Postgraduate Diplomas

Sports Management

Why study Sport Management?

Sport, both globally and locally, is a huge and fast-growing industry, requiring qualified professionals
in all aspects of its management. UCT’s School of Management Studies offers a unique Postgraduate
Diploma in Sport Management that will prepare you for an amazing range of career choices in today’s
dynamic sport industry.

Whether your interests lie in managing huge corporate sponsorships, making your mark in the field
of sport development and policy, promoting new sports, organising competitions and events, being
involved in sports broadcasting and media, headhunting in a sports agency or making a splash in sports
merchandising, there are numerous opportunities to make a rewarding career in the world of sport.

Overview of the Programme

Based in UCT’s Commerce Faculty, this intensive one-year programme will get you up to speed on all aspects of the South African and international sport industry, including marketing, sponsorship, events, coaching, technology, media, administration, management, and regulation. You also gain invaluable hands-on experience: interaction with leaders in the sport industry through structured and regular guest lectures, both on campus and at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa; site visits to stadia, events, television studios, and sports academies; reality-based projects; and an internship with an organisation in your area of special interest.

Like all the Postgraduate Diplomas in Management at UCT, a strong theoretical and practical grounding in the area of specialisation is combined with modules in key management disciplines. These highly-prized (and transferable) skills ensure that on graduation you will be able to make an immediate and valuable contribution in your chosen career.

“Being a relative newcomer in professional  sport, South Africa desperately needs qualified professionals to steer the sporting industry to the future. The diploma in Sport Management  provides a wonderful and sound platform for launching such professionals into the field. It offers a relevant and thorough curriculum and attracts an array of industry experts as lecturers.”

Paddy Upton, guest lecturer 2007

Top Jobs for Graduates

Our graduates have found employment in a wide variety of sport-related organisations:

• Sport science and medicine
• Sports club administration
• National and provincial sport governing bodies
• Sponsorship agencies
• Sport licensing agencies
• Sport merchandising
• Outdoor leisure
• Sport marketing and research
• Personal fitness training

Course Structure

The course is structured around three core aspects:

GENERAL MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

Students develop core business competencies focusing on managing people and companies effectively. Areas covered are:

• Corporate Finance
• Marketing
• Information Systems
• Communication
• Business in Context – global and local perspectives
• Organisational and Management Challenges
• Effective Leadership and Management Challenges
• Effective Management of People
• Career Development

SPORT SPECIALISATION

Leaders in the industry lecture on specific aspects related to the sport industry:

• Sport Medicine and Exercise Physiology
• Government and Governance
• Marketing
• Sponsorship
• Media and Public Relations
• Event Management
• Sport Betting
• TV Production
• Mass Participation and Recreation
• Sport Governing Bodies and Federations
• Sports Law
• Facilities Management

INTERNSHIPS

Students are placed with a reputable organisation or company for a six-week internship to gain exposure to the practice of sport management in the specialisation area of their choice. Previous students’ choice of placements have included media and television corporations, science institutes, sport academies, sport federations, corporate sponsorship companies, and sports apparel companies.

Graduate Comments

“I had spent six years in the sports industry, with a focus on science and medicine only, before doing this Postgraduate Diploma. I believe my knowledge increased ten-fold as a result of the course – the content, the lecturers, the delivery were extra-ordinary, world-class. Any graduate from this course is equipped to walk straight into ANY job in the sports management industry.”

“I loved the practical nature of the course and felt I learnt relevant and useful information about the sports industry and its complexities. I did my internship with the Pick ‘n Pay Argus Cycle Tour. I also enjoyed how the course covered all aspects of the sports world from physiology to sports marketing and sponsorship. Anybody wanting a career in the sports industry cannot do better than doing this diploma.”

“After completing my BCom it was refreshing to be able to be involved with a small group of like-minded people and to be lectured to in intimate groups while working on projects with tangible outcomes. The Sports Management diploma gave me the opportunity to develop skills which are applicable in the working environment and are lacking in most if not all undergraduate qualifications at tertiary institutions.”

Fact File

Entry Requirements: The candidate must hold an undergraduate degree (other than a BBusSc) from a recognised university
Duration: The course is a one-year full-time programme - February to November (with optional two-year programme in special circumstances)
Applications close: End of November before intended year of study

For more information contact:

Ms Janine Osman
School of Management Studies
Faculty of Commerce, University of Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0) 21 650 4393/2311
Fax: +27 (0) 21 689 7570
Email: smsdip@commerce.uct.ac.za

Downloads

Brochures

• Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management Information Brochure 2008 - Click here (.PDF) (215.8 KB) (01/03/2008)