Olympic and paralympic Games: THE IMPACT OF ... - Universities UK

Universities andsports coursesAs the link between universities and sport has grown over the decades, so has the demand to studyfor sport courses. Many universities now offer unique qualifications to enable the most sporting ofacademics to follow their passions. Here are three of the most interesting options currently beingrun by the UK’s universities.Scoring a FIFA Masters at De MontfortOne course at De Montfort University is theonly one of its kind in the world. The FédérationInternationale de Football Association (FIFA)Masters degree in Management, Law andHumanities of Sport is a partnership between theLeicester-based university, a university in Italyand a third in Switzerland. Each year a group of30 students from around 20 countries take thispostgraduate qualification, spending one termstudying at each of the universities and learningfrom some of the leading authorities in thestudy of sport. The course is coordinated by theCentre International d’Etude du Sport (CIES) inSwitzerland.The highly regarded qualification is designed toprepare graduates for the complex world of sportmanagement. The first module takes place at theInternational Centre for Sports History and Cultureat De Montfort University, the second modulein Sports Management is delivered by SDAUniversity of Birmingham and the PGAget in the swingKeen golfers can now set their sights on a careerin their favourite sport thanks to a unique degreeprogramme set up between the Universityof Birmingham and the Professional Golfers’Association (PGA). Applied Golf ManagementStudies is the only degree of its kind in the worldand gives 25 students each year the chanceof combining high level applied theoreticaldegree studies over three years with potentialmembership of the PGA. Entrants must not onlybe high achieving academics but also need toBocconi (Scuola di Direzione Aziendale) Schoolof Management in Italy and the final module inSports Law is taught by Université de Neuchâtelin Switzerland.Alumni from the FIFA Masters have goneon to jobs in a wide variety of top sportingorganisations, including the InternationalOlympic Committee, the International BasketballFederation, Adidas, the London 2012 OrganisingCommittee for the Games, Major League Soccerand the Union of European Football Associations.The course is overseen by CIES Director ProfessorDenis Oswald. A Swiss rower and sports officialwho competed in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 OlympicGames, he is Chairman of the CoordinationCommission for the Games of the XXX Olympiadin London in 2012 and is also an IOC ExecutiveCommittee member. He was awarded an honorarydoctorate from De Montfort University in 2011.meet a golf handicap in the year of applicationof 4.4 or better for men and 6.4 or better forwomen.The PGA and university partnership alsooffers a distance learning course for aspiringprofessionals who currently work in the industry.This is the traditional route for becoming a PGAprofessional and the current programme is thelatest development of the training programmethat is over 50 years old.52 SECTION ten : UNIVERSITIES AND SPORTS COURSES