SportMedia Certificate
Changes in media technology are revolutionizing the way we think about and engage with sports. New media innovations have given rise to new relationships between athletes, fans, leagues, cities, events, and advertising. New technologies have brought us e-sports and fantasy sports, and given us increased access to a variety of sports. Media has changed the business of sports, even at the level of ticketing, payment, and stadium design. The innovations keep coming with no indication that they will be slowing down anytime soon. Are you interested in learning more about one of the most popular, dynamic, and fastest growing industries today? Apply to the SportMedia Certificate!
The SportMedia Certificate provides students with coursework that emphasizes the technological changes radically reshaping sports entertainment. We provide a practical foundation for understanding and working in today’s—and tomorrow’s—SportMedia industries through our 15-hour undergraduate certificate program.
Whether you wish to apply or you believe you have already completed all required coursework for the SportMedia Certificate, please log in (NetID required) to the Social Media Certificate application at go.illinois.edu/sportmediacertificateapplication to get started! If you indicate that you have completed and have received final grades for all requirements, we will email you your SportMedia Certificate. Upon request, we are happy to mail you a paper copy of the certificate.
Please note the following:
- All SportMedia Certificate coursework must be taken through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Coursework from other two- or four-year institutions cannot be used to meet SportMedia Certificate requirements
- Coursework must be taken for letter grade (NOT Credit/No Credit)
- Courses taken for the Certificate may also be applied to undergraduate degree requirements. Contact your college for more information about transferability of coursework
- This program is offered to degree-seeking undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign only
- If you are entering your final or second-to-last semester and a required core course is not offered, please reach out to the program coordinator of SportMedia, Amy Wolff at aewolf@illinois.edu
Core course requirements:
- MACS 224: SportMedia, Technology & Culture
- JOUR 361: Sports Journalism
- ADV 314: Sports Public Relations
Two courses from the following list of electives:
- MACS 264: Media Industries
- MACS 320: Popular Culture
- MACS 326: New Media, Culture & Society
- KIN/MACS 346: Case Study: Endless Summer
- MACS 364: ALL SECTIONS
- MACS 463: Public Relations & the Entertainment Industry
- MACS 199: Sport & Documentary
- MDIA 390: SportMedia Industry Immersion
- ADV 201: Social Media and Personal Branding
- JOUR 101: Interactive Media & You
- JOUR 161: Introduction to Sports Media (previously JOUR 199 Introduction to Sports Media)
- JOUR 400: Newsroom Experience (Sports Night section ONLY) (previously JOUR 217, JOUR 317, and JOUR 417 Illini Sports Night sections)
- JOUR 430: Augmented & Virtual Reality
- LER 225: Labor Issues in Sports
- RST 199: Business Strategies for Professional Sport Orgs
- RST 199: E-Sports Foundations
- RST 301: Sport Brand Management
- RST 325: Marketing, Sport and Tourism
- RST 407: Sport Analytics: Data-driven Decision Making
- THEA 461: Intro to Media Design