The AUE has developed a strong and comprehensive Master of Sports Management (MSM) Program providing guidance and leadership to the sports sector across the UAE and the GCC region. The program develops and enhances management, sport and business skills to effectively govern sport-related organizations. The programs prepare students to become tomorrow’s leaders in delivering state-of-the-art decisions and strategic orientation in the sports industry. The MSM program is built for advanced students to expand their skills and competencies for the dynamic world of sport. That said, the program is structured to enable students to pursue further academic and professional development. The strategic approach of the AUE is to place the MSM program as a leading program for studies on sport-related industry serving as a hub for delivering education, consulting and extensive network. The program is focused on developing, integrating and delivering a contemporary knowledge and understanding of sport-related and business science. Students are coming from diverse backgrounds enriching the program with their know-how, experience and culture.
| Course Category | Total Number of Courses | Total Number of Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Bridging Courses | 5 | 10 |
| Core Courses | 7 | 21 |
| Elective Courses | 2 | 6 |
| Thesis | 2 | 6 |
| Total (Excluding Bridging Courses) | 33 Credit Hours |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Management and Organizational Behavior | 2 | The course examines management functions and theories and analysis the implications of organizational behavior on the process of management. Students will be able to understand and assess behavior of individuals and groups in both culturally diverse and non-diverse organizational setting. The course will help in challenging students to think critically and evaluate the effects that an external environment has on organizational process and behavior. Moreover, students will analyze the elements of organizational structure and the impact that they have on employees. The course covers topics such as theories and functions of management, organizational culture and structure, employees' motivation, communication in organizations, stress and conflict management, leadership, team work, job satisfaction, etc. |
| Production and Operations Management | 2 | The course is designed for students to understand the analytic methods in operation of organizations and industries. The course aims to familiarize the issues facing the operations of organization, production scheduling, capacity and Location planning, process selection, facility layout, inventory control, project management, and quality control to gain competitive advantage in an organization. |
| Marketing Concepts | 2 | Course constitutes a preparatory course for MBA students and provides them with fundamental knowledge of marketing. This course will familiarize students with the scope, terminology, topics, and procedures of marketing strategy and importance of consumer. Students will discuss marketing concepts like product planning strategy, pricing, advertising and distribution from a business perspective. |
| Accounting for Managers | 2 | This preparatory course introduces the accounting concepts necessary for decision making as it is the core of efficient management processes that heavily depend upon useful accounting information. This course covers accounting and financial information that can help managers measure and assess performance as well as assist with operational planning within the organization and choose between cost-effective alternatives. |
| Statistics and Quantitative Analysis | 2 | This course aims to provide a solid understanding of statistical concepts, quantitative analysis, and their applications in business and economics. It requires fundamental knowledge of basic statistics such as frequency distribution, averages, measures of variability, and probability, and recommends prior familiarity with software applications like SPSS or Megastat. The course covers key statistical concepts and methods including hypothesis testing, variance tests, regression analysis, decision theory, chi-square analysis, and ANOVA, with a strong emphasis on business applications. It also focuses on formulating problems and solving them using standard methods and computer-based tools. |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sport Governance and Policy | 3 | This course explains the structure and functions of sport governing and policymaking bodies, covering recreational sport, amateur athletics, Olympic organizations, and professional sport. It also highlights the governance frameworks and policymaking processes within GCC countries. |
| Sport Marketing | 3 | This course examines the application of basic business marketing principles to various sectors within the sport industry. It explores the fundamentals of sport market segments, including spectators and participants, and uses this foundation to identify strategies for creating and maintaining strong relationships with sport consumers. The course also covers marketing operations specific to sport, such as database marketing, customer relations, and brand and line extensions. In addition, it introduces the essentials of sponsorship, including the sponsor–sport property relationship, sponsorship activation, and methods for evaluating sponsorship effectiveness. |
| Managing Sport | 3 | This course provides the basic concept of sports management in terms of its scope, principles, issues and future trends. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to explore sport managers’ role, responsibilities, and required skills in organizations in the sport industry and to learn strategies for their career success. The course introduces the basic analytics methods to identify and evaluate business analytic opportunities in the context of sport management and interpret such data to make appropriate decisions. It provides students with the opportunity to gain information and understanding of the various practices and procedures associated with sport administration and management. |
| Sport Finance | 3 | This course examines the key financial skills necessary to manage sport organizations in both public and private settings. Emphasis will be placed on the different financial attributes of sport industry segment including recreational, amateur, and professional sports. It will also provide the students with an opportunity to explain the various financial challenges facing the sports industry and critically analyze several components. The goal of this course is to enable the students to evaluate and to solve problems involving sports financing and to effectively communicate their recommendations to others. |
| Sport Facilities and Events Management | 3 | This course examines fundamental skills necessary to manage different kinds of sport facilities and events and then extends that knowledge into the challenges of managing sport facilities and events. The course focuses on fundamentals of facility operations including programming, maintenance scheduling, risk management, environmental management and impact assessment. The latter part of the course builds on the facility management material by examining the ways that events fit into scheduling for facility use. |
