Susquehanna University
BA in Sports Media

Selinsgrove, USA

DEGREE TYPE

DURATION

4 years

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

* November 1 — Early Action 1. November 15 — Early Decision. December 1 — Early Action 2. February 1 — Regular Decision admission application deadline; late applications welcome as space permits. March 1 — International Students

Key Summary

About : The BA in Sports Media provides students with the skills to navigate the dynamic landscape of sports journalism and media. This program covers sports reporting, broadcasting, and media management over the duration of three years. Students engage in hands-on learning experiences, enhancing their understanding of industry standards and practices.

Career Outcomes : Graduates can expect to pursue careers in various fields such as sports journalism, broadcasting, public relations, and content creation. Opportunities are available in sports organizations, media outlets, and digital platforms, targeting roles that require strong communication and media skills.

A perfect blend of practice and theory

Sports is a multi-billion dollar industry. Get the training and insight to work everywhere, from professional beats to the front offices of teams followed by millions.

Learn the practical elements of being a broadcaster or journalist in an ever-growing market and the history of sports to understand the context of what you’ll be covering.

Discuss the contribution of Jackie Robinson and how sports and race have become intertwined in our society. Look at the gender gap and monumental moments that have helped close it. Debate current events and how they’re covered by social and traditional media.

Broaden your knowledge of the world around you and better understand important topics with one of our interdisciplinary minors, like film studies or Africana studies.

Real-world experience

Pick up a camera, get behind a microphone, or take statistics during collegiate games. Work closely with the Sports Information Department and help with game management, promotion, and coverage.

Our students have interned with Minor League Baseball teams, the Little League Hall of Fame and World Series, and at the Olympics.

After graduation, you’ll have choices of employment from sports reporter to the front office of professional teams to college athletics sports information.

Requirements for Sports Media Track

When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s), and the Academic Planning Tool.

Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Communications

Susquehanna offers five degrees in Communications: Advertising and Public Relations; Broadcasting; Communication Studies; Journalism and Digital Content; and Sports Media. Majors complete university Central Curriculum requirements, plus 48 to 50 semester hours of courses in a selected degree plan. These include introductory courses, practica for learning skills, and specific emphasis requirements. A grade of C- or better is required for any course to apply to the major or minor. Courses may count toward only one degree or minor.

The department also expects communications majors and minors to participate each semester in related co-curricular activities. Options include WQSU-FM radio; The Quill student newspaper; The Lanthorn student yearbook; studio and remote video production with Lens Flare; the Paul Dannelley Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA); the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM), and other activities supervised by department faculty.

Sports Media Track

Students prepare for careers in sports media and/or sports public relations/promotion by fulfilling the university Central Curriculum requirements, participating in sports-related communications practica, and successfully completing the following courses:

24 Department Requirements

4 COMM-101 Essentials of Digital Media
2 COMM-102 Methods of Adobe Creative Suite
2 COMM-190 Intro to Communication/Media Theory
4 COMM-192 Public Speaking
4 COMM-201 Ethics and Leadership
4 COMM-202 Digital Media Analytics
4 COMM-481 Media Law

26 Sports Media Requirements

2 COMM-141 Sports Reporting
2 COMM-142 Sports Statistics
2 COMM-241 Sports Media Relations and Promotion
2 COMM-242 Sports Announcing
4 COMM-277 Audio Production and Media Performance
4 COMM-282 Fundamentals of Digital Video Production
4 COMM-382 Intermediate Digital Multimedia Production
1 COMM-501 Practicum
1 COMM-501 Practicum
4 COMM-482 Professional Digital Multimedia Production
or COMM-435 Feature Writing
- or COMM-435 Feature Writing

Honors

The departmental honors program encourages and recognizes outstanding performance in communications. To graduate with department honors, candidates must do the following:

Complete major requirements under the guidance of a Communications Department faculty adviser, who agrees to serve as a sponsor at the student’s request,
Petition the honors coordinator with a written honors proposal no later than the second to last week of the end of the junior year. The submission must be approved as honors quality by departmental faculty,
Maintain a 3.70 cumulative GPA in department courses,
Produce an acceptable written or production thesis based on one year of senior research/production work (COMM-503 Honors Study) beyond the required major track semester hours,
Submit the thesis at least two weeks before graduation, and
Successfully complete an oral defense of the honors thesis.

Honors work not meeting the required standards will be applied as a university elective course. Departmental honors may be taken separately from or in conjunction with the University Honors Program.

Honor Societies

Students who meet the requisite national and local standards are eligible to join the national honorary society Lamda Pi Eta (communications).

Communications Minors

Courses selected require a grade of C- or higher.

Double-counting restriction

Courses may count toward only one Communications degree or minor.

Requirements for Minor in Sports Media

Students are expected to participate in department activities appropriate to their interests and successfully complete a total of 24 credit hours COMM-101 Essentials of Digital Media, COMM-102 Methods of Adobe Creative Suite, COMM-141 Sports Reporting, COMM-142 Sports Statistics, COMM-241 Sports Media Relations, and Promotion, COMM-242 Sports Announcing, COMM-277 Audio Production, and Media Performance, COMM-282 Fundamentals of Digital Video Production, and two semesters of COMM-501 Practicum.