Assessing Student Satisfaction Within Sport Management Master’s Degree Programs

Abstract

This study examined satisfaction levels with graduate sport management programs in the United States. A 26-item graduate degree program satisfaction instrument was developed and administered electronically to a sample of current students and alumni from seven sport management master’s degree programs yielding a 54.31% response rate (N = 302). Respondents generally indicated high levels of satisfaction with their decision to pursue a graduate sport management degree, but were significantly less satisfied with the specific school they attended. Respondents indicated the most beneficial courses included current topics, sport and society, sport marketing, and sport ethics, whereas the least beneficial courses included statistics, international sport, and research methods. Students who earned their undergraduate degree in business were consistently less satisfied with how well their graduate program taught them various sport management skills compared with students with undergraduate degrees in sport management, sport-related studies, or other majors.