Degrees for Sports Lovers at Kent State University
Kent State University appears in our ranking of the 50 Best Bachelor’s in Sports Science Degree Programs (Campus).
The Department of Sport Administration at Kent State University offers both an undergrad and a graduate degree program for students today. Kent State has 16 athletic teams that compete at the varsity level under the Golden Flashes name. Some of its former players went on to coach and play at the national level. Many of the students in a sport management program will compete on those teams too or work with university athletes. They have the option of doing internships for Kent State and for other colleges in Ohio.
Kent State offers a sport administration program for undergrads that includes eight semesters of work. Students will spend their final semesters doing an in-depth internship in the sports industry. They’ll also take a class the semester before that prepares them for that internship and shows them what they need to do to get course credit for it. The program features two practicums too. Some of the courses that sport administration majors take include Sport in Society, Introduction to Ethics, Organization and Administration of Athletics and History, and Philosophy of Sport and Physical Activity. Sport administration is also available as a minor.
This same department offers a graduate program in sport and recreation management. Students must take two courses required by the department and 16 credits of major classes. Those classes include Legal Issues in Sport and Recreation, Leadership of Sport and Recreation, Sport Marketing and Financial Aspects of Sport and Recreation. Kent State allows students to decide between the thesis and the non-thesis track too. The thesis track asks students to take two electives and do a thesis, while the non-thesis track requires that they do an internship and take three electives. Students can also take a class on research methods in lieu of the internship. Some of the electives in this Kent State program include History and Current Issues in Collegiate Athletics, Park Planning, Dynamics of Leisure Activities, Sport and the Media and Sport in Global Perspective.
The College of Education, Health and Human Services also offers bachelor’s degrees in athletic training, exercise science, physical education, and recreation, park and tourism management. Graduate degrees are available in exercise physiology, health education, and the above-mentioned sport and recreation management.
Related Resource: What is an Exercise Physiologist?
About Kent State University
Kent State University is one of the largest public colleges in northeast Ohio. Also known as KSU and Kent State, it opened in 1910 as one of the many normal schools established in the state. Known as the Ohio State Normal College at Kent, the state named it after the city it chose for the campus. As a normal school, it educated the teachers who would later work in schools in Ohio and across the Midwest. Once it switched to degree programs, the school became Kent State Normal College and then Kent State College. Kent State has a long history of providing students with solid opportunities and strong financial aid packages.
Though most know the university for its Kent campus, it established seven regional campuses in later years that offer both individual courses and full degree programs. It has campuses in East Liverpool, Trumball, Salem and other small towns. Some of the organizations and publications that rank Kent State as one of the nation’s and world’s top universities include U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, ARWU and Washington Monthly. Its enrollment now includes nearly 30,000 students.
Kent State University Accreditation Details
Kent State does not have accreditation for either of its sport management programs, but those programs do have coverage under its regional accreditation, which comes from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS). Not only can Kent State accept transfer credits due to this accreditation, but the university can also develop and award the financial aid packages that help students attend KSU.
Kent State University Application Requirements
The application requirements that KSU students must meet will vary between their undergraduate and graduate years. Undergrads can only apply directly to the sports administration program if they have a high school grade point average of 2.75 or higher and a minimum score of 980 on the SAT or 21 on the ACT. Though KSU allows sport administration majors to minor in business, they can only do so after maintaining a GPA of 2.5 or higher in all the courses they take. KSU assigns prospective freshmen with admissions counselors who help them fill out and submit their online applications and submit all other required documents.
Graduate students must meet the general criteria established by the university. This includes a college GPA of at least 3.0 and a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited school. The sport and recreation management program also requires a full application with official transcripts and a score from either the GRE or a similar exam. They will also provide both a writing sample and either a goals statement or personal statement and three letters of recommendation. The university has the right to accept students on a conditional status, which may require that they take prerequisites or maintain a high GPA.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The Kent State guarantee helps students avoid future tuition increases. This guarantee covers both grad students and undergrads. It allows them to spend two to four years working on their degrees without facing any hikes in tuition rates or the cost of room and board. Undergrads must take between 12 and 18 credit hours to qualify for this guarantee. They’ll pay $10,012 every year as an Ohio resident or $18,714 per year as a nonresident. Undergrads also pay around $11,300 a year for room and board. Graduate students can take 11 up to 18 credits and pay the university $11,536 every year in tuition as an Ohio resident. Any nonresident graduate student will pay $21,524 each year.
Students who complete the FAFSA each year can find out before the fall semester starts if they will get any aid. Kent State aid packages include the loans and grants offered by the federal government and admission to the federal work and study program too. There are also some scholarships available. Those funds go to Ohio residents, nonresidents, and transfer students. Students with the highest ACT or SAT scores and a high school GPA of 4.0 qualify for a $10,000 scholarship. Those with a GPA of 3.0 and a lower test score will qualify for up to $2,000 every year. Kent State University has charts that students can view online to see how many scholarships they qualify for before they apply to its sport management programs.
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