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BA (Hons) Sports Journalism with Integrated Foundation Year

Get ready for a career at the cutting edge of sports media. You’ll learn the latest skills in digital, video, and broadcast production. Work towards the gold-standard UK journalism qualification – the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) diploma.

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Sports journalism students working in the press boxes at a football match
UCAS codeP504
Duration4 years
Fee (UK)£9,790
LocationOn campus

Course summary

On the BA (Hons) Sports Journalism course, you'll have the chance to:

  • Report from the press box at Wembley Stadium
  • Interview club executives
  • Visit some of Europe's finest football stadiums
  • Report on professional county cricket
  • Produce your own website, sports TV episode, or series of investigative sports articles
  • Use our state-of-the-art TV studios and outside broadcast equipment.

You'll build your experience in our mediaHUB and develop a portfolio of work. You'll then publish this work on SportsByte – our student-run website for north-east sport.

Our graduates have gone on to work for:

  • Sky Sports News
  • BBC Sport
  • Manchester United FC
  • Liverpool FC
  • Everton FC
  • Newcastle United FC
  • Golf’s Ryder Cup and DP World Tour
  • The Williams F1 team
  • National newspapers.
Why Sunderland for Journalism

Integrated Foundation Year

This course is available with an Integrated Foundation Year, an extra year of your degree. This route offers a supportive way of transitioning into university study. It may be suitable for you if you:

  • Have valuable work or life experience but no formal qualifications
  • Are returning to education after a break
  • Want to change direction or explore a new career path
  • Have just missed the entry requirements for the three-year course.

We’re enhancing our Integrated Foundation Year to give you an even stronger start to your degree. The updated modules will align more with your chosen subject area. This will help you build the knowledge, confidence, and skills you need for your studies. We'll share full details soon and can't wait to tell you more.

Please note, this route isn’t available to international students.

Accreditations and approvals

This course is accredited by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) logo(opens in new tab)

What you'll study

Many of our courses include a range of modules you can choose from. Some options may only be available if you’ve already studied specific modules. If you’re not sure what you need before picking a module, your course leader can help.

Undergraduate module credits should total 120 credits per academic year. If optional modules are available, choose an amount that totals 120 credits.

How you'll learn

In your first year, you’ll build the core skills you need to get started. You’ll learn different writing styles, how to research stories, and the basics of media law. You’ll also cover both traditional sports reporting and modern digital skills.

In your second and final year, you’ll take your learning further. You’ll work in our state-of-the-art facilities and train in shorthand – a key skill valued by employers like Sky Sports News.

You’ll grow your experience and build your portfolio by taking on reporting or editing roles with SportsByte. You’ll also benefit from our strong links with:

  • Durham County Cricket Club
  • Newcastle Falcons
  • Sunderland AFC (with a part-time internship each year for one final-year student).

You’ll get real match-day and behind-the-scenes experience at major sporting events.

In your final year, your work could be published each week for a full semester by JPIMedia. You can also take a placement to put your skills into practice. You’ll create a large-scale piece of journalism – a great addition to your portfolio to help you stand out to employers.

Our teaching methods include:

  • Lectures and demonstrations
  • Seminars
  • Workshops
  • Group projects
  • Practical skills sessions.

Our teaching staff are experienced journalists with strong industry links. We also bring in guest speakers from across the media industry.

Assessment methods include portfolios of practical work, essays, exams, reports, and presentations.

Entry requirements

Fees and finance support

UK£9,790

The tuition fee includes the NCTJ exam fees. It covers the cost of one attempt at all seven exams required for the NCTJ Diploma, including each shorthand speed.

Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. If you're a Home fee-paying student, the fee for your first year of study for 2026/27 will be £9,790. You'll pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

Check your fee status(opens in new tab).

See all course tuition fees.

Full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled students may be eligible for financial support. This would cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.

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UK students

Disclaimer

We want to make sure you have clear and accurate information about our courses. Our website always shows the latest updates. If you’ve applied and you're offered a place, we’ll contact you in writing if anything important changes.

For more information, view our programme specifications. These include course content, learning outcomes, and the skills you'll gain.

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