Curious about studying Journalism Studies and Sport - BA (Hons)at University of Stirling? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Stirling Campus
Full Time
Sep 2027
4 Year
The digital age has transformed the way news is reported and consumed, with more media platforms available than ever before. A degree in Journalism Studies from the University of Stirling equips you with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge you’ll need to make a mark in this rapidly-evolving industry. We’ve developed a range of combined courses that provides our graduates with a breadth of knowledge and practical experiences that can be applied to a wide range of sport-related careers. Our courses are flexible: we offer a wide variety of module options, and it can be combined with a range of subjects, including Accountancy, Business, Journalism, Marketing and Education. In addition, our extracurricular volunteering opportunities and Sport Union clubs enable you to earn qualifications and gain valuable sport management experience alongside your academic degree. We enjoy strong partnerships with national governing bodies of sport and other sporting organisations (some of which are based on campus), so you'll benefit from seminars with industry experts and opportunities to gain valuable networking and practical experiences.
On successful completion of this module, you should be able to: Critically understand journalistic professionalism and its various challenges; Employ theoretical and philosophical frameworks to analyse ethical dilemmas and reach a morally and ethically defensible position. Understand the various forms of media regulation, and the difference between ethics and the law. Critically analyse, structure and contrast cases to develop pieces of academic writing. Reflect on the comments on your work by tutors; and aim to build on strengths and deal with weaknesses.
Why does journalism matter? How is it practiced? Does it get anything right, or is modern journalism a failure? These are some of the questions we will ask in Introduction to Journalism. We will discover the key concepts in journalism studies from production of the news, through the distribution channels, to how it is received and consumed in a globalised world. We look at contemporary challenges to news, from fake stories and underfunding digital journalism, to the future of news media in an increasingly saturated social web. With knowledge of these debates and challenges, you?ll be able to read the news more critically, understand the processes behind news writing and production, and develop an understanding of the social and cultural drivers of the news media today. This module is designed for students at the beginning of their journalism journey, but also those who are interested in how journalism works and what the important debates are in news writing, production, and consumption today.
Sport, physical activity and exercise have a significant role in society both from a local community perspective and an international perspective. Through this module you will also develop your use of critical analysis when examining sport. It will offer you the opportunity to discuss both the positive side of sport and the more controversial elements of the sporting world. The topics we will cover will be explored through case study examples to show how theory and knowledge can be understood and applied to real life situations.
In this module you will explore basic physiology, biomechanics, and psychology of physical activity, exercise and sports performance. The main themes covered in the first half of the module are an introduction to the physiology of sport and exercise, adaptations to endurance, strength and interval training, the importance of physical activity for health, nutrition, and ergogenic aids. The second half of the module involves a brief introduction to sports biomechanics, skill acquisition and motor development, followed by an introduction to sports psychology, skill acquisition, and sport science support.
It is now often suggested that we are living in an age of ?convergent media? ? that is to say, media that bring users, content, technologies and experiences together in new and interesting ways in the digital realm. This module is about how networked digital media bring together people and ideas, texts and images, and technologies and industries in new ways. In FMSU9A4, we will explore such topics as interpersonal communication on social media, the relationships between media technologies and cultural change, and audiences as creative producers. We will discuss how media audiences are accessing, creating, editing, organising, sharing and collaborating on media in new ways. Most of you will already be familiar with many of these practices. This module will engage the concepts that underpin such practices and we will test these concepts by doing some of these things as part of our assignments, experimenting with a range of online media tools to bring theory and practice together. You should not think of this course as a series of separate topics, but should instead be alert to connections and continuities between weeks ? as you progress through the semester, compare and contrast, and try to make connections between ideas.
Physical inactivity has reached epidemic proportions in the UK and has become one of the leading causes of morbidity and ill health worldwide. The benefits of being active are wide reaching with both national and international policy focusing on getting more people, more active, more often.
By the end of the module students will be able to: Demonstrate competence in the selection of photographic events and scenes and the depiction of symbolic visual discourses. Demonstrate capacity to recognise a visually newsworthy event keeping in mind its relevance to the audience. Demonstrate a medium level of ability to control and make effective use of photographic equipment, proving competence in procedures and techniques of photographic software processing and photography in general.
