M.A. International Sport Development and Politics (ENGLISH)

The M.A. International Sport Development and Politics aims at a comprehensive understanding of structures, actors and conflicts in sport and physical activity. It offers an international focus on sport, including transnational and comparative dimensions. In order to obtain a profound knowledge and understanding of sport in its political, social, cultural and economic framework, the Master programme combines sport sciences with humanities, social sciences and economics. The programme is highly research oriented and fosters problem-solving capacities as well as methods for understanding and analysing sport.

Target group

The programme aims primarily at graduates of sports, social sciences and humanities who have a strong interest in the political, cultural, economic and social aspects of sport. However, due to the interdisciplinary nature of the master programme, it is in principle open to applicants from other disciplines. There are 30 places allocated per year.

Degree aim and content

The course combines approaches and concepts from social sciences and humanities to ensure the underpinning for an academic analysis of sport and physical culture. Based on this, the course aims at providing basic knowledge and tools for the analysis of central subject areas such as Sport Polities: Values, Frameworks and Institutions, Sport Politics: Comparative and International Sport Structures and Processes, Sport Policies: Past, Present and Future Fields of Challenges for Sport Development. In addition, the understanding of qualitative and quantitative methods is a key learning outcome.

Job perspectives

The demand for skilled professionals who have the ability to think in an interdisciplinary manner will continue to increase thanks the international growth of numerous associations and sports, as well as the increasing importance of development with and through sport. The Master 's programme International Sport Development and Politics (M.A. DEV) meets the requirements of the labour market and prepares students the professional world. In particular, the linking of methodical knowledge and social science aspects with economic issues and sport makes graduates open to a relatively wide field of work.

Graduates of the M.A. International Sport Development and Politics are well-equipped for leading positions in all kinds of national and international sport clubs and organisations, governments and administrations, NGOs, social agencies and commercial enterprises. Graduates are also qualified for further academic research pursuing a doctoral degree.