Advanced Management (Sport Business and Leadership), MSc / PGDip / PGCert

Designed Specifically with Sporting Professionals and Athletes in Mind

Students sitting behind desk

Course Overview

The innovative and forward-looking MSc Advanced Management (Sport Business and Leadership) has been designed specifically with sporting professionals and athletes in mind.

The course has been developed to support senior and aspiring leaders within sporting organisations, whilst also being highly relevant to athletes wanting to diversify their skill set (off the pitch), with skills and approaches that can be implemented in their organisation or entrepreneurial venture.

The programme is designed for individuals who are:

  • Currently working in sporting organisations in the sporting sector, who are looking for a formal management or leadership qualification to take their career to the next level.
  • Professional or semi-professional athletes, thinking about developing their management and entrepreneurial skills, ready for life after retirement from professional sport.
  • Looking to build a career in the sporting sector.

Taught over two years part-time, this MSc has been constructed to provide opportunities to develop critical skills while building a management-focused mindset. Teaching is based on recognised fundamental management theory, which is applied in a manner that is specific to the sporting sector.

Providing a unique blend of theoretical concepts and practical application, the programme offers sport-specific modules that bring theory to life by using real-life case studies to demonstrate how this theory is applied, while offering numerous opportunities to build practical management skills.

This sport-focused pathway of our Advanced Management programme offers accessible and blended flexible learning, to cater for the potentially complex needs of sporting professionals, allowing for learning to be built around existing professional commitments.

Why Advanced Management (Sport Business and Leadership) at Swansea?

  • The School of Management is accredited by AACSB International, the world’s largest business education association, connecting business schools, businesses and learners, to create the next generation of great leaders.
  • Access world-class academics with extensive experience of working in various sectors, providing practical insights.
  • Immerse yourself in a management-focused environment, with sector-leading facilities housed in Swansea University’s £22million School of Management.
  • Learn how to apply theoretical concepts to address real-world challenges. 
  • Benefit from innovative teaching that blends theory with practice.
  • Build personal skills and knowledge, specific to the sporting sector, through tailored course content.
  • Become a leader that can navigate innovation and drive change.
  • Prepare yourself for a career in the sporting sector, or a successful professional life ‘off the pitch’.

Your Advanced Management (Sport Business and Leadership) Experience

The programme begins by looking at vital themes in management, such as navigating innovation and change, and exploring organisational purpose. These modules deliver against learning objectives identified as being highly significant to the future success of the sector, and will be adapted with sports-specific content where appropriate.

As the programme progresses, students will study sports-specific modules, engaging with content around leadership and governance, sustainable operations management, as well as entrepreneurial action. These modules will very much bring theory to life through real-world case studies to demonstrate how theory is applied, also providing students with practical professional tools.

The programme culminates in a research-focused project, concentrated on each student’s needs and interests. The content will feature contemporary developments in the management of public and private organisations that encourages students to critically appraise developments using case studies, reflective journals and reports based on experiences in their own professional roles.

This is all supported by unique engagement between the programme team and their connections with the public and private sectors, involving organisations that operate from local to global levels.

Advanced Management (Sport Business and Leadership) Employment Opportunities

Completion of this MSc programme will ensure graduates are equipped with advanced skills and knowledge of management approaches in organisations that operate in complex environments, and that need to produce highly reliable outcomes. This will lead to improved decision-making, problem-solving, and leadership abilities, making graduates valuable assets to numerous organisations, and effective entrepreneurs.

Graduates will be well-equipped to answer the growing need in the sporting sector for organisations, governing bodies and athletes to be equipped with a diverse portfolio of management skills, knowledge and capabilities.

Modules

The course comprises of 180 credits across two years of study.

Year 1 covers core themes in management such as organisational purpose and navigating change, with modules tailored to the sporting sector.

Sporting themes are continued in Year 2, looking at leadership and sustainable operations in sport, with students also completing the Research in Practice module, which will have been a developing project throughout the two years.