Sport Media and Culture examines the meaning, history, and culture of sport. Coursework provides students with the critical skills necessary to understand sport’s relationship to media, economics, politics, and education. A focus on race, class, and gender in sport is central to the major.
Our courses lay a solid foundation for students who want to pursue a graduate degree or combine their sport studies with an emphasis on journalism, American studies, business, history, women's studies, African American studies, or sociology. All students with an interest in sport and the media must choose a second area of study.
Iowa’s Sport Media and Culture Program is administered by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and uses a multidisciplinary approach to study sport and its cultural aspects in a variety of contexts.
The program fosters a spirit of inquiry and calls on students to broaden their perspectives. It emphasizes skills in cultural analysis and critical thinking and offers a focus on the experiences of marginalized groups, such as racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, older adults, and women in athletics.
If you’re interested in a career in sports journalism, sports information, or sports management, you can tailor your coursework to help you prepare for jobs in those areas.
Students interested in this major need to meet the requirements for admission to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Information
Iowa graduates have a 95 percent job/grad school placement rate within six months of graduation. Our Pomerantz Career Center offers multiple resources to help students find internships and jobs.
Many sport studies students use their experience to prepare for graduate school. For others, the required second area of concentration or minor serves as an introduction to careers in a number of fields, such as sports journalism or sports information, sport management, and coaching.
In addition to having more than 500 student organizations, Iowa students choose from multiple study abroad programs and undergraduate research opportunities.
The UI Division of Recreational Services offers multiple opportunities to participate in intramural and club sports on campus.
The University of Iowa provides a variety of scholarships to eligible undergraduate students through the Iowa Scholarship Portal. Scholarships are available to first-year, transfer, and currently enrolled students. For additional details on scholarships for your program of study, check directly with the department or college.
The Office of Admissions and the Office of Student Financial Aid are great resources for students seeking scholarships.
Required coursework for the BA program in Sport Media and Culture includes:
- Foundation courses
- Sport and Media courses
- Sport and Culture courses
- Capstone course
- Second Area of Study
Every student majoring in sport media and culture must complete a second area of study. The second area of study enables students to acquire a substantial body of knowledge or expertise in a relevant area, learn how another discipline views the world, and/or develop a companion set of skills to those in sport media and culture. Visit the School of Journalism and Mass Communication for more information on options for a second area of study.
Students also must complete the requirements of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences GE CLAS Core.