Sport & Leisure Management

About the course

You will develop the professional skills and knowledge required to perform as an effective manager in a sports and leisure environment. Past students have progressed to become leisure centre managers, leisure operations managers and have taken responsible positions in a wide range of organisations.

Some modules are delivered at Bolton Arena, enabling students to learn in a large and active real-world leisure environment.

The course provides ample opportunities, through seminars, presentations and discussion papers, to learn about, discuss and debate topical issues relevant to leisure management. The Work Experience module in the second year offers you an opportunity to undertake an extended work placement in a leisure management location where you will learn the applied and practical skills of managing in this environment.

The course team are currently active researchers in the field of leisure and sport management and have published a number of papers on, for example, the inclusion of ethnic minority communities in leisure, government policy on the development and management of leisure spaces, the historical development of the countryside as a leisure resource and the community legacy of large-scale sport events. This knowledge of latest developments and trends will feed back into your studies.

What you will learn

You will learn how the leisure and sport industries are structured and how the private, public and voluntary sectors all inter-relate to provide the vast range of leisure and sport opportunities available to the British public.

You will learn some core management techniques such as managing and supervising people and workplace teams, marketing and financial accounting. You will also develop report writing and presentation skills – essential to career progression in any management sector.

In the third year of the course you will learn about strategic planning and how to relate this to market development and government policy.

The learning you undertake on the course will enable you to develop your professional outlook and to perform more effectively in your job. It will be of value in managing leisure facilities and operations, preparing business plans and funding bids and how to perform effectively in a professional environment.

Special features

• In the final year dissertation, students can undertake an extended piece of research in a topic of their choice within the field of leisure and sport management.

• The study of both the practical and theoretical aspects of leisure management, and a work placement in your second year, will give you the applied skills and broad understanding that will support your career in the sector.

Careers and professional development

The University has excellent links with local and regional deliverers of sporting initiatives and throughout the course actively encourages and supports all sports students to gain practical experience within a relevant section of the industry.

On graduation you will become a member of the University’s Alumni Association. You can be a lifelong member of the University community, able to access careers information and guidance, as well as the University library and periodicals, and other facilities.

Mode of attendance: Full-time