Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology (Sport Management)

Website: https://twu.edu/kinesiology/graduate-programs/sport-management/

The School of Health Promotion and Kinesiology (SHPK) offers a Ph.D. in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Management designed to prepare students to conduct research in sport marketing, sport business, sport operations, or sport analytics. All Kinesiology doctoral students are expected to work with faculty to acquire and develop the skills required to become independent, ethical, and skilled researchers and leaders.

The PhD program includes a combination of online and classroom instruction on our Denton Campus. With flexible enrollment, you can be admitted in the fall, spring or summer semesters.

Graduates work in sport-related industries, including professional, major and minor leagues; collegiate and high school sports; recreational and wellness facilities; not-for-profit sport organizations; amateur athletic associations; sport management and marketing firms; and event operations. Career options include administration, general management, communication, facility operations, legal, marketing, player operations, retail/licensing, and ticket operations and sales.

TWU offers this interdisciplinary program with a strong foundation in business, marketing, communication and law. You will balance learning about the business elements of sport with the study of sport as a means of individual and social improvement.

Our program allows for a flexible online learning environment coupled with access to a varied and diverse sport industry in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. You will collaborate with your classmates as well as apply what you learn with industry leaders.

As the nation’s largest public university primarily for women, our program is focused to empower future professionals, especially women, to be positive agents of change in the sports field.

Marketable Skills

Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."

  1. Successfully design and implement a sport management related research study.

  2. ​Successfully design a grant proposal related to sport management.

  3. Successfully demonstrate written and oral communication skills through professional presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

 

Admissions

All students must meet the University requirements as outlined in the Admission to the TWU Graduate School section of the catalog.

This academic program may have additional admission criteria that must also be completed as outlined on the program's website.

Degree Requirements

Total Semester Credit Hours Required

96 semester credit hours, including approved semester credit hours from master’s level work and 6 semester credit hours for dissertation.

Required Courses
KINS 5033Applied Statistical Principles (Research tools)3
KINS 6043Statistical Inference (Research tools)3
KINS 6113Seminar3
KINS 6143Research Design in Kinesiology (Research tools)3
HSC 6831Integration of Theory and Research in Health Sciences1
Dissertation
KINS 6983Dissertation (I)3
KINS 6993Dissertation (II)3
Total SCHs19

 Sport Management Emphasis 

KINS 5403Leadership Theory and Practice in Sport and the Health Sciences3
KINS 5413The Sport Industry3
KINS 5423Governance, Policy Development, and Ethics in Sport3
KINS 5443Sport for Development3
KINS 5453Financing the Sport Enterprise3
KINS 5463Legal Issues in Sport3
KINS 5473Sport Media and Marketing3
KINS 5493Sport Venue and Event Management3
KINS 5723Sport in American Society3
KINS 6413Research Seminar in Sport Management (Taken 3 times)9
KINS 6813Advanced Research in Kinesiology3
Minor or Related Studies (As approved by Advisory Committee)18
Must include
Grant Writing
Elective or Appropriate Work from Master's Degree (As approved by Advisory Committee)20
Total SCHs77

Required Courses

13 semester credit hours.

Emphasis

77 semester credit hours, depending on emphasis area and recommendations of the Advisory Committee. Includes Minor or Related Studies and/or Electives and Appropriate Coursework from Master's Degree in consultation with the Advisory Committee.

Dissertation

6 semester credit hours of dissertation work with the committee chair. The first 3 credit course focuses on the development and oral defense of the research proposal. The student enrolls in a second 3 credit course to conduct the dissertation study, analyze results, and present findings. Both courses may be repeated, but only three hours of credit count toward the degree for each course.

Special Requirements

At least nine semester credit hours of coursework must be taken outside the major.

Research Tools

The student in consultation with the Advisory Committee will determine 12 semester credit hours designated as research tools.

Qualifying Examination

Candidates for the doctoral degree must pass a qualifying process and comprehensive examination ascertaining a student's:

  1. breadth and depth of knowledge requisite to perform successfully within the profession,
  2. understanding and application of a discipline's foundational literature, and
  3. readiness to complete a dissertation.

The exam is comprised of four written sections over selected areas of the student’s emphases and an oral defense of written responses. May be repeated once. Students are eligible to begin the comprehensive exam process during their final semester of coursework and after completing all prerequisites (if admitted conditionally), all research tools, and all core courses. The exams may be repeated only once. A student who fails a second comprehensive exam attempt will be removed from the Kinesiology doctoral program.

Final Examination

Oral examination conducted by the Dissertation Committee over the candidate’s research after the dissertation is completed. May be repeated at the discretion of the committee.