Choosing a Sports Management Program
Given the high number of both online and traditional schoolsoffering sports management degrees, it can often be difficult to choose the best fit for you. The following list is designed to help you narrow your search by offering you tips and advice about important things to look for in a program.
- Check out NASSM’s great list of sport management programs and specifically to the accredited programs, which are widely respected by employers and academic institutions.
- Three of the best sport management programs are at Bowling Green State University, University of Massachusetts and Ohio University, which are all accredited programs excluding Ohio’s Masters program. UMass and University of Texas are two of very few schools with accredited Doctoral programs.
- Be aware of non-accredited programs, as they can be poor in quality.
- Sport management school is not a prerequisite to work in the industry; if you cannot find a school that represents a good fit or has a good reputation, it would be more advisable to take courses toward a degree in law, business, marketing, accounting/finance, or similar, and supplement those with sport management-specific classes if they are available.
- Programs will also vary in cost and the amount of financial support the institutions can extend to applicants, so you should attempt to examine this investment in terms of your budget, the amount of time you anticipate spending on the degree, and how your schools of choice can alleviate those financial burdens.
- Many beginning jobs in the industry require some type of previous hands-on internship, work experience or at the very least, simulated practicums. Make sure that your program of choice will help provide guidance and opportunities like these.
- Assure that there is a sufficient network of mentoring within the program in the form of official mentors, academic advisors, counselors, and tutors, and look up individual professors for their reputation in the classroom.