Sport Coaching, Leadership, & Administration

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

Career Outlook

If you are committed to working in the sport professions, our Sport Coaching, Leadership, and Administration Master’s 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 administration concentration. Historically, students with prior or current work experience in the sport professions truly thrive in our program.

Course Information

Core

MS Coaching Concentration

Required courses (6 credits)

KIN 852 - Ethics in Sport Coaching and Leadership (1 Credit)

KIN 872 - Coaching Science: Applied Research (3 Credits)

KIN 896 - Integrative Capstone in Sport Coaching and Leadership (2 Credits)

Selectives (15 credits)

Physical cognate (2 courses)

KIN 829 - Safety and Injury Control (3 Credits)

KIN 856 - Physical Bases of Coaching Athletes (3 Credits)

KIN 868 - Skill Development in Athletes (3 Credits)

Psychosocial cognate (2 courses)

KIN 846 - Sociocultural Issues for Sport Practitioners (3 credits)

KIN 855 - Psychosocial Bases of Coaching Athletes (3 Credits)

KIN 849 - Theory and Practice of Modern Sport Leadership (3 Credits)

KIN 857 - Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Sport (3 Credits)

Administration cognate (1 course)

KIN 851 - The Sport Enterprise (3 credits)

KIN 854 - Legal and Administrative Issues for Administrators and Coaches (3 Credits)

KIN 853 - Athletic Administration and Governance (3 credits)

Electives (6 credits) Choose 1 additional course from either the physical or psychosocial cognate + choose 1

Elective course (consult with your advisor first)

Practicum or Internship (3 credits)

Choose KIN 880 (Practicum) which is strongly recommended, or KIN 893 (Internship) which is appropriate in some cases

MS Sport Administration Concentration

Required courses (18 credits)

KIN 849 - Theory and Practice of Modern Sport Leadership (3 Credits)

KIN 852 - Ethics in Sport Coaching and Leadership (1 Credit)

KIN 872 - Coaching Science: Applied Research (3 credits)

KIN 896 - Integrative Capstone in Sport Coaching and Leadership (3 credits)

 + All courses from the Administration cognate (9 credits): KIN 851, KIN 853, and KIN 854 

Selectives (6 credits)

Physical cognate (1 course) 

KIN 829 - Safety and Injury Control (3 Credits)

KIN 856 - Physical Bases of Coaching Athletes (3 Credits)

KIN 865 - Stages of Athlete Development (3 Credits)

KIN 868 - Skill Development in Athletes (3 Credits)

Psychosocial cognate (1 course)

KIN 846 - Sociocultural Issues for Sport Practitioners (3 credits)

KIN 855 - Psychosocial Bases of Coaching Athletes (3 Credits)

KIN 849 - Theory and Practice of Modern Sport Leadership (3 Credits)

KIN 857 - Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Sport (3 Credits)

Elective (3 credits)
Choose 1 elective course (consult with your advisor first)

Internship or Practicum (3 credits)
Choose KIN 893 (Internship) which is strongly recommended, or KIN 880 (Practicum) which is appropriate in some cases

Admissions Requirements

To be accepted to this program, you must have:

• A bachelor's degree
  Undergraduate degree transcript that shows a minimum GPA of 3.0 from an accredited institution of higher education
• Previous work experience
  Current résumé (2-page max) that highlights all work experiences relevant to sport coaching and leadership
• A written academic statement
  Academic statement of 750 words where you explain how this program will help you meet your professional goals
• 3 letters of recommendation
  One should come from an academic source who can vouch for your credentials as a student, the other should come from workplace source who can vouch for your credentials on the job. Provide contact information for your recommenders and the MSU application system will provide instructions to them.
• Official transcripts from all previous schools

To apply to this program:

• Complete a university graduate application.
• International students should complete the international application and should consult with the program director about potential restrictions for online degree programs.