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Sports psychologist education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a sports psychologist. Sports psychologists usually study psychology, counseling psychology, or clinical psychology. 64% of sports psychologists hold a bachelor's degree, and 20% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 62 real sports psychologist resumes to see exactly what sports psychologist education sections show.
The most common colleges for sports psychologists are the University of California - Davis and the University of California - Davis.
There are also many online sports psychologist courses to help get the education required to be a sports psychologist.
What education do you need to become a sports psychologist?
What degree do you need to be a sports psychologist?
- Bachelor's, 64%
- Master's, 20%
- Doctorate, 11%
- High School Diploma, 4%
What should I major in to become a sports psychologist?
- Psychology, 44%
- Kinesiology, 5%
- Other Majors, 33%
Most common colleges for sports psychologists
| Sports psychologist common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of California - Davis | 8.33% |
| Florida International University | 8.33% |
| Carlos Albizu University | 8.33% |
| Argosy University | 8.33% |
| California State University - San Bernardino | 4.17% |
Best majors for sports psychologists
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psychology | 44.2% |
| 2 | Counseling Psychology | 9.3% |
| 3 | Clinical Psychology | 9.3% |
| 4 | Kinesiology | 4.7% |
| 5 | Special Education | 2.3% |
Best colleges for sports psychologists
The best colleges for sports psychologists are Northwestern University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Johns Hopkins University.
A sports psychologist with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for sports psychologists. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become sports psychologists.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
2. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$59,430
Enrollment
8,216
3. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
4. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$10,595
Enrollment
30,184
5. Clemson University
Clemson, SC • Private
In-state tuition
$15,374
Enrollment
19,564
6. University of Washington
Seattle, WA • Private
In-state tuition
$11,207
Enrollment
30,905
7. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Enrollment
31,321
8. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$26,756
Enrollment
6,166
9. San Jose State University
San Jose, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,796
Enrollment
27,125
10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$15,262
Enrollment
30,079
20 best online courses for sports psychologists
Advertising disclosure
1. Sports Performance Analytics
Sports analytics has emerged as a field of research with increasing popularity propelled, in part, by the real-world success illustrated by the best-selling book and motion picture, Moneyball. Analysis of team and player performance data has continued to revolutionize the sports industry on the field, court, and ice as well as in living rooms among fantasy sports players and online sports gambling.\n\nDrawing from real data sets in Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball...
2. Data Analytics in Sports Law and Management
Athletes, lawyers and team executive experts provide insight in how law and regulations intersect with data analytics and sports management techniques for best practices in the sports industry. Several courses provide the basis for how data analytics function within player evaluation, team performance, and roster management. The specialization introduces various regulatory, managerial and legal frameworks that includes athlete representation, facilities, and event management and conclude with...
3. Introductory Sport Psychology
Developing sport psychology skills that you can use when you train, compete or coach...
4. Applied Sport Psychology and Leadership in Sport Certificate
Enhance your knowledge of sport psychology from an athlete or coach perspective with this comprehensive applied course...
5. Sports Turf Management: Best Practices
The Sports Turf Management: Best Practices course will cover the construction, management, and challenges in maintaining athletic fields intended for football, soccer, and baseball. You will learn the fundamental management practices for maintaining athletic fields, such as fertilization, irrigation, mowing, and pest control. An overview of athletic field construction, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of native soil versus modified soil fields, will be provided. Lastly, you will...
6. Sports Marketing
Today, there is demand for people skilled in Sports Marketing. Organizations want your expertise to strength and grow customer bases and teams want to enlarge their fan base, attract new sponsors to their sport, build strong programs with existing sponsors, and run their fan conventions and other events. In addition, a wide range of companies recognize the value sports relationships have in positioning and building their brands. In this Sports Marketing MOOC, you will learn: — Ticket pricing...
7. Sport Psychology for Athletes
Master the fundamentals of sport psychology to improve performance and gain a mental edge...
8. Sports Management: The Essentials Course
A Comprehensive Overview at How the Sports Industry Operates and the Challenges Facing the Modern Sports Industry Today...
