Sport Studies Concentration
© David Schmitz Photography
Welcome to Graduate Sport Studies Program at SJSU!
Department of Kinesiology Sport Studies Graduate Program Fact Sheet. [pdf]
Our Multi-Disciplinary Approach
Sport Studies is the widely accepted title for the academic study of the social institutions and cultural practices related to sport. Sport Studies encompasses a variety of approaches to the study of sport and the body, and is comprised of theories and research methodologies from psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, and cultural studies of sport.
Our Philosophy
In the Department of Kinesiology, Sport Studies approaches sport from a critical perspective that addresses issues of social identity, power, and agency, while recognizing the positive effects of sport and exercise participation and experiences.
Thus, students going through the Sport Studies curriculum will identify and analyze ways that sport and exercise can produce, reproduce, or contest social inequities to potentially affect positive social change at the individual, community, national, and global levels.
Doctoral Program Preparation
By providing a flexible and interdisciplinary course of study, the Sport Studies curriculum will prepare students for careers in sport-related settings such as coaching, sport psychology, and public, community, and private sport organizations. In addition, the Sport Studies curriculum will equip students with a solid academic foundation for entrance into doctoral programs in the US, Canada, and abroad.
Graduate Research
Our graduate students have engaged in a variety of research projects and thesis studies, including numerous sport and exercise psychology studies, coaching studies and manuals, critical media studies, ethnographic work, historical and philosophical analyses of sport and exercise phenomena, and many others. Among the technological resources available to our students is the Qualitative Research lab, equipped with the latest software for data analysis.
Alumni Testimonial
Matt Gonzalez: MA 2017; Current PhD student at West Virginia
"The Sport Studies graduate program at San Jose State University is where you can expect to find nothing short of unflagging support and dedication from faculty in pursuit of your chosen end goal. For me, that was trying to build a wide-ranging breadth of experience that could compete with others around the nation for admission into quality Ph.D. programs.
I can happily say that I achieved that goal with admission into West Virginia University’s Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology Ph.D. program; but that absolutely would not have been possible without the effort invested into my education by everyone at San Jose State University. Whether it was engaging with innovative approaches in qualitative inquiry for my thesis or supporting my entree into applied sport psychology work; I could always count on the Sport Studies faculty to back me up so long as I was willing to do the work. If jumping into the field of sport psychology or sport sociology is where your interest lies, you would be extremely well advised to consider this program!"
Sport Studies Faculty
Ted Butryn, Ph.D.
Professor
Sport Sociology and Sport Psychology
Graduate Program Coordinator
408-924-3068
theodore.butryn@sjsu.edu
Jessica Chin, Ph.D.
Professor
Research and Core Specialist
Undergraduate Program Coordinator
408-924-3039
jessica.chin@sjsu.edu
Matthew Masucci, Ph.D.
Professor (Associate Dean-CHHS)
Sport Philosophy and Cultural Studies
408-924-3010
matthew.masucci@sjsu.edu
Shirley Reekie, Ph.D.
Professor
Sport History and Comparative Sport Studies
408-924-3020
shirley.reekie@sjsu.edu
Tamar Semerjian, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Sport and Exercise Psychology
408-924-3069
tamar.semerjian@sjsu.edu
