Programmes and courses

Birkbeck was one of the first UK institutions to run postgraduate degrees in sport management and we currently offer a range of master’s programmes, short courses and a PhD programme.

The sport management programmes at Birkbeck grew directly out of our involvement in high-profile issues in sport and business – something that remains a hallmark of our approach. In 1998, Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB broadcasting company made a bid for Manchester United Football Club. Academic staff at Birkbeck, realising the significance of this, quickly convened a meeting of football business experts to examine the implications of the bid. Two big things emerged from that meeting: first, a larger conference on football governance was desperately needed; and second, there was not enough public understanding of the business of sport.

In July 1999, Birkbeck duly hosted a major international conference on the governance and regulation of football and in 2000, we published a book, Football in the Digital Age, with a foreword by Johan Cruyff and contributions from the conference speakers and many more across the football landscape, including Gordon Taylor, Joan Laporta, Richard Scudamore and Andy Burnham. Then, in 2001, responding to the need for greater understanding of sport business, Birkbeck launched their first Master’s programme in sport management.

Now, more than a quarter of a century later, Birkbeck is a very well-established and high-profile provider of sport management education. Our ethos has remained the same throughout: we wish to provide students with a thorough academic grounding in the business of sport, while connecting them directly to the sport industry. Our academic staff are all leading researchers in the sport management field and we have pioneered the use of expert guest speakers on our programmes, drawing on our extensive network of sport industry contacts, including our alumni. We draw on the latest academic research to educate students about the most significant issues in sport, including the economics and design of sport competitions, global sport governance, sustainability and cultural production. And we foster connections between students and sport industry professionals through expert guest speaker seminars, sport site visits and our bespoke sport industry consultancy projects.

Beyond our range of master’s programmes, we also offer various short courses on important sport business topics and a very well-respected PhD programme.

Scholarships and other financial support

Please visit the pages below and carefully explore each of the scholarships and other forms of financial support to check if you are eligible:

Got an idea for a short course?

If you have an idea for a short course that you think could be developed in partnership with the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, please contact us.