9. The Science of Training Young Athletes
Seventy percent of kids drop out of sports before their high school graduation. Only 15% leave because they feel they are not good enough. Almost 70% leave because they were not having fun, or due to problems with the coach. Injuries cause 30% to give up sports. This course is packed full of practical sports science information that provide youth coaches and parents with the practical pediatric sports science insights to successfully retain young athletes and develop their sport potential while...
10. Activism in Sports and Culture
Sports have become an ever-present reflection of American culture, and an important symbol of the divisions and alliances in our society. Sports and political change walk hand in hand in America. The way that athletes and institutions deal with questions of race, economic hardship, nationalism, and political ties have become central to the way that we understand ourselves and our society. And yet, there are those who would prefer their sports free of controversy and opinion. Dedicated athletes,...
11. Sports Nutrition for Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts
Learn all about sports nutrition with 7 hours of online video content and start training SMARTER instead of HARDER...
12. Internationally Accredited Diploma in Sports Nutrition
Learn About The Fundamentals Of Sport Nutrition Science And How To Fuel Your Athlete Client...
13. Introduction to Machine Learning in Sports Analytics
In this course students will explore supervised machine learning techniques using the python scikit learn (sklearn) toolkit and real-world athletic data to understand both machine learning algorithms and how to predict athletic outcomes. Building on the previous courses in the specialization, students will apply methods such as support vector machines (SVM), decision trees, random forest, linear and logistic regression, and ensembles of learners to examine data from professional sports leagues...
14. Build Sports Management System using JavaFX
By the end of this project, you will create a Sport Club Management System using JavaFX. This project will give you a great push towards mastering one of the most used programming languages in the world which is Java. In this project, you will be able to identify and apply many functions and features in JavaFX using SceneBuilder, which is a third-party application used to create a JavaFX GUI easily. You will also learn how to create controller classes in Eclipse that consist of methods that...
15. Sports Massage: The Technique Masterclass
Learn the most effective sports massage techniques for the entire body (2 CEUs)...
16. Abnormal Behavior & Clinical Psychology (Certificate)
Guiding students into the field of mental health services for either personal and/or professional development...
17. Stress & Anxiety Management: Psychology - ACCREDITED CERT
Learn how to cope with 'stress' and 'anxieties', know what 'anxiety disorder', learn about therapy & counselling here...
18. PSYCHOLOGY DIPLOMA: Anxiety & Panic Attacks (ACCREDITED)
CERTIFIED COURSE: Learn about psychology and self-development, therapy and counselling. Stress and anxiety management...
19. Sexual Harassment Training for Managers
Learn how to create a safe, secure, and inclusive work environment...
20. Crisis Intervention Seminar
The emphasis is on the development of fundamental clinical skills in the area of crisis intervention...
Top 10 most affordable universities for sports psychologists
The most affordable schools for sports psychologists are California State University - Long Beach, hunter college of the city university of new york, and university of florida.
If the best universities for sports psychologists are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for sports psychologists.
1. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
2. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,182
Cost of attendance
13,998
3. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
4. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
5. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
7. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
8. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
9. Queens College of the City University of New York
Queens, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,338
Cost of attendance
14,281
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for sports psychologists
The hardest universities for sports psychologists to get into are Northwestern University, Columbia University in the City of New York, and Johns Hopkins University.
Some great schools for sports psychologists are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for sports psychologists based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
6%
SAT average
1,512
3. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
4. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
5. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
7. University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA • Private
Admissions rate
26%
SAT average
1,427
8. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
9. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD • Private
Admissions rate
47%
SAT average
1,390
10. Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX • Private
Admissions rate
51%
SAT average
1,395
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for sports psychologists
The easiest schools for sports psychologists to get into are Wayland Baptist University, barry university, and felician university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a sports psychologist without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for sports psychologists.
1. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. Felician University
Lodi, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
81%
SAT average
999
4. Life University
Marietta, GA • Private
Admissions rate
94%
SAT average
979
5. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
6. Ottawa University
Ottawa, KS • Private
Admissions rate
78%
SAT average
1,024
7. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
8. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
9. Bluefield College
Bluefield, VA • Private
Admissions rate
95%
SAT average
980
10. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
Average sports psychologist salary by education level
| Sports psychologist education level | Sports psychologist salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $82,205 |
| Doctorate Degree | $87,413 |
Sports psychologist education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025