Master in Sports Technology

Master in Sports Technology is one of 3 English-taught Sports Science programmes at master’s level in the register, offered by 3 institutions. 3 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland; this programme lists EUR 727 a year.

Sports Technology at UAS Technikum Wien is a master's degree that sits between two worlds: sports equipment and athletic movement. The programme is taught entirely in English across all four semesters. It is a full-time daytime degree worth 120 ECTS, and you attend classes Wednesday through Friday.

What you study

The programme is applied rather than abstract. From the first semester, you take what you learn and use it on projects from industry or associations. The skills the page names include:

• Measuring the properties of sports equipment in laboratory and field tests, choosing suitable sensor technology, then analysing and displaying the recorded data.
• Measuring and analysing biomechanical parameters of people during sport, whether top-level, leisure or health sport.
• Planning and running laboratory and field tests to scientific criteria on a project basis.
• Modifying sports equipment by adapting the design or the materials used in its construction.
• Developing and applying training support technology, including metrological monitoring and feedback systems.
• Taking a piece of sports equipment from idea to concept, using computer-aided design, finite element analysis and material selection.
• Interpreting how equipment and athlete influence each other, and optimising performance by changing the equipment or the technique.

The teaching draws on biomechanics, computer aided design, project management, material sciences, mechanics and event management.

How the programme is organised

Four semesters, 120 ECTS, starting at the beginning of September. Presence phases run at roughly 21 hours per week. A course at the start of the first semester refreshes your English and teaches the terms you need for the courses that follow. You can apply for a semester abroad, with semesters 3 and 4 recommended.

There is also a Double Degree option with Mid Sweden University in Östersund. You study at UAS Technikum Wien in semesters one and two and can apply during the first semester. If you get a place, you spend semesters three and four in the Master by Research: Mechanical Engineering / Sports Technology at Mid Sweden University, where the master's thesis and examination also take place. The Vienna supervisor attends the examination on site or online. You end up with the Vienna degree of Master of Science in Engineering and the Mid Sweden degree of Master of Science.

Who it suits

People who like sport and want to understand the technology behind it. One student on the page puts it plainly: the advantage is that you indulge your affinity for sports while learning the technical aspects and workings behind the equipment. The programme suits someone who wants to measure, test and build, not just watch. The primary field for graduates is the sporting goods industry, but the interdisciplinary analytical skills carry into other sectors too.

Admission, language and next steps

You need a bachelor's degree from a university of applied sciences in a relevant subject, or an equivalent degree from a recognised post-secondary institution, worth at least 180 ECTS, from Austria or abroad. If you are close but missing a few prerequisites, the programme director can require exams to establish full equivalence, taken during the master's.

Teaching is in English for all four semesters. There is no central application portal: you apply through the institution's own online application system, and the programme page gives the application period. As a university of applied sciences, UAS Technikum Wien sets its own tuition. EU/EEA students pay a tuition fee per semester plus the ÖH fee; non-EU/EEA students pay a higher tuition fee plus the ÖH fee. The programme page lists the current amounts and the exemptions from the increased fee.

Whether it is sports equipment or athletics, the interdisciplinary master’s programme in Sports Technology focuses on the combination of sports and technology. An idea for a new piece of sports equipment is to be implemented or an existing piece of sports equipment is to be optimized, a certain movement has potential for improvement, to be able to work on these and other tasks related to sports equipment or a sporting movement various technical skills are required, which are taught in applied form in the master’s programme in Sports Technology.

Das Double Degree Programm des Master Studienganges Sports Technology bietet den Studierenden die Möglichkeit sowohl den Abschluss der FH Technikum Wien als „Master of Science in Engineering“ als auch den Abschluss der Mid Sweden University (Östersund, Schweden) als „Master of Science“ zu erlangen.

There is no central application portal in Austria: you apply to the institution, here UAS Technikum Wien. Universities of applied sciences set their own application periods and admission procedures, so read them on the programme page. Entrance examination, as the register states it: Admission procedure. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, the student residence permit and housing.