Where are the best post-grad sports psychology programs?

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My first question is, where are the best sports psychology programs? My second question is, are there places where one can work toward a solid m.a. degree in general psych. with a concentration in sports psychology? The third question I have is whether pursuing a complete immersion in sports psychology (via a sports psychology major) would be favorable to a degree which gives one a sampling (even if in survey form) of some of the sub-disciplines of psychology? Can a sub-discipline like sports psychology be acquired or abstracted from the general degree that concentrates on other elements of the discipline such as early childhood psychology, or abusive behavior, or abnormal psych.?

-- Chandler Harris (Stainliss@aol.com), September 13, 1998

Answers

Chandler, The answer to your first question is that you need to get online and look for a program that you think you might like. You also need to look at whether you want to do more research or applied sport psychology. There are very few applied programs. After you have found some schools you might be interested in you should contact some of the staff and find out what their interests are ( I know there is a book out there that tells you about all the programs and its faculty. You want to go to a school where you will have a staff member that is interested in the same area you are i.e. performance enhancement, injury rehabilitation, stress management etc. The answer to your second question is yes there are programs that give you a degree in psychology with an emphasis in sport psych (university of north texas), but I don't know which is more favorable. ONe thing to think about is that as a sport psychologist it is hard to find a job. if you are also a certified psychologist it is easier. I am a graduate student at Western Washington University in the sport psych program and am enjoying it tremendously. I plan on getting my Ph.D in counseling psych to become certified. Good luck and any questions please e-mail me.

-- Mandy Brandt (MandyBrandt75@hotmail.com), February 12, 2000.

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