Students will acquire knowledge and have opportunities to apply what they learn in various types of organizations and contexts related to sport, leisure and physical activity. They will gain theoretical and practical training in governance and management principles, related to planning, policy making, marketing, entrepreneurship, and communications. Students will critically examine the impacts of organizations, sport events and festivals, and learn to evaluate the influence of policy relating to sport, leisure and physical activity, on individuals and society.

Students will acquire the management skills needed to understand the Canadian sport system, its organizations and people. For example, they will gain an enriched understanding of governmental, for-profit, and non-profit organizations in sport and leisure, ranging from local to international organizations in professional sport, municipal recreation departments, sport events, and the commercial sector. Students will receive training informed by social sciences (e.g., management, sociocultural, leisure studies, psychology). Management courses will give students opportunities to gain competencies in the planning, organizing, marketing, leadership, and evaluation of sport, leisure and recreation organizations and events. Students will acquire cutting-edge knowledge and skills related to the latest developments in branding and marketing a sport, leisure or recreation organization, and managing volunteers in a sport event or festival. Sociocultural courses will enable students to learn about historical and contemporary issues affecting how people interact in organizations and in society. Students will have opportunities to understand the reasons behind current situations and gain skills in critical inquiry they can use to facilitate change in organizations.

Graduates will have developed management skills allowing them to better integrate into the workplace upon graduation and contribute to their organization and society. They will have acquired skills to provide advocacy and recommendations to policy and decision-makers at all levels of the sport system, from the municipality to Sport Canada, and international sport organizations. Our graduates will also have gained interpersonal, networking, and critical thinking skills, which will benefit their job marketability. They can pursue career-paths in various segments of the sport, leisure and recreation industries (government, non-profit or for-profit) at the local, regional, national and international levels. The emphasis of our program on both foundational knowledge but also how knowledge translates into action enables our graduates to pursue different occupational roles. For example, our graduates can take on leadership, management, and governance roles in local and national amateur sport organizations (e.g., sport clubs, university athletics department, Olympic sport organizations), event organizations (e.g., FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015), professional sport teams and government departments (e.g., Sport Canada, provincial and municipal recreation departments). Our graduates can also pursue research-based or professional-based graduate degrees.