Greetings Friends,

I'm very interested in doing a masters course in Sports Management and I intend to start this year. In the last few months I've done a lot of research on the internet regarding all the available courses around the globe. I personally wish to study in Europe as it has a diverse sports industry and therefore, I believe the opportunities will be higher after graduation. Although, I'm not very aware of the prospects of doing a Masters in Sports Management. Based on my research, interests and course curriculum, I have narrowed down to the following two courses:

1.Universidad de Europea(Real Madrid) - MBA Sports Management (Ranked 31st by best masters rankings)

2. Coventry University- MSc Sports Management (Ranked 12th by best masters rankings)

I would appreciate if anyone could throw some light on these two courses and enlighten me some more. Also, please do not hesitate to share your knowledge on any other university you know of, which offers the above mentioned qualification.

Thank you.

What are your professional goals?

Why those two schools? There are better ones at http://www.best-masters.com/ranking-master-sports-management.html

Hello Sir,

Thank you very much for your response.

I wish to establish myself in the football industry preferably in a football club and I have the impression that studying in Europe will enhance my chances to do so, considering it has the largest and the most established football industry in the world and therefore, will provide more opportunities after graduation. Please correct me if I'm misinformed in this regard. Also, I play cricket and wish to continue to do so, which is another reason why I have chosen Coventry University over the others since, cricket is a well established sport in the UK. Moreover, I haven't written GMAT and I do not have sufficient time to prepare for it and take the test, since I wish to start this year. These are the main reasons which influenced my decision to opt for the Universities mentioned earlier.

I am also interested in the program offered at IE business school and San Diego State University, but I'm not qualified enough for admission in these two universities as they require GMAT and work experience of a minimum of 2 years.
Although, I have another plan, which is; doing a 1 year PG Diploma in Sports Management this year in India(which is the only masters qualification available in the country), attain all the required qualifications by next academic year and then apply in all the universities I'm interested in.

Do you think my second plan will be a wiser option?

Taking the time to get into the best school you can sounds like a great idea.

Thank you for your suggestion.

I've been told that the PG diploma courses in India are not very recognised internationally, I was wondering if I will be wasting a year doing that course, which will also prolong my studying years. Therefore, I had decided to apply at Coventry. Is the course at Coventry University not very good? I wanted to study in the UK and Coventry is the best ranked University there for Sports Management.

Also, can you please tell me how much of a difference there is in the Msc Course offered at Coventry and the MBA courses elsewhere and also the value of MBA in comparison with Msc?

I think they are mostly useful for students with three year degrees who need a fourth year,

I don't know the Coventry course well, but it seems fairly ranked. A better school will be better.

I think your questions about the MBA and MSc are very general and open, and thus hard to answer. Do you have a more specific question?

Admittedly, I know very little about what it takes to establish oneself in a football club - I assume it essentially comes down to who you know - but a quick search of the current job availabilities in the UK clubs shows that previous work experience is quite valuable - there's a head of operations job open now at Manchester City where they're looking for five years of experience in a sport operation, venue, or premium facility.

My strategy to get a job like this would be to try to get some experience in a sports club at first. Barring access to a decent sports club, a peripheral approach might be valuable - getting a job in a luxury resort or hotel for a few years before transitioning, for instance.

While it's true that there are some good MSc programs in sports management in the UK and the broader Eurozone - Birminhgam and Portsmouth offer them, I know; and in France, EMLYON has a well-respected one - I question the efficacy of these programs to lead to decent jobs in sports clubs, especially without work experience. If you were to consider something like this, I would ask the schools for placement reports, or ask them to be connected with alum who are working in sports clubs.

Dear Mr Duncan,

I have gone through the course curriculum of the course offered at Coventry and the curriculum at certain other universities which are offering an MBA in sport management and I've noticed that, the course content taught and the areas covered are more or less the same, but the course at Coventry awards an Msc degree whereas, certain other courses award an MBA degree. I had read in one of your earlier posts that certain Msc degrees are more recognised than MBA degrees, after which i gained confidence in the course offered at Coventry. Therefore, my question regarding the difference between MBA and Msc in the area of sports management. Is there a lot of difference in terms of value and recognition?

Dear Mr Ralph,

Thank you very much for extending your support.

I completely agree with you that appropriate work experience will enhance my employment prospects after post graduation and one will definitely benefit from gaining work experience before undertaking the post graduation course.
I live in India, and as you may know the sports industry in India is not very established and also hindered by dirty politics and therefore the employment prospects are considerably low. Also, the only post graduation level degree in sports management available in India is a PG diploma which is not very recognised outside India. Currently, there are only two Institutes with decent reputation which are offering a PG diploma degree.

1. Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, which is affiliated to the University of Calcutta.

2. International Institute of Sports Management( Mumbai), which is a private institute with no affiliations and had their first batch in 2010.

These are the reasons why I had arrived at a decision that I must go to UK or the US for my post graduation as I believe, I will get to learn a lot more working and studying there and develop better as the sports industry in these two countries are very well established with increasing scope and opportunities. Hence, I wish to begin my growth with post graduation the UK or US, even if I have to start working from scratch.
Please correct me or advise me wherever necessary.

Just a quick note of agreement with Ralph: I think a better way into sports will be through a functional route (sales, business development, finance, operations, HR, marketing) rather than a vertical market degree. These are big organisations that don't hire a lot of MBAs, and those that are there are very often in sales, business development and marketing.

I do think that hospitality management degrees could also be a better route: that's a great suggestion.

Rahul, my point isn't that MSc degrees are, other things being equal, more accepted than MBAs. I'm saying that students without work experience are better off with an MSc from a school with international accreditation than a freshers MBA from a less recognised school.