Dr. Jenny Roth
Associate Professor, Program Co-Director
Dr. Jenny Roth is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology. She primarily teaches courses in the online Master of Applied Sport Sciences (MASS) programs. Her research interests include coach education, online teaching and learning, positive youth development through sport, and modified youth sports. Jennifer has consulted with the United States Tennis Association and has worked as a sport psychology consultant for numerous teams and athletes.
Program Overview
Professionally minded, passionate, lifelong learners hold the key to developing the effective sport programs of tomorrow. But what do highly motivated future coaches and sport leaders need to learn? We believe that kinesiology and the sport sciences form the backbone of an effective sport program. Our Michigan State University online master's degree program builds fundamental knowledge and skills in the sport sciences, including sport psychology, skill acquisition, human development, physiology, and anatomy.
Courses in leadership, positive youth development, safety promotion, law, ethics, and administration help our students to build programs of distinction. Our semester-long practicum course employs intensive video review and reflection to help students refine their coaching practice, and our capstone options help students to integrate knowledge and skills acquired during the program. Our degree delivers core competencies for sport coaches and leaders at the youth, age-group, scholastic, intercollegiate, or professional level. Designed with current coaches and leaders in mind, the online delivery of coursework enables you to work around a busy schedule.
Program Outcomes
Our master’s degree program will enable you to build your confidence and improve in your coaching/leadership capacity. Although a degree is not a requirement for entering into the coaching profession, this degree will enhance your knowledge and skills and help you advance in the job market. There are some circumstances where a degree is a requirement for placement or advancement in sports coaching jobs. A master's degree is typically required for new coaches who want to work at the intercollegiate level. Depending on state and school district policies, this master's degree can enable a salary increase for teacher-coaches; if this situation pertains to you, we recommend that you discuss the matter with your supervisor(s).
Based on your chosen concentration (coaching or sport administration), the master's degree program can help you become more efficient in the following areas:
- Safety, injury control, and risk management (to promote athlete, employee, and spectator safety)
- Reflective practice skills (to help with your daily, weekly, and lifelong professional development)
- Effective written and verbal communication skills in scientific, academic, and narrative formats (to athletes and other stakeholders)
- Ethical decision-making skills informed by principles of diversity and equity and inclusive leadership
- Effective planning skills (to develop practice plans and program environments to enhance athlete performance and personal development)
- General sport science knowledge (to become a better consumer of evidence and information and how they inform practice as a coach or sport leader, and to enable critical thought and leadership on complex, interdisciplinary problems).
- Effective sport pedagogy (including instructional messages and constraints-led approaches to technical and tactical development)
- Principles of marketing, communications, economics, budgeting and finance applied to sport
- How to tailor exercise programs based on individual, position, and team needs, along with considerations for training age, injury history, and resources available
- Applications of general and sport specific nutrition strategies to aid in performance outcomes and recovery needs
Career Outlook
If you are committed to working in the sport professions, our Master of Applied Sport Sciences degree program is for you. High-performance coaches, teacher-coaches, and youth sport coaches will benefit from our coaching concentration. Sport leaders (administrators, athletic directors, and coach developers) will benefit from our sport management concentration. Current and future strength and conditioning coaches, along with sport coaches of all levels, will benefit from our strength and conditioning concentration. Historically, students with prior or current work experience in the sport professions truly thrive in our program.
A Top-Ranked Education
- 29th among Best Public Universities in America — U.S. News & World Report, 2026
- Veteran-Friendly 'Gold Status' 10 Years in a Row — Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, 2025
Tuition & Fees per credit
In-State Tuition
Out-of-State Tuition
$933
$933
Cost of Attendance
The university reserves the right to make changes in the types, structures, rates for fees, and tuition. Every effort will be made to give as much advance notice as possible. In addition to tuition and fees, there are other expenses associated with your Cost of Attendance. A breakdown of a graduate student budget can be found on the "Estimate Your Cost of Attendance" page.