Ranked 1st in North America in “Quality of Teaching” and “Value for Money”
For the second consecutive year, the graduate program in Sport Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been ranked among the top 10 in North America and top 15 in the world, according to the 2021 Sport Business Postgraduate Course Rankings.
The program, which enrolled its 39th class earlier this month, was ranked 9th in North America and 11th in the world. Details on the selection criteria for the rankings are available here.
The program ranked 1st in North America and 2nd overall for “Quality of Teaching” and 1st for “Value for Money.” The program ranked 3rd in North America (4th overall) in “Graduate’s Choice,” which is based on student satisfaction scores and reflective of alumni satisfaction, and 2nd in North America (5th overall) in “Most Valuable in Furthering Career.”
“We’ve always worked to ensure that our postgraduate program led the way in preparing the next generation of sport administrators in college sport and beyond,” said Darin Padua, Joseph Curtis Sloane Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Exercise and Sport Science (EXSS). “We are proud to see the Sport Administration graduate program be consistently recognized as one of the top programs in North America and in the world. The program’s success and impressive rankings are a testament to the dedication of the faculty and students in the Sport Administration master’s degree program at UNC.”
The graduate program in Sport Administration merges a diverse academic curriculum, which includes graduate courses in sport administration, analytics, economics/finance, event management, and law, with experiential work experience within the UNC athletic department, culminating in a year-long internship within the Department of Athletics in the second year of the program.
“This is a much-deserved honor that highlights how this outstanding graduate program gives opportunities—both educational and practical—to the next generation of college sport professionals,” said Bubba Cunningham, Director of Athletics at the University of North Carolina. “Carolina Athletics is proud to partner with the Sport Administration graduate program.”
The M.A. in Sport Administration degree was also ranked 11th in the world in 2020, its first year participating in the annual rankings.
“Born as a partnership between the athletic department and Exercise and Sport Science, our program has been a model of cross-campus collaboration, experiential education, and cutting-edge research since its inception,” noted Erianne Weight, Associate Professor of Sport Administration and Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Sport Administration. “Our industry-leading alumni are tremendously engaged as mentors, research partners, and advocates. Our faculty are world-renowned researchers with extensive experience in the field and passion for teaching, and our students are the best in the world. Because of this beautiful combination of factors, there is no better path toward leadership in intercollegiate athletics than through the University of North Carolina Sport Administration Graduate Program.”