Sport and Entertainment Management
Admission Requirements
Master of Sport and Entertainment Management
Admission requirements conform to the general regulations of The Graduate School and regional and national accreditation standards. The Graduate School uses an online application process and there is a $50 fee to apply. Applicants must also submit a current resume, statement of career objectives, at least two letters of recommendation (with at least one being from a current of former professor who can comment on the applicant’s ability to suceed in graduate studies), one official transcript from each college or university attended, and official Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. See the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management’s website, http://www.sportandentertainment.org, for specific instructions on how to apply and for application deadlines.
Undergraduate preparation, grade point average, GMAT or GRE score, applicant’s statement of career objectives, letters of recommendation, work experience, extracurricular activities, and TOEFL scores for international students will be used in admissions decisions. International applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit a satisfactory score on the TOEFL or the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 80 (internet-based) while the minimum acceptable overall band score on the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 6.5. Successful applicants generally score at least 300 (verbal and quantitative combined) on the GRE Revised General Test or an equivalent score (verbal and quantitative combined) on the GMAT. For those who took the GRE General Test prior to August 1, 2011, successful applicants generally score at least 1000 (verbal and quantitative combined). These scores, however, do not guarantee admission. Successful applicants also generally earn at least a 3.00 undergraduate grade point average on a 4.00 scale. Consideration will be given to the student’s entire application, when making admissions decisions.
Students who transfer into the degree program will be allowed up to 9 semester hours of degree-applicable transfer credit. The graduate director must approve the credits.
For students without undergraduate degrees in sport management, entertainment management, business administration or a related discipline, prerequisite courses in the areas of sport and entertainment finance, sport and entertainment marketing, and sport and entertainment accounting must be taken. These courses are offered during the Summer II term at the University of South Carolina and must be successfully completed prior to a student’s beginning the program in the Fall.
Doctor of Philosophy in Sport and Entertainment Management
Admission requirements conform to the general regulations of The Graduate School and regional and national accreditation standards. Admission to the Ph.D. program is voted on individually by the department’s graduate faculty after considering several factors. These factors include the applicant’s academic record (especially work done at a Master’s level), promise of the ability to pursue adequately advanced study and research, performance of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), sufficient preparation to enter graduate study, professional experience, willingness of departmental faculty to work with the student, letters of recommendation, the applicant’s statement of career objectives, and a personal and/or phone interview. Students must have a departmental faculty member who is willing to serve as their dissertation committee chair prior to admission. Therefore, some qualified students may not be admitted if a faculty member does not agree to be chair.
Graduate students are admitted through a cooperative effort between The Graduate School of the University of South Carolina and the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management. The Graduate School uses an online application process and there is a $50 fee to apply.
The following supporting material is required with the application:
- A current resume.
- Statement of Career Objectives. This is a statement that specifically addresses how the department’s PhD program will help the applicant achieve these objectives.
- At least two letters of recommendation. At least one of these letters must be from a current or former professor who can comment on the applicant’s ability to succeed in graduate studies.
- One official transcript from each college or university attended (undergraduate and graduate). Successful applicants generally have a master’s GPA of 3.25 or above (on a 4.0 scale). Such a GPA, however, does not guarantee admission.
- Official Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. Successful applicants generally score at least 300 (verbal and quantitative combined) on the GRE Revised General Test or an equivalent score (verbal and quantitative combined) on the GMAT. For those who took the GRE General Test prior to August 1, 2011, successful applicants generally score at least 1000 (verbal and quantitative combined). These scores, however, do not guarantee admission. GMAT/GRE scores more than five years old will not be accepted under any circumstances.
- Applicants whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL of IELTS scores. International applicants who have received a degree from a college or university in the United States are not required to submit a TOEFL or IELTS. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 80 (internet-based) while the minimum acceptable overall band score on the IELTS Inti. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 6.5.