Sports Journalism course reaches accreditation goal
Renowned degree scores UK first with BJTC
The Sports Journalism BA (Hons) course from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has become the first undergraduate sports journalism degree in the UK to receive full accreditation from the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC).
The BJTC – a partnership between the major employers in the UK broadcast industry, including three BBC departments, ITV news group, Sky News and Channel 4 – gave unanimous approval for the accreditation following their visit to the School of Journalism, Media and Communication (JoMeC) this month.
The accreditation panel met staff and students from the course and viewed a selection of work, including live sports shows, news bulletins and recorded documentaries. The accreditation was awarded for the course’s high standards of delivery, quality of technical resources, tutor experience, graduate achievement in the professional world and its relevance to sports journalism as a whole.
Commenting on the accreditation, Course Leader Charlie Lambert said: “We are very pleased to be receiving the accreditation, which shows recognition of the quality of the course and its relevance to the needs of the industry.
“The popularity of the course is going from strength to strength as its reputation is established. Two years ago we had just fifteen students enrolled on the final year of the course but this year there are fifty, with applications for next year promising to be even higher.”
Mike Ward, Head of School commented: “The course is a great example of successful collaboration between two Schools (JoMeC and Sports, Tourism and the Outdoors) and our thanks are also due to Charlie and Academic Director of Sport, Adrian Ibbetson, for their important and continued support and contribution.”
For more information about the Sports Journalism undergraduate degree, which covers broadcast, online and print media, please telephone: 01772 89 2400 or email: cenquiries@ uclan.ac.uk.
30 April 2009