| Sport Law and Ethics | 3 | This course is designed to provide an extensive overview of legal principles and ethical issues that apply to the sport industry and that impact the work setting of sport organizations. It begins with an introduction to the different fields of law and the broad issues related to sports law. The course also covers the role and application of ethics in the decision-making process. |
| Research Methodology | 3 | This course offers an introduction to quantitative and qualitative designs in management research as well as to applied statistical methods. The students will learn the language and terminology of business research, the research process, use of different data sources and statistical techniques, measurement issues such as reliability and validity, and research instruments including questionnaires and interview schedules. It will prepare students for conducting an independent study, including formulating research questions, reviewing the literature, selecting a research approach and analytical/statistical models appropriate for answering the questions. The course has an applied orientation and students will develop basic research skills and knowledge to effectively use research in decision-making and solving organizational problems. The students will be trained in the use of SPSS and NVivo software programs and will learn to apply SPSS-based statistical methods in their quantitative studies and NVivo in qualitative research projects. The course will emphasize the importance of cross-cultural dimension in the design and execution of empirical studies relating to different aspects of business. |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Thesis 1 | 3 | Students in this course will work with their thesis supervisor to develop a thesis proposal and begin their distinctive, applied research project. The primary goal is for the student to practice the mechanisms of transitioning from concept to active inquiry. Depending on the nature of the topic, the student will develop a study questions, conduct a literature review, develop a methodological approach, and begin preliminary research. Students are expected to apply qualitative, quantitative, and comparative research approaches to the chosen topic. |
| Thesis 2 | 3 | In this course, students will continue developing their thesis project, revising techniques (if required), addressing challenges, analysing findings, and eventually articulating the complete experience. Students will build on work from the previous semester and put all of the pieces together to complete the final thesis project, following the required research process and procedures. Students will be required to provide a verbal defence as part of the assessment and fulfilment of the course. |
| Course Name | Credit Hours | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Internship | 3 | The course provides students with the opportunity to apply acquired learning in a practical field in addition to extending their learning in a contextualized and practice-based environment. The purpose of the course is the synthesis, extension and practical based application of learned skills by field experience with a sport organization under the supervision of a faculty member to develop knowledge and skills in the application of sport management theory in a non-classroom setting. |
| Sports Development and Policy | 3 | The course deals with development of sport and the various policies for sport development in the UAE, GCC and international levels. The management of sport development and sport for human development is discussed. Sport development will be examined from a social construct and infrastructure development. Policies to develop Sports at a regional and international level are discussed in the course |
| Sports Consumer Behavior | 3 | The course deals with various consumer behavior factors that affect sports and events like consumer motivation, decision making, and how they influence sport marketing activities. It also deals with marketing strategies for sports awareness and attraction. The course also helps in preparing a functional guide to success in planning marketing actions and strategies that promote and deliver sports events. |
| Sport Globalization | 3 | The course is designed to provide an overview of the global sport industry including the global sport calendar and key organizations and actors. Managing, marketing, business and financial challenges of coordinating across borders and cultures is a key focus of the course. Additional topics include the localization of international sport and the relationships between sport and culture. |
| Sport Tourism | 3 | This course is designed to understand an interrelationship between two multi-billion dollars industry of tourism and sports. This course introduces students to the nature, structure, and complexity of the sport tourism industry. It focuses on the nature of tourism and entertainment, its economic aspects, cultural factors, marketing, management and nature of sports. Topics covered include: economic, sociocultural and environmental impacts, motivations, marketing, and development principles. |
| Special Topics in Sport Management | 3 | The course content will reflect the interest of the faculty members and current issues in the sport industry such as global challenges, contemporary issues, ethical issues confronting management, management in changing environment and management under crises. Topics will vary annually |
| Sport Media and Communication | 3 | This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the sport media communication field. The course presents the sports writing, broadcasting, online media, advertising and video production, and examines the differences between content rooted in journalism and content rooted in organizational communication. The goal of the course is providing students with an opportunity to be exposed to the full range of sport media communication; including locating sport communication within the broader field of sport management and administration; different approaches and languages, lines of communication, personal and organizational aspects of sport communication; the various areas or segments of sport media; the services and support systems associated within sport media communication. |
| Semester | Course | Cr. Hrs |
|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 | Marketing and International Business | 3 |
| Semester 1 | Advanced Financial Management | 3 |
| Semester 1 | Research Methodology | 3 |
| Semester 1 | Elective | 3 |
| Semester 2 | Managerial Economics | 3 |
| Semester 2 | Leadership and Change Management | 3 |
| Semester 2 | Management of Information Technology | 3 |
| Semester 2 | Elective | 3 |
| Semester | Course | Cr. Hrs |
|---|---|---|
| Semester 3 | Strategic Management: Theory and Practice | 3 |
| Semester 3 | Thesis 1 | 3 |
| Semester 4 | Thesis 2 | 3 |
For graduate degree completion, graduate students must satisfy the following requirements:
1.) Earn a minimum CGPA of 2.00 on a scale of 4.00.
2.) Successfully complete all courses as described in the study plan.
3.) The Degree Completion requirements must be met within the timeframe of the program.
4.) Successfully complete the "Thesis" course.
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Graduates of the Master of Sports Management program are equipped for diverse leadership roles across the sports industry, including sport clubs, event management, facility operations, marketing, sponsorship, and sports governance. The program prepares students to excel in managing professional and community sports organizations, leading strategic initiatives, and supporting the growing sports sector in the region and beyond.
