Sport and Entertainment Management, Ph.D.

Degree Requirements (60 Post-Masters Hours minimum)

The Program is based on a three-year period of residential study beyond completion of a Master’s degree in sport and entertainment management or a related field. It will consist of a minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the master’s degree in the following four areas:

  1. Core Seminars,
  2. Statistics/Research Core,
  3. Cognate(s), and
  4. Dissertation

Prerequisites

Students who have not had prior exposure to the sport and entertainment industry through a related undergraduate or graduate degree are required to enroll in a 15-hour Prerequisite Core. Courses in this core in the following:

Course Title Credits
SPTE 640Venue Management: Principles and Practices3
SPTE 701 Management in the Sport and Entertainment Industry3
SPTE 746Risk and Security Management in Public Assembly Facilities3
SPTE 760Principles of Sport and Entertainment Marketing3
SPTE 790Sport and Entertainment Finance3
Total Credit Hours15

Note: These courses may be waived for those with prior academic exposure or significant industry experiences.

Program of Study

The Program will expose students to advanced and current research being conducted in the sport and entertainment industry. A substantial portion of the coursework will consist of courses that focus on research methodology and statistical analysis techniques. These courses are designed to develop students’ critical analysis skills while serving as the basis for developing a sustainable research agenda.

Because the department’s unique focus on both sport and entertainment management (as opposed to only sport management), students will develop a distinct and more holistic understanding of both sport management and entertainment management and be better positioned in the academic job market in that the breadth of their training should make them qualified for either sport-specific or entertainment-specific positions within those programs.

Core Seminars (15 Hours)

Course Title Credits
SPTE 810Seminar in SPTE Education3
Remaining 12 credit hours must be selected from 800-level SPTE seminars12
Total Credit Hours15

Statistics/Research Core (15 Hours)

Course Title Credits
Selected courses must be in the topic areas of research methods or statistics15
Total Credit Hours15

Cognate (18 Hours)

Course Title Credits
The students should specialize in their chosen area of research interest. At least 6 hours of coursework must be taken outside the SPTE Department.18
Total Credit Hours18

Dissertation (12 Hours)

A minimum of 12 credit hours will constitute the dissertation, which provides students with the opportunity to identify and rigorously analyze a relevant issue within their specialized field, with an aim toward generation of original knowledge.

Course Title Credits
SPTE 899Dissertation Preparation12
Total Credit Hours12