Master in Sports Communication & Media

With a Master of Arts in Sports Communication & Media, transform your passion into a career in a program designed to showcase multimedia production skills and capitalize on SHU’s ideal geographic location in the heart of the U.S. sports media industry.

Why Earn Your Master of Arts in Sports Communication & Media from Sacred Heart?

Graduates of Sacred Heart University’s Sports Communication & Media (SCM) program are working as on-air broadcasters and sports media professionals at companies across the country. Held on-campus, the SCM curriculum is a combination of:

• Television studio production 
• Live-event broadcasting
• Single camera production
• Advanced Editing
• Sports media history and theory
• Hands-on practicum and internship experiences

The program is designed to produce successful media professionals with well-developed critical thinking skills focused on the issues surrounding sports, culture and the media.

Benefits

• Located in the geographic center of the sports media industry
• Connections to industry leaders
• World-class professional facilities
• High-value practicum experiences and numerous internship possibilities
• Full-time faculty with a wealth of experience in the sports media industry
• Alumni network from major sports media companies

Tracks

Sports Broadcasting

Our Sports Broadcasting program trains students in sports media through a combination of in-class exercises, out-of-class field production work and internships with some of the many sports media companies that are located near SHU. Professional sports broadcasters with experience at companies like ESPN, NBC Sports and The Dan Patrick Show provide guidance and feedback throughout the curriculum. Students have the opportunity to produce sports media content as both on-air talent and behind-the-camera producers. All SCM students will graduate with an accomplished digital portfolio/production reel of their work.

A featured element of the Sports Broadcasting track in SCM is the weekly graduate student-produced sports show, Sports Buzz, where students are able to gain the hands-on skills they need to refine their craft. Additionally, there are opportunities in live-event production with SHU’s Division I football and basketball teams with some games being broadcast on the SNY Sports Network.

Athletic Communications & Promotions

The Athletic Communications & Promotions track focuses on extensive multimedia training in graphics production. A featured element of this track is event production for “Getting in the Game,” the annual Women in Sports Media symposium. Students participate in practicum and internship experiences that showcase their production skills and critical thinking ability as they produce written work and multimedia content in their coursework.

Dual Degree Program

Students apply to the dual degree program as incoming freshmen and are admitted directly into the SCM graduate program at the same time as their admission as undergraduate students. Dual degree students are guaranteed a place in the Master of Arts in Sports Communication and Media program provided they continue, as undergraduate students, to meet program-specific criteria to progress into enrollment in the graduate program.

Learning Outcomes

Students in the SCM program develop a theoretical, aesthetic and historical understanding of the sports communication field, and will acquire the knowledge and technical skills necessary to pursue careers in the digital world of the sports media industry.

Internship Opportunities & Career Outlook

Located in the geographic center of the sports media industry, the sports communication & media graduate program is within driving distance to ESPN, NBC Sports, MLB/NHL Networks, WWE and many other sports media companies that make their home in the area. This provides extensive networking, recruiting and internship possibilities for SCM graduate students.

The sports industry has shown dynamic growth over the past five years, and is projected to reach over $83 Billion by 2023 in North America alone. Sports communication & media graduates pursue careers across the sports media industry in a variety of roles, including:   

• Broadcast journalist
• Multimedia content producer
• Public address announcer
• Public relations specialist
• Athletic communications manager
• Videographer/editor
• Sports team publicist
• Sports writer
• Television or radio broadcaster

More Alumni Career Perspectives

Facilities & Equipment

All SCM graduate students receive a Macbook Pro laptop outfitted with the latest multimedia production software, which are theirs to keep when they graduate with a master of arts degree. In addition, students are assigned their own personal camera kit while in the program thus giving them the complete tools to become multimedia storytellers. 

The SCMA program is housed in the Frank & Marisa Martire Center for the Liberal Arts, a $50 million, 120,000-square-foot world-class facility offering unparalleled resources. Students have access to media production studios and interactive laboratories designed to advance the skills and knowledge students need for the global marketplace. The Martire Center and Sacred Heart’s West Campus offer these fully featured production spaces: 

• Three broadcast studios
• Three networked control rooms
• Film soundstage
• Two media labs
• Six individual editing rooms
• Foley room
• Film finishing room
• Networked presentation forum
• Large media theater
• Two screening rooms

Learn More

Faculty Highlights

More Information

To learn more about the Master of Arts in sports communication & media, contact: