Undergraduate Course 

The highlights

Top15for career prospectsJournalism - Guardian University Guide 2025
Football Journalism students visiting Premier League Productions at Stockley Park.
Football Journalism students visiting Premier League Productions at Stockley Park

A football degree for 2023 and beyond

Thanks to multi-billion-pound television deals, 90% of people in the UK owning a smartphone, and the explosion of social media, the desire for football content has never been greater. On this degree, we’ll teach you how to service that need.

We recognise this is an extremely fast-moving field, so we are always improving and evolving our course to reflect the industry. With this in mind, we have an updated curriculum for 2023, with new and improved modules on e-sports, video journalism, social media, feature writing, commentary and punditry, data analysis and visualisation, the societal impact of journalism, and more.  

This is in response to changes in the industry. Football clubs are now taking control of their own narrative and looking for well-qualified media professionals who can help them build their audiences and communicate directly with fans. Journalists are also building their own brands, audiences and content. The traditional forms of media are still extremely relevant, but they have had to shift their offering to reflect their audience.

Our aim is to help you develop the skills that all these employers will look for when hiring, as well as to show you how to manage your own content and brand. We want to ensure the broadest range of job pathways are open to you.

Play to your strengths

As the definition of journalism has broadened, so too has our degree. It’s extremely varied, with plenty of optional modules in years two and three, so you can tailor your degree to your own talents and interests.

We’ll cover traditional skills like interviewing, newswriting and media law, as well as those required by the industry today, such as video, social media management, podcasting, and data analysis.

As well as producing content, you’ll also be asked to analyse the work of current journalists to understand what best practice looks like. You will also learn more generally about communication, media, and societal issues in journalism.

A female with brown curly hair is sitting smiling at an outdoor restaurant overlooking the sea and buildings

It’s been amazing to see the effort and care the course has put into getting more women in the football industry, and I’ve felt so supported during my time here. The course has been so encouraging in helping me develop my interests and apply them to the real world, but has also opened me up to other types of journalism in an industry that’s always changing.

Juliet Nottingham
BA (Hons) Football Journalism*

*Juliet placed third in the 2024 FWA Vikki Orvice Student Football Writer of the Year.

Get professional experience

Our tutors are well-connected in the industry. They can put you in touch with football clubs and media organisations, so you can start to gain valuable work experience.

Recently for example, we arranged for groups of students to cover the 2022 Women’s Euros and the 2022 Commonwealth Games. We also have around 80 students currently working for individual clubs, such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Burton Albion, Walsall and Mansfield.

You’ll cover all aspects of the news cycle from previewing matches to live reporting and post-match analysis, along with press conferences, interviews and sports features. To see what our students get up to, take a look at the Derby Uni Footy Journos website and TikTok page.

By the end of the course – provided you’ve made the most of these opportunities – you should have an impressive editorial portfolio to show prospective employers.

A professional headshot of a smiling male with brown hair, blue eyes and a beard wearing a cord shirt in front of a blue background

How this specialist course helped launch Ryan's career

Since graduating, Ryan has secured a role at a digital data-driven sports agency and produces social media content across The Premier League.

Read moreRead more
A female in a bright blue suit and black jacket stands in front of the steps to a huge sporting arena

My experience body doubling for international footballers, doing the majority of their skills for campaigns such as a global Pepsi commercial, alongside my football journalism degree, has built up a great skill set for working in the media production industry which will hopefully help me progress my career behind the camera as well as in front of it.

Lucy Copeland
BA (Hons) Football Journalism

Be inspired by guest speakers

You’ll gain fascinating insights into the profession thanks to our programme of guest lectures by sports journalists, broadcasters and football industry insiders. In recent years these have included:

A University of Derby student holding a microphone whilst interviewing commentator Arlo White

Ted Lasso star, sports presenter and commentator Arlo White has been awarded Honorary Doctor of the University

We caught up with the Honorary graduate who has supported students through mentoring and being a guest speaker.

Read moreRead more

Offer Holder Event at Derby County Football Club

Take a look at what happened at an Offer Holder Event exclusively for Applicants of BA (Hons) Football Journalism at the University of Derby and gain an insight into this course from student Ella. The event took place at Derby County Football Club with a panel of speakers including manager Paul Warne, former player and club captain Curtis Davies, lead presenter and commentator for RamsTV, Owen Bradley, and Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Football Journalism, Chris Hall.

