MSc Safe Sport

Core units: 

• Understanding Safe Sport: This unit is designed to provide a critical insight into contemporary themes and key issues within the current safe sport, safeguarding and welfare agenda. In doing so, it will cover core definitions of interpersonal violence in sport as well as an understanding of the cultures that enable it to occur. 
• Inclusive Practices in Sport: Fostering an environment of inclusivity is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic necessity in sport. This unit explores inclusion through a welfare lens, focusing on the roles of key parties, such as coaches, officials, managers, and support staff and highlights their interconnected roles in creating safe and inclusive sports environments. 
• Mental Health in Sport: This unit introduces the evidence base for understanding the scope of mental health, the importance of maintaining mental health, managing mental disorders, and some of the risk and protective factors present in modern sporting environments to influence athlete, coach, and others mental health. The unit concentrates on the importance of organisations being responsive to the mental health needs of athlete, coaches and other individuals to ensure long-term sustainable performance. 
• Sport, Ethics and Integrity: This unit will explore the topics of ethics and integrity in sports and consider the opportunities and challenges that arise alongside the aspiration for the duty of care in modern sporting environments. With a focus on critical thinking and ethical reasoning, you will develop the skills necessary to navigate complex ethical scenarios inherent in the world of sports.
• Welfare and Human Rights in Sport: This unit aims to explore the welfare and human rights of key actors in sport. The unit will explore the right to participate in sport in a safe and equitable environment. You will critically analyse relevant theories, practical insights and policy (such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit). 

Option Units:

• The Sport Media Nexus: As industries, sport and the media are unparalleled. Both are highly lucrative, powerful enterprises with global influence. But what is the relationship between the two industries? In this unit, we examine the sport media nexus and explore the varied and complex ways in which sport and the media are inextricably bound together. 
• Medical and Scientific Issues in Sport and Exercise: The focus of this unit is to systematically develop a critical awareness and the ability to constructively discuss a broad range of contemporary medical and scientific issues within sport. The unit aims to provide a current, comprehensive, and applicable understanding of how sport and exercise performance may be optimised with science and medicine whilst maintaining ethical and moral standards.
• Exercise Psychology for Behaviour Change: The aim of this unit is to systematically explore the role of psychology in exercise and physical activity domains. Through a critical analysis and evaluation of systematic, current, and comprehensive psychological theoretical approaches, students will develop applicable and original insights into behaviour change, sedentary behaviour, motivation, physical activity, and mental health initiatives. 
• International Sport Event Management: This unit aims to draw on the principles and methods associated with an established body of knowledge to critically test and apply theory as it relates to international sport event management practice. The unit will scientifically assess the social salience of sport events and outline models and processes to assess their impacts.
• Crisis and Disaster Management: This unit enables you to develop a systematic understanding of crisis and disaster management within key sectors of the Tourism, Hospitality and Events industries. You will also be able to build a solid and critical awareness of the issues associated with the effective integration of Tourism, Hospitality and Events within emergency management frameworks.
• Strategic Sport Management: The aim of this unit is to provide you with a critical understanding of the nature, scope and practice of Strategic Management within a sport context. You will develop the ability to undertake strategic analysis using a variety of analytical techniques developed through the discipline of management science, develop strategic plans and understand the key issues in terms of strategic implementation relevant to public, private and voluntary sector organisations using a broad range of strategic tools, models and theories. 
• Dissertation: The dissertation will enable you to demonstrate breadth of knowledge and analytical techniques through the preparation and presentation of a rigorous and analytically-sound dissertation concerning a particular sport issue using scientific principles and methods to critically examine the relationship between theory, practice and knowledge within an independent learning environment.
• Applied Sports Project: This unit aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding through a ‘real-life' project focusing on a sport organisation as it seeks solutions to a societal or organisational problem.  A distinguishing characteristic of the applied sport project will be engagement with external parties in a sport business, organisation or community from outside the programme. The chosen project will be conducted as a significant piece of self-managed work that will involve independent learning, critical thinking, and reflective skills that demonstrate the application of analytical and evaluative skills gained from the other units on the programme.

