About the SPP Master’s Program
Using positive and applied sport psychology, our Master of Science in sport and performance psychology (MS-SPP) program is designed to optimize your skills in sport and performance psychology and transform your abilities to inspire and motivate others to enhance performance and maximize human potential. This flexible and interactive degree is 100% online and empowers you to take courses to meet your individual job and certification needs. The MS-SPP program also offers two concentrations, allowing students to specialize in an area of interest early.
Our curriculum offers a vast array of sport and performance psychology coursework and is designed specifically to help students complete the specialized coursework requirements to become a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC®) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP).
- View the CMPC® candidate handbook here.
- View the 2020 Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) Compensation Report for Mental Performance Work.
What master's concentration is right for me?
The master’s degree program is designed to enhance a current career (i.e., strength coaching, athletic training, executive coaching) with additional sport psychology knowledge. You’ll be able to select elective courses that fit your specific career goals. Regardless of the concentration or no concentration, the credit total of the program remains the same.
If you plan to continue on to a doctoral program in sport and performance psychology, no concentration is needed. You will be able to maximize your elective options while still completing the coursework requirements for the Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC®) certification. You will also complete the mentorship hours as part of your future doctoral program.
- Choose the applied practice concentration if you want to obtain CMPC® certification and a master’s degree is your final educational goal. Getting a head start on the process of mentorship and completing the required mentorship hours is essential to moving forward after your MS-SPP degree.
Note: All components of the SPP Mentorship program, including client consultations, individual mentorship meetings, group mentorship meetings, and recorded client sessions must be conducted entirely in English, regardless of students’ and clients’ geographic location or preferred language. A student with a disability that limits their ability to complete the program requirements in English may request a reasonable accommodation via the Office of Student Success. A student with an approved accommodation must contact the Mentorship Coordinator prior to beginning the SPPC concentration to discuss how the accommodation will be implemented within the mentorship program.
- Choose the positive coaching concentration if you want to combine your knowledge of sport and performance psychology with a greater effectiveness as a leader in your chosen field. Learning to apply the principles of positive psychology to improve communication, motivation and engagement of those around you enhances the performance of any organization.
Concentrations will be noted on the transcript and diploma, making it more visible to graduates, doctoral admissions advisors and future employers.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the MS-SPP program will be able to be able to:
- Describe major concepts and current trends in research pertaining to sport psychology.
- Identify and explain the legal and ethical issues involved with consulting in sport psychology.
- Demonstrate the ability to design activities and ethical interventions in sport and performance contexts that will lead to improved performance and satisfaction.
- Communicate through discussion and writing the terminology, concepts, and connections between science, counseling and consulting in sport psychology.
- Recognize and integrate a variety of techniques available to improve health, enhance performance and overall wellness.
8 AASP Knowledge Competency Areas:
- K1 – Professional Ethics and Standards
- K2 – Sport Psychology
- K3 – Sport Science
- K4 – Psychopathology
- K5 – Helping Relationships
- K6 – Research Methods and Statistics
- K7 – Psychological Foundations of Behavior
- K8 – Diversity and Culture
Curriculum
The UWS catalog houses the curriculum, course descriptions, curriculum sequence and other helpful information about the program. View the current catalog.
Program Planners
