Sport, Culture and Society – BA (Honours)

At a glance

Study the social and cultural issues surrounding sport, sport media and the delivery of sport projects. After gaining a broad understanding of the subject, you are encouraged to specialise in an area that reflects your career interests and build your CV with a placement in industry.

Key points
• Gain a broad understanding of sports sociology before specialising. • Learn from lecturers active in industry-leading research.
• Work in industry for six-weeks with a regional, national or international placement partner.
• Get industry perspectives with guest lectures.

What is sport, culture and society as a subject?
Sport, culture and society is concerned with the relationships between sport and the wider world. It examines how sport can have a dramatic impact on people's everyday lives, whether they are participants, fans or workers. This subject explores how that impact should be put to best use in policy, the media and professional sport.

This course

If you are passionate about sport, believe it has the power to have a positive impact on society and want to be involved in delivering that, this course is for you. You gain a broad understanding of sport in society and then choose to specialise in the areas, such as sport and community development, that most reflect your career aims and interests.

You benefit from a course with real connections to sports media and other sport-related industries. For example, you are taught by lecturers active in sport industry research at our leading Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC), rated 4th in the UK for sports research by the RAE. Lecturers such as Tony Blackshaw and Donna Woodhouse have worked on major sports research projects for the Football Foundation and the Home Office.

You also get real-world views of industry issues with guest lectures from industry practitioners at organisations such as FURD (Football Unites Racism Divides), Zest Community Sports Trust, FC United and regional sports journalists

You further enhance your career prospects in the sports industry by completing a work placement of six weeks during year two. This gives you the chance to gain experience working in the area of sport you are most interested in.

Previous students have secured placements as • Equality Audit Officer at Sheffield United FC • Press Association journalist • cricket coach in South Africa • Project Officer for FURD • Community Coach at Sheffield United FC, Sheffield Wednesday FC and Wigan Athletic FC • Disability sports officer for West Yorkshire Sport.

The final year is when you really specialise in your studies through a choice of different option modules. You then combine your learning and knowledge to develop a research project. Past projects include evaluating community sports development projects and cricket coaching schemes, explorations of gambling and an investigation into the condition of modern rugby league.

Key areas of study
Key areas include • the politics of sport • football and society • sociology applied to sport, culture and society • sport and community development • sport journalism • sport and social theory.