By Whitney Goldbach

Sports management graduate programs correlate the world of business to the world of the sports. Sports, in all their glory, have transformed spectatorship into a booming billion-dollar industry. The industry needs qualified individuals to ensure those dollars are earned, spent, and invested back into the right channels. Marketing directors, facilities coordinators, athletic business managers and many other kinds of managers use graduate degrees in sports management to launch their careers.

Typical coursework varies in different graduate programs across the country, but most sports management outlines include core and elective classes, a practicum or hands-on learning process, in addition to exams, and sometimes a thesis for Master’s degrees or higher.

These programs have core class requirements that often include national standards set by presiding committees and boards within the sports industry, and in many cases, are approved by said associations for accreditation. These classes are built to provide graduate students with the fundamental education about the sports industry and its business applications.

Electives in these grad programs provide specificity to help the student understand his/her strengths and interests. These courses might include classes about collegiate athletic study, cultural studies and even current events.

While not every college requires a practicum or internship for credit within its graduate program, many jobs will. For this reason, most schools will build practicum study into their curriculum, but even if yours does not, it’s a good idea to consider doing it independently as experience is often an influential factor on portfolio/resume.

The practicum portion of study is designed to give the student a solid understanding of the industry dynamics from a first-person point of view. By directly handling customers, money, coordination, flyers, or whatever capacity of opportunity may present itself, students gain insightful operational knowledge about the subject they are mastering. From college athletic departments, to small businesses, to professional sports leagues, the practicum study can take many forms. Beyond literal implementation, this practicum portion often leads to valuable networking contacts and potential employment after graduation.

Sports management, like any other Master’s or Doctorate degree, requires a test of knowledge known simply as exams. Because the focus of study ranges greatly (we’re talking economics to events), the appropriate gauge of comprehension is also a range. Some concentrations require oral exams; others a series of written exams; and others still, a grad school portfolio inclusive of full and part-time work, as well as paid and volunteer practicum study.

The last piece of work of most sports management graduate programs, if a student so chooses, is the thesis. But, it’s worth mentioning that even at universities that promote the thesis as part of the curriculum, a Master’s degree can be earned on a non-thesis track. The primary advantage the thesis offers is distinction in a particular field of study. In many cases, this distinction is instrumental in earning a job after college, but in many other cases, a job can be earned regardless. If you’re interested in a dynamic job that incorporates human interest and business, a graduate degree in sports management may be just the ticket.

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