Sport Management (Sport)

Gerard Kelly, Football Association of Ireland

I currently work across two areas, International Team Operations and Corporate Relationship and Sales with the Football Association of Ireland. I am also Head of Performance Management with Drogheda United Football Club in the League of Ireland. The MSc programme covers many of the elements involved in the business of sport and provides a well-rounded educational environment to develop your skill set for working in this industry. Interacting with the guest lecturers who held senior roles in the industry ensured I was able to get great insight into the “real life” workings of sports organisations and the roles within those organisations. The experience of completing the MSc programme in a focused and intense environment really prepares you for life in high level sports organisations where everything can change from day to day and deadlines are very tight.

Erin Brown, World Rugby

I currently work as a coordinator for strategy and organisational performance at World Rugby. My work involves strategic and operational planning, supporting internal projects, and providing analysis and recommendations to management on how our organisation can continue to achieve its strategic goals. I considered a number of sport management programmes but UCD was best positioned to provide me with the skillset I was seeking to break into a career in sport. My favourite part of the programme was hearing from a variety of guest lecturers from across the sport landscape. It really gave me an appreciation for the breadth of the modern sports industry and encouraged me to continue to build my knowledge in areas that I would previously would not have considered related to the business of sport. For me, one of the key aspects was that I got a true sense of the skills in demand from the modern sports professional and was provided with knowledge that I could apply both inside and outside of the industry. I was also really pleased to discover after enrolling in the programme that the faculty were deeply interested in their students’ success post-UCD. The faculty were always open and available for a discussion over a coffee to delve into topics deeper, answer career guidance questions, or provide connections to someone in their network who had experience navigating the same career path. That really made a huge difference to my career prospects post-graduation.

Alison Nolan, Counties Manukau Sport in South Auckland, New Zealand

I am currently working as a Primary Sport Advisor with Counties Manukau Sport in South Auckland. I have always had an interest in working in sport and I chose the MSc based on the variety of content, high calibre of lecturer and guest speakers and because it seemed to sit well with what I wanted to gain from a return to education. Although it was difficult at the beginning, having to present during each module as part of a group really added to the learning process. Getting the perspective of class mates and peers for content and presentation techniques was really beneficial within the programme and in turn for outside delivery of information to sports groups. Interacting with and learning from individuals with first-hand experience of working within sport and within sporting bodies gave me an detailed understanding of the professional sporting environment and of the differences and similarities between sport and business. Having the MSc qualification has definitely helped to open more doors for me in the pursuit of a career in sport