Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: £9,535 per year
International/EU: £17,155 per year (£1,200 for placement year) -
How long will I study?
3 / 4 Years
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Where will I study?
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What are the entry requirements?
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What is the UCAS code?
A003
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When do I start?
September 2025
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Placement year available?
Yes
Course summary
- Attend major live events to develop your skills in reporting and interviewing.
- Gain experience in recording, editing and publishing sports-related content.
- Gather, write and present information to a professional journalistic standard.
- Use a variety of channels, from online and broadcast to social and printed media.
- Learn how to develop industry contacts and source stories.
BA Sports Journalism at Hallam is based on Sheffield’s reputation as a UK City of Sport. As the home of football, we’re also a major centre for athletics, ice hockey, boxing, snooker, and many other sports. Join award-winning experts who share the knowledge, theory and skills you need to succeed in the fast-moving world of sports journalism.
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.
View our students' work
Find out more about the Media Arts and Communications department and view the work of some of our students.
How you learn
You’ll learn from award-winning journalists, media specialists and internationally recognised theorists – with experience across a range of industries.
Throughout the course, you’ll connect with Sheffield’s thriving sporting environment to report on real-life sports stories. You’ll engage with authentic scenarios, with a special focus on under-represented sports and sporting communities. This practical approach is underpinned by research and an examination of the legal, ethical and regulatory frameworks relevant to sports journalism.
We’ll introduce key topics and concepts through a mix of tutor-directed learning and discussions, and student-led exercises and tasks. Our teaching is digitally enhanced – you’ll engage in collaborative activities both in person and online. As this is a practical course, we’ll assess you through course work rather than exams.
You learn through:
- lectures, workshops and seminars
- practical and group work
- essays, case studies and reports
- research projects
- oral and digital presentations
- collaboration with external partners
- independent work
- portfolios
Key themes
Your course begins with the basics of journalism – writing and broadcasting. Researching stories starts on day one – all your stories are real life, based in the communities of Sheffield, South Yorkshire and beyond. There’s a particular focus on gender and diversity, as well as reporting the growth areas of women’s sport and sport for athletes with a disability.
In your second year, you’ll build on these skills with a firm grounding in the legal and regulatory requirements of the industry, while improving your research and investigation skills. You’ll also take part in ‘news days’, simulating the experience of a fast-paced newsroom.
Your final year is about preparing you for the workplace. ‘Sports News Live’ is a module where you spend the day in our top-quality studios – preparing a multi-platform sports programme. Here you’ll create a TV show, radio show and both online and digital outputs. We also recognise there are great employment opportunities working in media management for sports clubs. This is where journalism and PR meet, and you’ll be prepared for it in the ‘Working in Sports Media’ module. You’ll also create a final piece of detailed work in your research project – a written dissertation or practical project – with the support of a personal tutor.
Course support
You’ll be supported by staff every step of the way to fulfil your potential and ambitions. This might be by working with others in small groups, or by developing your own independent learning style.
You’ll also be supported towards highly skilled, graduate-level employment through a number of key areas. These include:
- access to specialist support to help with your personal, academic and career development
- access to our Skills Centre with one-to-ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments
- industry-specific employability activities such as live projects, learning in simulated environments and networking opportunities
Applied learning
Work placements
We encourage and support you to undertake a full-time work placement between the second and third year of your course.
Previous students have worked for Sheffield County FA, various South Yorkshire sports clubs, the BBC, regional newspapers, and local and national PR agencies.
Live projects
We have close links with the local sports community and organisations such as the BBC, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield Star. Our contacts provide opportunities for students to build relationships and get real-world work experience.
Networking opportunities
Every year we hold industry events to link you with regional and national sports experts.
Previous students have also heard from a variety of guest speakers – including paralympic champions, award-winning commentators and reporters, and the head of audio/video at The Guardian.
Recent speakers have shared experiences of football reporting and spearheading a sports club’s media operation. Others have spoken on topics such as the recent growth in women’s sports. And former graduates have returned to Hallam to share their experiences and tips for finding jobs.
Field trips
You’ll have opportunities to take field trips and educational visits. Previous trips have included the National Football Museum, as well as visits to local sporting clubs.
Future careers
The course prepares you for careers in:
- sports journalism and journalism
- sports club media relations
- digital sports PR
- radio
- social media and podcasting
Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work for
- BBC radio and TV
- IMG
- International Olympic Committee
- Channel 4
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Sky
- TalkSport
- Liverpool FC TV
- Sheffield Wednesday media relations
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
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreLearn 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.
Equipment and facilities
On this course you have access to:
- industry-standard editing facilities using Adobe creative suite
- TV studios to produce programmes and learn about the newsroom environment
- radio studios to learn journalism skills for radio broadcast and podcast making
- our Creative Media Centre and our skilled support team
- video equipment, cameras, tripods and microphones
Media Gallery
Entry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 112-120
This must include 64 points from two A levels or equivalent BTEC National qualifications. 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.
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
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.
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
Broadcast Journalism
Live Event Reporting
Sport And Popular Culture
Sports Writing
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Content Creation
Media Law, Regulation And Government
Research And Investigation Skills
Sports Newsday
Elective modules
Study Abroad - Creative Industries
Year 3
Optional modules
Placement Year
Final year
Compulsory modules
Long Form Journalism
Sports Journalism Research Project
Sports News Live
Working In Sports Media
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students on full-time undergraduate courses in 2025/26 is £9,535 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year). These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
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.
Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
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.
