SportBusiness Postgraduate Course Rankings 2022

As another year speeds by, the time to publish the latest edition of the SportBusiness Postgraduate Rankings has once again come around. Now entering its 11th edition, the rankings remain as competitive as ever with familiar courses jostling for the top positions and some newer contenders making their mark on the rankings. While aspects of how the rankings are conducted continue to evolve, the purpose remains the same – to provide students and course leaders alike with the most dependable and reliable ranking system for postgraduate sports management programmes around the world. 

The 2021 edition of the Postgraduate Rankings described the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as the dominant theme of the academic year. While the pandemic is by no means over or forgotten, it is pleasing to be able to remark that its impact is a less prominent consideration this year. Indeed, course leaders have begun to talk more about the return to normality, with a greater number of in-person classes and large-scale events being held. Moreover, there is a sense that rather than grappling with the impact of the circumstances, universities are now able to look upon the period reflectively and translate learnings from the challenges into improving future practices.  

Following on from the precedent of previous editions, the rankings are complemented by a suite of content in the pages that follow. In both North America and Europe, each of the top three courses are covered by a snapshot overview, as well as an Alumni Interview and Academic Insight article, showcasing the work and expertise of those who have graduated the programmes and those who teach on them. 

There is also a poignant note to this year’s edition, with a tribute article dedicated to Florida Atlantic University stalwart Jim Riordan, who sadly passed away earlier this year. 

Readers will also find the first edition of Professor Dino Ruta’s series of interviews with athletes on their academic endeavours. This type of article will form part of a regular content series featured on the SportBusiness University platform in the coming months. 

Another regular content stream on the SportBusiness University platform is our Academic Insight series and this year we have decided to celebrate the most viewed article that has been published within this feature over the past 12 months. The article in question comes from Loughborough University’s Dr Alex Thurston, who wrote about how adhering to internationally accepted procurement integrity frameworks and standards helps sport practitioners mitigate integrity risks and, consequently, potential corruption risks inherently linked to international sport event procurement. 

As in previous years, feature articles have also been written especially for the rankings for those who enjoy a longer read. This year, we focus on the topics of networking and esports education. 

Methodology

Our rankings are based on two surveys, completed by course leaders and alumni who graduated three years prior to publication – meaning the 2022 edition is based on responses from the classes of 2019. Each course is ultimately given a score out of 100 based on a weighted average of results from both the graduate and course leader surveys. 

PGR Scoring System 

Number of points shown here is the maximum possible score. 

Student Measures

Quality of faculty: 5 points  

Extra-Curricular Initiatives: 5 points  

Alumni Network: 5 points 

Quality of Curriculum: 5 points 

Industry Network: 5 points  

Return on Investment: 5 points  

Professional Mentorship/Advocacy: 5 points 

Career Advancement: 3 points  

Skills Applicability: 3 points 

Skills Frequency: 3 points 

Employment

Employment status at 12 months: 11 points  

Current employment status: 12 points 

Job Support: 5 points 

Others

Mentorship: 1 point 

Work placement: 1 point 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: 5 points 

Peer Review: 5 points 

Advisory Panel 

As ever, we would like to express our gratitude to our advisory board, who are critical to the Postgraduate Rankings and the credibility at the centre of the process. 

Sue Bridgewater, professor of marketing, director of executive education, director of Centre for Sports Business, University of Liverpool. 

Michelle Harrolle, director of the Vinik Sport & Entertainment Management Programme, University of South Florida, Tampa president Women In Sports and Events. 

Dan Rascher, professor and director of academic programmes, sport management, University of San Francisco. 

Daniel G Kelly II, academic director of graduate programmes and clinical assistant professor, Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport, New York University. 

Dino Ruta, lecturer; associate professor of human resources and sport management, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Bocconi University. 

T.Bettina Cornwell, professor of marketing, head of the department of marketing at the Lundquist College of Business and Philip H. Knight chair, University of Oregon. 

Peter Dickenson, programme director, sport management (postgraduate), Loughborough University.

The 2022 Postgraduate Rankings report is available in full through our portal and you can also download a PDF of the report here.