What degree do you need to be a sports psychologist?

You need a Ph.D. in sports psychology to be a sports psychologist. This takes an additional four years of study after obtaining a bachelor's degree in sports psychology or psychology. You must also apply for a license and certification to practice legally as a sports psychologist. It is possible to practice sports psychology without a license, but most employers require one.

How To Become A Sports Psychologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sports psychologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Terry Pettijohn Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a sports psychologist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $38.28 an hour? That's $79,617 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 26,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a sports psychologist?

Terry Pettijohn Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology, Gupta College of Science

My general advice for a new psychology graduate would be to be flexible and draw upon your undergraduate training in psychology to highlight your excellent communication and critical thinking skills. Given changes to the way people are working today, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, communication skills have never been more urgent. Flexibility is needed to meet the changing work environment, whether working in a newly designed office space, out in the field, or from home.

The critical thinking skills learned from studying research methods and psychology content areas will be crucial to solving new problems in the future. Just think of how your life is different today than it was a year ago, before the pandemic hit with lockdown orders, social distancing, and mask-wearing. Psychology graduates are specially trained for dealing with people, emphasizing creative and adaptive ways to solve problems, communicate, and think critically to help others. Psychologists will be quite valuable to tackle the unique challenges of increased mental health issues related to COVID-19.

ScoreSports PsychologistUS Average

Salary

6.2

Avg. Salary $79,617

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.20%

Asian 3.34%

Black or African American 6.18%

Hispanic or Latino 10.44%

Unknown 3.44%

White 76.39%

Gender

female 48.98%

male 51.02%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sports psychologist

Explore sports psychologist education requirements

Most common sports psychologist degrees

Bachelor's

64.4 %

Master's

20.0 %

Doctorate

11.1 %

Start to develop specific sports psychologist skills

Skills	Percentages
Crisis Intervention	56.01%
Clinical Psychology	17.74%
Performance Enhancement	14.08%
Professional Athletes	8.46%
Player Performance	2.25%

Complete relevant sports psychologist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sports psychologists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sports psychologist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sports psychologist resumes.

Research sports psychologist duties and responsibilities

Provide psychological therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, deficit/hyperactive disorder, specific learning disorder and others mental diagnosis.
Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.

Prepare your sports psychologist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sports psychologist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sports psychologist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable sports psychologist resume templates

Build a professional sports psychologist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your sports psychologist resume.