Graduate Program Admission Information

To apply to a graduate program in the School of Sport and Exercise Science, please follow the step-by-step instructions below.  

• Application Instructions

  To apply to a graduate program in the School of Sport and Exercise Science, please click on the appropriate program link:

  Master’s Programs:

  • Athletic Training M.S. 
  • Physical Education and Physical Activity Leadership MAT 
  • Sport and Exercise Science M.S. — Biomechanics Emphasis 
  • Sport and Exercise Science M.S. — Exercise Physiology Emphasis 
  • Sport and Exercise Science M.S. — Social Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Emphasis 
  • Sport and Exercise Science M.S. – Sport Administration Emphasis 
  • Sport Coaching M.A. 

  Doctoral Programs:

  • Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D. — Biomechanics Emphasis 
  • Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D. – Exercise Physiology Emphasis 
  • Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D. — Physical Education and Physical Activity Leadership (PE PAL) Emphasis 
  • Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D. – Social Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Emphasis 
  • Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D. — Sport Administration Emphasis

• Application Deadlines

  At the master's level, programs will typically (but not always) admit students to the program in both spring and fall, with the exception of Sports Administration, Athletic Training, the Physical Education and Physical Activity Leadership MAT and Sport Coaching. For doctoral applicants, only fall admission is generally considered. Below are application deadlines for our M.S. and Ph.D. programs. For specific questions related to these deadlines, applicants are encouraged to communicate directly with faculty in the program they are applying to for further clarifications. Applications received by the appropriate date listed below will receive priority screening. Applications received after the date may not be reviewed if no program spots are available.

  M.S. Applicants Deadlines (except Sport Administration)

  • Fall admission: February 1
  • Spring admission: August 31

  Ph.D. Applicants Deadlines

  • Fall admission only: February 1

  M.A. in Sports Coaching and M.A.T. in Physical Education and Physical Activity Leadership programs are cohort in nature and are offered through our Extended Campus.  

• Application Review Process

  When applying to a graduate program in the School of Sport & Exercise Science it is important to understand that the review process takes time. Below is a list of the steps involved in the application review process. This is provided to inform you about how your application is handled within the university and within our program.

  Once all application materials have been received by the Graduate School (see minimum requirements), the Graduate School checks the application to ensure that all of the minimum requirements of the Graduate School have been met. Note that any incomplete application will never be sent to the School of Sport & Exercise Science for review. Thus, applicants are encouraged to follow-up with the Graduate School to ensure that the application is complete. Also, check email regularly for communication from our Graduate School indicating any materials that are missing from the application.

  The complete application is then sent to the School of Sport & Exercise Science for program review. Once received in SES, the application is logged and forwarded to program faculty in the area the applicant is applying to for admission.
  Application review times will vary from program to program. However, many programs will not review any applications until after the priority screening or hard application deadline has passed. If you have questions about the progress of your application at this stage, you are encouraged to communicate directly with program faculty as they are the ones reviewing your application. A general rule of thumb is that for fall admission program faculty generally make recommendations in March, and for spring admission, program faculty generally make recommendations in October.

  Once the program has reached a decision on the application, the recommendation is then sent to the Graduate School. The Graduate School then sends a letter directly to the applicant indicating the program faculty’s recommendation.

  If the applicant is admitted based on the program faculty’s recommendation, the applicant will need to follow the instructions in the letter to notify the Graduate School and the School of Sport & Exercise Science about his/her intent to attend the university.

• Funding and Financial Aid

  For information regarding financial aid, scholarships, and graduate assistantships, please visit the Graduate School funding and costs site.

  The School of Sport & Exercise Science offers a limited number of Graduate Teaching Assistantships, which are generally reserved for doctoral students only. Decisions about assistantships are made each fall semester. For students admitted in the spring semester, the GA/TA application would not be reviewed until the following fall semester. These assistantships are ONLY awarded in the fall semester. Completed applications are due electronically to mlyn.miller@unco.edu by February, 1st. This is the only item that is sent directly to the School of Sport & Exercise Science; all other materials go directly to the Graduate School.

  Submit SES GA/TA Application 

• Program Contacts

  Applicants are encouraged to contact faculty in the specific program they are applying to for specific questions about the program or program specific requirements.

  • Athletic Training: Jim Turk, MS, ATC
  • Biomechanics:  Abbie Ferris
  • Exercise Physiology: David Hydock
  • Social Psychology of Sport & Physical Activity: Dr. Megan Babkes Stellino
  • Sport Administration: Dr. Alan Morse
  • Sport Coaching: Scott Douglas, Ph.D.
  • Physical Education and Physical Activity Leadership:
    • MAT program: Brian Dauenhauer, Ph.D.
    • Ph.D. program: Jennifer Krause, Ph.D. 
  • The graduate coordinator, David Hydock, can also be contacted for general questions