Program Overview

The SEH program is an interdisciplinary area of study that examines the cultural contexts of sport and exercise. More particularly, it explores the connections of sport and exercise to larger society, its historical settings and meanings, its ethical underpinnings, and its racial, gender, and social class composition.

Areas of Specialization

The SEH graduate programs offer three interconnected areas of study: the history of sport and exercise, the philosophy of sport and exercise, and the sociocultural study of sport and exercise.

• History of Sport and Exercise - explores the changing nature and meanings of sport from ancient times to the present.
• Philosophy of Sport and Exercise - examines theories of reality, knowledge, and value and their implications for sport. It is especially concerned with an ethical analysis of contemporary sports.
• Sociocultural Study of Sport and Exercise - analyzes the social underpinnings of sport and its intersection with issues of race, gender, and class.

Program Objective

The graduate program in SEH is designed primarily to prepare individuals for faculty positions in higher education. To meet the demands of the current job market, our program seeks to familiarize students with the scholarship, themes and issues in each of three main SEH areas of study-although there will be a greater emphasis at the doctoral level research area than at the Master's level in specializing in one research area of study. Another difference between the master's and doctoral program is the extent to which in the former program greater latitude is built in to allow students to acquire a knowledge base that will useful in sport related professional pursuits (i.e. sport law, sport journalism, sport coaching) or other academic options outside the SEH area. Despite some minor differences in orientation, the SEH course of study sees a natural flow between its master's and doctoral programs. It will strongly urge a master's student who want to pursue doctoral work, whether in our program or elsewhere, to write a master's thesis.

The curriculum is designed to have master's students complete their degree in two years. The length of time for a doctoral degree will vary with the nature of dissertation research, but generally takes four years to complete