Ever wondered what life is like down under?
Well, with any of our distance Master’s degrees at Global Institute of Sport, you have the opportunity to find out!
GIS course options
If you opt for our MSc Football Coaching & Analysis, your studies will be largely online, letting you explore Australia without being limited to one location. But our distance with attendance format means that you can get the best of both worlds. As well as your online studies, your learning will be supplemented with two separate one-week residentials in the incredible cities of London, Miami, or Melbourne.
Alternatively, you can choose to study any one of our completely online sports Master’s degrees for the ultimate flexibility during your time in Australia.
Melbourne is also one of the hosts of our famous Global Summits, held every year. These summits give students the chance to attend talks and network with leading sports industry professionals, watch live sporting fixtures, and explore all that the city has to offer!
Whilst in Australia, students can even get paid coaching experience with our industry partners, particularly The AllStar Academy (TAA). TAA coaching roles allow you to work around your studies and earn $30-45 an hour for doing so.
As well as this, GIS provides opportunities with clubs in the National Premier Leagues (NPL) via a partnership with the Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) and have a strong relationship with Brisbane’s Virginia United who consistently hire GIS coaches during their studies.
Life in Australia
With the opportunity to live, travel, and work on a Working Holiday visa, eligible students can make the most of Australia whilst studying.
Year-round sun and world-famous beaches on your doorstep make Australia the perfect travel destination. Being home to some of the best sporting venues in the world, and being 36 (yes, thirty-six!) times bigger than the UK, the country has something for everyone.
Australian cities also consistently rank as some of the most liveable places in the world. Renowned for the lifestyle, work-life balance and weather, it is no wonder that 2024’s Global Liveability Rank by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) placed Melbourne and Sydney in the top 10. In the last 15 years, Melbourne has even claimed the top spot seven times.
To start with, GIS’ primary location down under is Melbourne. Melbourne is a sporting hub and is consistently ranked by Sports Business Magazine as the ‘Ultimate Sports City’, which looks at five themes: Event Strategy; Legacy; Security; Tourism and Public Interest; and Branding and Marketing, making it the perfect environment no matter which course you study.
Boasting the MCG and Queen Victoria Markets, the city is home to the biggest stadium and open-air markets in the Southern Hemisphere respectively. You can visit Melbourne Park, which hosts the Australian Open, and AAMI Park, home of Melbourne Storm and Melbourne City FC, showcasing a multitude of different sports throughout the year.
But with so many great sporting attractions, we can’t forget that Melbourne is famous for its fashion and culture. Boasting some of the best theatres around, it’s simply impossible to get bored in Victoria’s capital.
But Melbourne is just one of the many fantastic places you can visit and live while studying with GIS. Heading north into New South Wales, you can explore the world-famous city of Sydney.
Similar to Melbourne, Sydney has everything you could ask for when it comes to sport. The New South Wales capital is huge when it comes to Rugby League, with eight of the 17 NRL (National Rugby League) sides based in and around Sydney. The city is also home to Stadium Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz Stadium, which is set to host games during the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup, whilst you can also see top-level football, AFL, basketball, baseball, netball and even ice hockey, to name a few more of Sydney’s sports.
Aside from sport, Sydney offers Bondi Beach and the Sydney Opera House as two of the world’s most famous tourist attractions. Then, less than a two-hour drive away, students can visit the Blue Mountains - listed as a World Heritage Area since 2000, containing many unique animals, such as dingoes, platypuses and koalas.
Located within NSW and close to the Victorian border is the Australian Capital Territory and the nation’s capital city, Canberra. Canberra is another sporting hub and home of the Australian Institute of Sport as well as the Australian Parliament.
Your next stop could be Queensland - The Sunshine State! If you’re after energy, this is the place for you, with great surfing and nightlife at the Gold Coast, scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, or even visiting some of Brisbane’s islands or Australia Zoo.
All this, and you’ve only been to three of Australia’s eight states and territories! South Australia’s capital, Adelaide, is known for its wine-tasting tours and festivals, providing a vibrant place for you to study from.
Known for its flora and fauna, it is estimated that Australia contains 200,000 to 300,000 different animal species, with its largest state, Western Australia, hosting many natural wonders. From The Horizontal Waterfalls to Wolfe Creek Crater, the state contains some of the most magnificent sights in the world, whilst the capital Perth offers you yet another fantastic city to visit or live.
The rich nature and culture continues in the Northern Territory at Kakadu National Park (an area roughly the size of Wales), an area where Aboriginal Australians have lived for more than 50,000 years. Deeper into the outback, there is also one of the nation’s most recognisable landmarks: Uluru.
240 km south of the mainland is the island and state of Tasmania, an area becoming a large ‘foodie’ destination, and is surrounded by more than 1,000 smaller islands that make up 5.9% of the state.
Sound good? We think so! Head to our postgraduate degree page to find the perfect course, so you can study and explore Australia during a once in a lifetime opportunity with GIS. Or read more about our partners’ paid coaching opportunities in Australia here.
Article by Zak Anani