You have the option to undertake a 30-week placement at the end of the course, providing an opportunity to apply your acquired knowledge and skills in the workplace. You are required to find your own placement; however, our Careers & Employability Service and your faculty placements office are on hand to support you.

The placement is intended to foster personal and professional development, and to help you to make a connection between academic learning and the working world.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the university's taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready. Alternatively please contact us for assistance.

The normal requirements for embarking upon a postgraduate taught degree are:

A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject.

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry Team for more information.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (three years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55% 
• Nigeria:  Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:4 
• China:  Chinese Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with 65% or above 
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0 
• Vietnam:  Bachelor's degree/Bang tot nghiep dai hoc with an average score of 6.5/10, or 2.25/4, or a Master’s degree/Thac si. 

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.0 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level. 

We are looking for applicants who have either been working within the sport industry and who want to further their education or who may want to get into teaching. We are also looking for individuals who work in ‘mainstream’ industries, for example marketing or finance who would like to move into the sports industry and understand that an MSc in Safe Sport will give them the necessary background to do that.

We are committed and enthusiastic about the sports business world and are renown for our excellent teaching, research and industry engagement. We would like you to buy into our ethos of working hard to constantly try to make a real difference. Therefore, we invite strong applications from all around the world.

This course selects candidates by looking at their applications. There are no interviews or additional selection activities and therefore we suggest that you make your application stand out from the crowd.

For more information, take a look at our postgraduate how to apply pages.

Please see our website for the application deadlines. You should apply as early as possible to be considered for your course of choice. If you require a student visa, apply for the visa as soon as you have an unconditional offer and receive your CAS. There may be delays in visa processing in your country and you need to be in Bournemouth ready to study for the start of term.

December and January is one of our busiest application periods and therefore it may take us a little longer to process incoming applications. For courses with a January start date, we recommend submitting your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

We provide a lot of support for you to help you find work, including a block of seminars, covering topics such as writing a CV and a cover letter, completing an application form, performing well in interviews, and we also provide language support to assist you with the written elements of your applications. 

However, it is ultimately your responsibility to find work. The university does not guarantee that you will find a place. Some students may choose to opt for a taught unit instead of placement.  

During your time on placement, you will be supported by a unit tutor and a placement development advisor who will visit you on placement and keep in touch by phone and email. 

If you choose to do a placement as part of your course

• If you have previously studied in the UK, we will consider any study limit that may apply. We will issue your CAS according to the length of time you are entitled to under UKVI regulations (if you do not have enough time left for a work placement year, we will issue your CAS to cover your course dates only).
• If you decide after you have enrolled on your course that you do not want to do a placement, this will be reported to the UKVI when you have successfully completed your course.

If you choose not to do a placement as part of your course

• We will note this on your CAS and your visa will only be granted long enough to cover your taught course, excluding placement.
• If you change your mind while you are here and decide you want to do a placement, you will need to leave the UK to make a new Tier 4 visa application for the additional year of study. You would need to pay for your return travel back to your home country, as well as the cost of a new Tier 4 student visa application.

Find out more about placements by reading our student blog.

If you want to continue your studies after achieving your Master’s, you can look into our range of doctoral programmes.

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What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Materials for any mandatory field-based teaching activity.
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features. 
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow
• Disability and additional learning support
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding BU financial support funds. 
• Accommodation and living costs. Our accommodation price guide can be found on our website.
• Travel costs, outdoor wear and footwear for optional field trips.
• Travel costs to and from the university campus. An annual bus pass is included in your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies 
• Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas). Information about funding your placement year can be found on our website.
• SportsBU membership.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during the course of your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full-time fee.

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. For September 2025 and January 2025 entry, a £5,000 deposit is required. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment/ There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

• You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
• You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

We offer a range of scholarships to students who are beginning their studies at BU. Our fees and funding pages also provide details on living costs, budgeting and paying your tuition fees.