A group of men sit on chairs in a row on a small stage, they're holding microphones and sitting in front of a stand with black and white photographs of footballers

View BA (Hons) Football Journalism Offer Holder Event video transcript

Outstanding facilities

You'll predominantly be based at our Markeaton Street and Kedleston Road sites, which have everything a journalist needs. Our facilities include three radio studios, a fully equipped television studio, video editing suites, Mac suites and a newsroom featuring the latest software, including Adobe Creative Suite.

Our radio studios have recently been refurbished and fitted with Calrec technology — a leading range of broadcast audio mixing consoles and equipment. All large media companies are now migrating to this technology, so we're ahead of the game.

All of this means you’ll be confident using industry-standard technology, giving you an advantage when you're looking for a job.

Study abroad

We can offer opportunities for you to spend time in another country, including studying at our partner universities or working on a placement or internship.

For a more general journalism degree, you can also study our BA (Hons) Journalism.

Markeaton Street, Derby Campus

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Whether it's computing, photography, or engineering, our top-tier facilities — including a new suite of recording studios and a £12 million STEM Centre — provide the perfect setting to excel.

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What you will study

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

Kedleston Road, Derby Campus entrance

Undergraduate Open Days

The best way to find out if studying at Derby is right for you is to experience an Open Day. Get a feel for the city and campus, tour our first-class facilities and see where you could be living.

Book your Undergraduate Open DayBook your Undergraduate Open Day

How you will learn

You will learn in a variety of ways – for example through:

Assessment

Our assessments are focused on teaching you how to be a journalist. There are no exams and you’ll be assessed mainly on the content you produce, which might be social media content, podcasts, videos, features, and news articles. For some modules, you will need to complete more academic assessments, including essays, case study reports and presentations.

Who you will meet

Person offering support to a student Person offering support to a student with a laptop Student smiling with tutor Tutor smiling with student and laptop

Helping you reach your full potential

Our Personal Academic Tutoring programme supports your academic journey, helping you achieve your goals and unlock your potential.

Explore the programme

Who will teach you

Chris Hall

Programme Leader

Awaiting staff photo

Chris Hall

Chris has joined Derby University as a lecturer in Journalism with a particular focus on sports journalism. Chris has over 14 years of experience in football, sports and entertainment having worked for a Premier League club, a football...

View full staff profile

Entry requirements

2025 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2025 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

RequirementWhat we're looking for
UCAS points112
A LevelBBC
T LevelMerit
BTECDMM
GCSEGCSE Maths and English Grade 4/Grade C (or above) or equivalent qualification
Access to HEPass Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits: 45 at Level 3 with a minimum of Distinction: 15, Merit: 24, Pass: 6

Offers will be made initially based on your application, including predicted grades and/or grades you have already achieved. You may be given the opportunity, within your offer letter, to submit a portfolio. If you submit a strong portfolio we will make you an unconditional offer, to reflect the quality of your work and your potential.

Additional entry requirements

English language requirements

IELTS: 7.0 (with at least 6.5 in each skills area)

Fees and funding

2025/26

 Full-timePart-time
UK

£9,535 per year

£1,190 per 20 credit module

International

£16,900 per year

N/A

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

How to apply

Please look at our application deadlines before you apply.


UK students

If you are in Year 13 and applying for a full-time undergraduate course (including our joint honours courses), we recommend that you apply through UCAS.

Apply through UCAS

If you are applying to study part-time, or already have your qualifications, or wish to join at Year 2 or 3, you should apply directly to the University.

Apply directly to the University

Careers

By the end of this football journalism degree, you should have plenty of professional experience and contacts to get your career off to a flying start.

The course develops the broad range of knowledge and skills you need to become a football journalist today, but it also prepares you for other careers in journalism, PR and marketing, advertising, corporate communications, law and public administration or politics.

Our football journalism graduates are now working for clubs and organisations like Manchester City, TalkSPORT, AFTV (Arsenal Football TV), Brentford FC, Nottingham Forest Women FC, Blackburn Rovers LFC, Football Manager, Birmingham City FC, Bet365, Reach plc and Reuters. They work in a great variety of roles, including as club journalists, commentators, social media managers, communications officers, and community liaison officers.

Getting you career ready

Your degree is only part of your story.

We're here to help prepare you for life after university.

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96%
of UK graduates are in employment or further study.

Top 5
for employability.
Uni Compare Annual Student Review Rankings 2025.

87%
of UK graduates say their current activity is meaningful.

Contact us

If you need any more information from us, eg on courses, accommodation, applying, car parking, fees or funding, please contact us and we will do everything we can to help you.

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Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.

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