sport leisure-based physical activity interventions sport media and communication the politics of sport stadium protests strategic sport management gender equity in and through sport This research informs our teaching, so you will benefit from cutting-edge knowledge and expertise. Institute for Sport, Physical Education & Health Sciences (ISPEHS) Research groups and networks Our programme is affiliated with multiple research groups and centres of education and research, including: Edinburgh Critical Studies in Sport (ECSS) Research Group Scottish Centre for Olympic Research and Education (SCORE) Academy of Sport These groups promote our commitment to research and research-led teaching. The groups were formed in conjunction with internationally renowned researchers across the UK, Asia and North America. Members include international journal editors and reviewers and nationally and internationally recognised commentators. We regularly speak at national and international events and write media articles on sport. Facilities The University of Edinburgh is one of the best universities in the world for its sport and exercise facilities. We offer more than 60 sport clubs, ranging from fencing to skydiving, horse riding, ice hockey, rugby and rock climbing. Sport and Exercise Edinburgh University Sports Union This article was published on 2024-10-07
HTML This course gave me an opportunity to think critically and engage with concepts that were valuable to other courses. [The course organiser's] detailed responses to final course assessment was very helpful; I will be able to employ the recommendations to improve performance in future assessments. Sources of Knowledge: Understanding and analysing research literature - nominated for Outstanding Course in the EUSA Teaching Awards 2021
