Management and Leadership in Sports Business, MSc

About Management and Leadership in Sports Business, MSc - at Heriot-Watt University

To achieve success in a sports management job you must possess the ability to lead athletes, coaches and business professionals alike in a manner which promotes optimal performance across all areas. To do this effectively you must understand your organisation's position as a product, a business, and a sporting institution.

Heriot-Watt's Management and Leadership in Sports Business degree has been designed to make you an expert in providing informed and inspiring leadership within sporting organisations. It will equip you with the business, leadership and performance management skills necessary to lead a large team of business and sports performance specialists towards achieving optimal performance and, ultimately, success.

Through a collaboration between Heriot-Watt's School of Social Sciences and Oriam, Scotland's Sports Performance Centre, you will learn from industry experts and gain a real world insight into the management and leadership of global businesses and sporting organisations. You will gain key skills in managing and measuring performance, in developing effective business strategies and in providing strong and inspirational leadership. 

In business, as in sport, success is often achieved when a thorough understanding of theory is combined with first-hand experience of real-world problem solving and this Masters degree delivers on both fronts. You will become well versed in the skills required for roles such as Chief Executive, Operations Management and Team Management.

Oriam: Scotland's Sports Performance Centre

Oriam is Scotland's national sports performance centre and acts as a base for the Scottish Football Association, Scottish Rugby Union, Basketball Scotland, Scottish Squash and Racquetball, Scottish Handball and many other elite teams as they prepare for competition on the international stage. The top of the range facilities at Oriam include Europe's largest indoor synthetic pitch with seating for 500 spectators, a medical area, a strength and conditioning gym, Hydrotherapy pool and multipurpose sports hall.

Oriam is located on the Heriot-Watt Edinburgh campus which provides the ideal environment for sporting organisations and athletes to forge links with the academic community. This enables us to create new knowledge and develop innovative initiatives that push the boundaries of human performance.

Programme Leader for MSc Management and Leadership in Sport

Neil Gibson is the Director of Sport, Performance and Health at Oriam where he manages a team of specialist practitioners and coaches who work directly with high performance athletes in football, rugby, squash and athletics. With time working for sporting organisations such as the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Rugby Union and top universities, including Heriot-Watt, Neil brings a wealth of real-world and academic experience to our Management and Leadership in Sports programmes.

After studying for Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees in Sport and Exercise Science at Sheffield Hallam University Neil spent eight years working as the Head of Sport Science for Heart of Midlothian Football Club, a period of success which included victory in the Scottish Cup and qualification to the UEFA Champions League.  

Neil has held consultant roles with GB Water Polo and Scotland Rugby League and has contributed to postgraduate courses at a number of Universities within the UK. 

He is a published academic, an accredited High Performance Physiologist with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Scientists, and an accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach with the UK Strength and Conditioning Association.

He is currently the Sport Scientist for the Scotland national football team and continues to work with the Scottish Squash team as they prepare for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games following a successful Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Notes about fees for this course

Status*Full-timePart-timePer courseScotland / Non-UK EU£6,960£3,480£870England / Northern Ireland / Wales£6,960£3,480£870Overseas£15,120£7,560£1,890

* If you are unsure which category you fall in to, you should complete a fee status enquiry form, which allows us to assess your fees.

** Fee per course

Scholarships and bursaries

We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.

View our full range of postgraduate taught scholarships.

Entry requirements

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