The Master of Sport Directorship Programme and Diversity and Inclusion in Sports Leadership scholarship

The Master of Sport Directorship (MSD) – the world’s first qualification of its kind, it is a dynamic, challenging, yet rewarding programme that develops the commercial skill sets and personal attributes required for our students to succeed as a top-flight sporting leader. The MSD programme blends best practice and insight from the worlds of sport and business to cover leadership, strategy, innovation, governance, finance and compliance. This course has a strong external focus, equipping our students with transferable skills that will enable them to support industry and commerce as well as inform public policy.

The MSD programme is taught out of Manchester Met’s Triple Accredited Business School and Institute of Sport.

The MSD continues to be one of the most diverse programmes on the market for Sporting Directors and Sporting Leaders. To ensure that the programme continues to attract a diverse cohort of students the MSD have introduced the Diversity and Inclusion in Sports Leadership scholarship.

The Diversity and Inclusion in Sports Leadership scholarship is designed to help broaden the diversity of leadership within sports management by providing financial support to groups who are not often found in senior leadership positions in the sporting world, and for people who work to support underrepresented groups.

To address the underrepresentation of different groups in the sports industry, four scholarships of £5000 are available for individuals from diverse backgrounds to study on the Master of Sport Directorship MSD programme. Individuals with any protected characteristic, and those who support people from diverse backgrounds are eligible to apply, but applications are particularly encouraged from people who match the following criteria:

• People with disabilities and those who support disabled sports.
• Women and people who support female sports.
• Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities and those who support sport in these communities.
• LGBT+ people and those who support LGBT+ sports.

The scholarship is open to those who are currently applying for the programme (start date September 2025).

For the scholarship’s terms and conditions and to find out how you can apply, please visit the Diversity and Inclusion in Sports Leadership scholarship webpage.

Please note that the closing date for the scholarship is the 31^st May 2025.

To register your interest in the programme, please email the MSD team – [email protected].

Supporting the scholarship

We know scholarships help to relieve some of the financial pressure associated with study. They also enable talented and aspiring directors of sport from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to challenge and equip themselves with key skills that will see them grow as leaders and communicators and lead the next generation of athletes and competitors across every sporting genre.

Manchester Met is looking to its alumni, to philanthropic individuals and to organisations who share its vision, to expand leadership roles in sport, making them more accessible through education.

The University is seeking to raise £20,000 per year for these scholarships, with the University already contributing £20,000 per year towards the programme. This will provide a total award of £10,000 for each of the four talented passionate future leaders who are successful in receiving a scholarship.

For more information about supporting the scholarship, please contact Kathryn Fisk or Nathan Eckersley.

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