Admission to the Program

Application Procedures
Application materials can be obtained directly from the UMass Graduate School. When all materials have been submitted to the Graduate School, they are forwarded to the Department of Sport Management, where a committee of faculty members then reviews the applicant files. Short-listed candidates are invited for a campus interview, after which the committee makes its final admission recommendations. These recommendations are made then forwarded to the Graduate School.

All application materials must be in the possession of the Graduate School by February 1 in order to be considered for admission the following September.

Admission Criteria
The PhD Admissions Committee in the Department uses the following criteria to evaluate applicants:

1. GPA from all previous undergraduate and graduate work
-Undergraduate: Minimum 3.0 in last two years
-Graduate: Minimum 3.3

2. Score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
-Minimum of 550

3. TOEFL Scores (if applicable)
-Minimum of 600 on Paper-Based, 250 on Computer-Based

4. Letters of Recommendation
-Three (3) letters are required, at least two (2) of which must be from those able to comment on the student's academic performance, and/or on the student's potential to conduct scholarly research

5. Personal Statement

6. Previous Managerial Work Experience
-There is no minimum, but experience is looked upon favorably

Given the strong management-school orientation of our program, incoming students are expected to possess a fundamental understanding - both at the general level and as it specifically applies to sport - of marketing, organization behavior, business law, corporate finance, and microeconomics. Incoming students are also expected to possess a base-level competency in statistics. If there are deficiencies in any of these areas, accepted students may be asked to take pre-requisite courses before entering the program.

While the program will certainly be of interest to those with undergraduate and/or Masters degrees in sport management, applications are also invited from those who have backgrounds in related areas - such as, for example, business/management, economics, and law - and who possess a strong interest in applying these fields to the study of the sport industry.

In general, applicants are assessed based on their potential as a researcher and a teacher, and on their potential to thrive within the rigorous environment of a leading management school.

For more information on the PhD in Management with a concentration in Sport Management program, please email us at nlongley@sportmgt.umass.edu