Sport psychology is an important aspect of sport competition from grassroots to elite levels that influences both participation and performance. This module aims to provide you with knowledge and understanding of the core concepts and foundational theories underpinning sport psychology. It builds on the themes that are introduced in sports studies II and explores the impact of cognition, behaviour, and emotion in a sport environment.
This module provides students with a knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues in world sport. The module introduces the physiological systems that enable the body to engage in sport and exercise and provides an opportunity for students to experience these systems in a practical setting. The module also explores the motives and barriers of participation from a sociological perspective and then shows how finance and business can impact on policy in the private and public sectors.
Many of the characteristics and uses of modern day sport came about due to the wider sociological, economic, political and technological developments of the nineteenth century. To understand sport today and appreciate its significance to people, communities and society, we need to take a look at what happened in the past.
If you want to create, share, or analyse media content, you need to consider who isengaging with it, how and why. Thismoduleputs the audience in the spotlight and looks at different approaches to media use as a social phenomenon undergoing significant transformations.
This practical module is an introduction to the fundamental skills required for professional journalism. Participants will develop an understanding of how news articles are structured, written and presented. As a core module for the journalism programme. In workshops, students will practice writing briefs, introductory paragraphs and short news stories. Attention will be paid to grammatical and language-oriented elements. On successful completion of the module, students will be able to write an appropriately structured news story quickly and accurately, one of the fundamental skills of professional journalism. The course involves weekly one-hour lectures and two-hour workshops.
This practical module introducesyouto different journalistic genres,general reporting and specialisms including sport, finance and business, travel and long form journalism.You willget the opportunity to develop interviewing and research skills as well as writing in a range of different formats. These skills build on the foundation created in earlier modules and expandyourwriting repertoires, creativity and confidence. Hands-on workshops giveyouthe opportunity to developyourown style of writing in different areas.
The news industry has a significant impact on our lives. It is a multi-billion poundglobal industry that helps set the political, social and cultural agenda. Thispracticalmodule looks behind the scenes at how news organizations determine what is news, and how they then present it to readers. It looks at who the key players are and how they operate.
An understanding of law, government and the regulatory framework is critical if you are to have a career in the media. Delivered by an expert in the field, this module will prepare you for the challenges of being a working journalist into today?slegal and regulatory minefield.
This module provides in-depth study of research in the different disciplines of sports studies: humanities, management, health, and psychology. It aims to introduce students to a variety of research articles for review, including journal articles, policy documents and educational resources. Building on knowledge received in SPSU9RM, this module will provide a framework for students to link their chosen topic area to appropriate supervision for SPSU9RP.
This module aims to contribute to students? understanding and appreciation of research in the social sciences. It will develop students? knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research approaches, research design, methodology, methods and the development of skills required to undertake research in sports studies. This is important so that you are equipped to complete your final year Major Project.
Documentary Production is a dissertation level practical production module. Students work in groups to create short video or audio documentaries to a high technical and editorial standard. Work produced on this module has gone on to win national awards on several occasions.
In this module you will carry out and write up a research dissertation with one-to-one guidance from a supervisor. You will apply the knowledge of research methods and practice acquired in FMSU9A7 to complete the project proposed in the Autumn module.
This module is the culmination of the journalism programme and provides an opportunity foryouto showcase their talent. Producing a 10,000-word work of journalism requires tenacity, dedication, creativity and resilience and can be a very rewarding.You willwork one-on-one with a specialist supervisor on a topic ofyour choice.You willconduct interviews, evaluate information, gather data and research and then write up a substantial body of work in a journalistic style. Project participants often submit their work to student journalism awards and use their projects as a key component to their portfolios post-graduation.
This module is taken by final year sports studies students and those combined honours students who have chosen to undertake a sports studies major project. The module runs across both semester 7 and semester 8. All students registering for this module must have passed SPSU9RM in semester 5 or PSYU914 in semester 4.
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