Sports Journalism and Communications Degree

Program type:

Major

Format:

On Campus

Est. time to complete:

4 years

Credit Hours:

120

Launch your career in sports media

The Sports Journalism and Communications program at the Mayborn School of Journalism prepares you to tell the stories that matter in the world of sports. Through hands-on training with industry-standard equipment, mentorship from experienced sports media professionals, and access to Dallas-Fort Worth's thriving sports scene, you'll build the skills needed for careers in sports broadcasting, reporting, digital content creation and athletic communications.

Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism

Mayborn School of Journalism

(940) 565-2205

JOURAdvising@unt.edu

Sycamore Hall 206

Courses Tuition & Aid How to apply

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Why Earn a Sports Journalism and Communications Degree?

Developed in close partnership with industry leaders, the Mayborn School of Journalism's Sports Journalism and Communications program will equip you with specialized skills for careers across the dynamic sports media landscape. Master sports storytelling while developing expertise in reporting, broadcasting, digital content creation and strategic communications for sports organizations. With access to multimedia labs, studios and mentoring from professionally trained faculty, you'll learn to analyze athletic competition, create compelling content for diverse audiences, and examine the ethical dimensions of sports coverage.

Our Sports Journalism and Communications concentration will prepare you for careers in sports reporting, broadcasting, sports writing, social media management, and athletic communications across streaming services, television, websites, podcasts, newspapers and radio. Mayborn students gain hands-on experience covering Mean Green Athletics and regional sports for North Texas Daily, NTDaily.com and NTDaily TV, building portfolios in game reporting, feature writing, sports photography and broadcast production. Students may complete internships with professional sports franchises, college athletic departments, and sports media companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area—home to teams across all major professional sports leagues—and with organizations across Texas and nationwide.

Marketable Skills

Oral and written communication
Researching and reporting narrative stories
How to collect, analyze and interpret information
Knowledge of sport media operations
Storytelling with graphic design/visual materials
Teamwork
Hands-on video broadcast skills/training

Sports Journalism and Communications Degree Highlights

UNT is located within the fifth-largest media market in the country, offering access to numerous outstanding internship opportunities throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

While working toward your degree, you will receive hands-on experience through coursework, cutting-edge classrooms, studios and labs, as well as extensive student-run media outlets such as the North Texas Daily, NTTV, NT Daily Radio and Denton Community Television.

Explore international media systems, including the press, magazines, broadcasting and online media, and earn credit hours through our study abroad opportunities.

The Mayborn faculty bring more than 400 years of combined experience in real-world settings to our classrooms to inform and inspire our nearly 1,000 students. Mayborn alumni work at the heart of some of the world's leading media and communications companies.

The Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism at UNT is among the nation's top schools for journalism and mass communication, with undergraduate and graduate degree programs that prepare students for careers in print and digital journalism, broadcast journalism, advertising, public relations, sports journalism and communication, and photojournalism.

Career Outlook

A career in sports journalism is exciting, dynamic and critical to the future of the growing sports industry. The Mayborn School of Journalism provides students with the creative and critical-thinking skills to prepare them to work in fields such as sports broadcast, reputation management, athletic reporting and news storytelling.

Sports Journalism and Communications Degree Courses You Could Take

Explore the purpose, processes and careers in sport media relations including history, media convergence, economics, budgets, operations, law and ethics of sport media communication. Survey sport media careers and gain a better understanding of sport media career opportunities.

Shoot, write, edit, research, and report video and web-based sports content for journalistic outlets. Includes an overview of the business of sports journalism, its crossover with public relations, and the ethics of navigating the two.

Learn about sports reporting, writing, photojournalism and performance for multi-platform use, including web, broadcast and print. Study column writing, reporting on competition, ethics in sports journalism, sports entertainment, sports business and the impact of sports in society.

Focus on professional crisis communication, including research, planning, writing, communication, evaluation and analysis skills. Gain an understanding of appropriate responses/work products for nonprofit, corporate, presidential, governmental organization, social media and media reporting communications. Use critical thinking and public relations writing skills, working under pressure to convey targeted messages.

Focus on video storytelling for television, web and emerging platforms. Report, shoot, edit, and write short stories. Explore different styles of visual journalism, including natural sound storytelling and short-format documentary. Gain extensive hands-on experience with camera and editing equipment. Create basic graphics and text. Produce multiple stories, content for student media, television and webcasts.

Examine the global forces impacting sport and recreation in the USA and around the world. Gain a comprehensive view of global sport management and an understanding of cross-cultural influences on sport and recreation. Emphasis will be placed on the application of research and critical thinking as related to key issues in global sport.

The Green Screen

The Green Screen is the only UNT Mean Green sports news show. Brought to you by students of the Mayborn School of Journalism from the Chilton Hall DCTV studio. We report on all major UNT sports giving the audience a source for all Mean Green updates.