Executive Master of Sport Business

2025 Deakin University Handbook

Year	2025 course information
Award granted	Executive Master of Sport Business
Deakin course code	M709
Faculty	Faculty of Business and Law
Campus	There is currently no intake into this course.
Duration	1 year full-time or part-time equivalent.
Course Map - enrolment planning tool	The course map for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025 will be available soon. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9
Currently no intakes into this course. Final intake T1 2024. This course is not available to international students studying onshore in Australia.

Course sub-headings

Course overview

The Executive Master of Sport Business gives experienced sport professionals the tools to make a profound impact in the sport and allied industries. Set yourself up for success with specific and tailored sport business knowledge to progress your professional career and personal education goals. Study at a top 3 business school in Victoria^* with a proven reputation and a history of market leadership in sport business education.

You've worked hard to get to this point. Are you ready to take the next step to reach the top of your game in the business of sport?

Leading with impact in sport, recreation and leisure organisations provides challenges that require a specialised set of skills. The Executive Master of Sport Business is designed to provide the relevant and context-specific information and tools you will need to overcome these challenges and inspire your employees to strive for greatness in your chosen area of sport.

If you're passionate about sport and the wider impact it has on the world, get ready to hone your skills under the guidance of academics who, just like you, wish to pursue innovation both on and off the field. In order to effect positive change, you will learn the intricacies of forming and maintaining strong and impactful relationships with clubs and member associations, sponsors, broadcasters, governments, athletes, coaches and members.

The Executive Master of Sport Business focuses on business knowledge specific to sport – including areas of strategy, governance, management and marketing. You will be equipped to advance your career in the exact direction you want to go. The units offered within the degree are crafted around the ever-expanding and specialist nature of sport and allied industries. Specialist knowledge areas are all highly relevant to the types of national and state sport organisations, clubs, institutions and leagues where professionals like you may already work or wish to in the near future.

Now is the perfect time to draw on your career experience and add layers of new knowledge to become a sought-after expert in your field. Some of the key areas you will study include:

contemporary issues in sport
sport workforce planning
sport business analytics
sport industry regulation and negotiation
sport business strategy
sport leadership and governance
fan and participant engagement.

The Executive Master of Sport Business is delivered on Deakin's premium online learning platform. As such, it provides invaluable flexibility to ensure you can balance a busy schedule of study, life and work, regardless of whether you're based domestically or internationally. You will be studying alongside fellow industry leaders, allowing you to build new networks while you learn.

Six units are available over a duration of five weeks which ultimately allows you to study full-time and complete this course in just one year full-time, or in two years part-time.

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Indicative student workload

You can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This could include lectures, seminars, online interactions, or professional experiences for Work Integrated Learning (WIL) units. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.

Professional recognition

Deakin Business School holds both AACSB and EQUIS accreditations. These prestigious accreditations are awarded to business schools that meet strict standards of quality, academic and professional excellence, and demonstrate a commitment to ongoing improvement and innovation in their courses, ensuring our graduates are employable worldwide.

Career opportunities

Ideal for mid to senior-level sport executives and managers, the Executive Master of Sport Business will further develop your career in the corporate business of sport, recreation and leisure. Upon completion of this course, you will be ready to deliver on all strategic dimensions of the sport industries at an executive level, including:

facilities and events
governance and strategy
marketing and promotions
workforce planning.

The roles you could be aiming to build on, or apply for, include:

development/engagement officer
executive/senior manager of institutions, clubs and leagues
sports business strategist/analyst.

Participation requirements

Units in this course may have participation requirements that include compulsory placements, work-based training, community-based learning or collaborative research training arrangements.

Placement can occur at any time, including during standard holiday breaks. Learn about key dates at Deakin.

Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.

Mandatory student checks

Units which contain work integrated learning, a community placement or interaction with the community may require a police check, working with children check or other check. These requirements will be detailed in unit guides upon enrolment.

Alternative exits

Executive Graduate Certificate of Sport Business (M539)

Course Learning Outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Enhance and refine an advanced understanding of leadership and management that are unique to the sport business through integrated and comprehensive analysis and application of theory from business and allied disciplines in order to provide expert management and leadership in sport organisations and the broader sport industry
Communication	Enhance expert written, oral and visual communication skills to interpret and transmit knowledge and ideas regarding complex and specialist concepts for diverse stakeholders (expert and non-expert) involved in the sport industry including organisations in government and corporate sectors, and those involved in delivery of sport at community through to elite settings
Digital literacy	Critically analyse and reflect upon the use and application of appropriate digital technologies to lead the dissemination and transmission of complex and specialist concepts and information to stakeholders (expert and non-expert) in sport organisations and the broader sport industry
Critical thinking	Refine and articulate a specialised set of high order cognitive and technical skills including critical analysis and problem-solving skills for leading in sport organisations and the broader sport industry
Problem solving	Identify interdependencies and relationships between aspects of management and leadership in order to devise strategic solutions to advance commercial and social enhancements in sport organisations and the broader sport industry
Self-management	To be able to critically reflect on leadership styles and actions as they relate to paid employees, volunteers, as well as directors of boards of governance of sport organisations and the broader sport industry
Teamwork	Refine and apply advanced teamwork and collaborative decision-making strategies to develop and justify solutions
Global citizenship	Critically reflect upon the role of sport in society, and implicit and explicit responsibilities of professionals in leadership positions within and across the broader sport industry in order to guide practice in the management and delivery of sport across a variety of contexts (professional, amateur) and issues (global, social, ethical, cultural) that are relevant to the sport and broader institutions in which it resides

Course rules

To complete the Executive Master of Sport Business students must pass 10 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:

DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
8 credit points of core units
2 credit points of course elective units

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.

Course structure

Compulsory 0-credit point module

To be completed in the first trimester of study:-

DAI001

Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin

Core units

MMS705

Contemporary Issues in Sport

MMS706

Sport Business Analytics

MMS707

Sport Industry Regulation and Negotiation

MBA702

Financial Decision Making

MMS708

Sport Workforce Planning

MMS702

Fan and Participant Engagement

MMS709

Sport Leadership and Governance

MMS710

Sport Business Strategy ^(Capstone)

Course electives

Students may choose up to 2 credit points of course electives from the following list of units*:

MMS713

Sport Policy and Development

MMS773

Sport Media and Broadcasting

MMS774

Sport Events and Venue Operations

*Or an elective approved by the Course Director

Course duration

Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.

Further information

Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.

Contact Student Central

Research and research-related study

Research-related learning tasks are embedded across units where student achievement is demonstrated in specific assessment tasks.

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Estimate your fees

For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.