Admission Examination Requirements

1. TOEFL scores are required for all international students; this requirement is waived if the student has earned a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution. Students scoring 70 or higher on the Internet-based TOEFL Test, 193 or higher on the Computer-based Test, and a 523 or higher on the Paper-based TOEFL Test will be given full consideration for admission into the Doctoral Program.
2. Official scores from nationally standardized aptitude examinations, such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), General Management Admissions Test (GMAT), or Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) are NOT required for admissions consideration; however, official scores may be submitted at the time of application by those students who feel the results of their examinations will enhance their admissions application.
3. The applicant must submit the following materials to the Troy University Graduate School:
   1. Troy University Graduate School Application Form
   2. One official transcript per each institution of higher education ever attended.
   3. Provide a list of three references including their name, title, affiliation, and contact information.
   4. Statement of Intent.
      1. Include details of your rationale for pursuing a Ph.D. in Sport Management.
      2. Include details regarding your career and research interests.
      3. Identify 2-3 TROY Sport Management doctoral faculty members that you are interested in working with. A list of doctoral directive faculty members and their curriculum vitae indicating their research areas may be viewed at https://troy.edu/hstm.
   5. Writing Sample
      The goal of the writing sample is to measure the applicant’s ability to write clearly and succinctly in an academic fashion. The writing sample will assist the Doctoral Admissions Committee in evaluating the applicant’s research, writing, analytical and problem-solving skills. The writing sample may include a thesis completed by the student or a significant research paper, preferably written at the graduate level, and solely by the applicant. The Doctoral Admissions Committee will evaluate the writing sample based on the following criteria: 1) Writing Development and Critical Thinking - ability to articulate the primary concept and inform the reader of its focus; 2) Organization and Structure - development of the topic to include fluid transitions; 3) Paragraph Development - use of transitions and language within each paragraph.; and 4) Mechanics - appropriate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. NOTE: The writing sample could also include accepted or published research that the applicant has been sole or co-author of a research project. The applicant must submit a pdf of the paper or a link as proof of publication.
   6. Resume or Curriculum Vitae

Conditions for Transfer Credit from another Sport Management doctoral program:

1. Students must complete the admissions application packet as described previously.
2. A maximum of 16 credits from another Sport Management doctoral program will be allowed to transfer to the Troy University Sport Management doctoral program.
3. All transfer courses must be comparable to Troy University’s graduate courses and must be approved by the admissions committee.

Timeframe for the Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive exam is recommended to be taken in the last term of class enrollment but not any later than the end of three subsequent terms, unless extenuating circumstances arise and approved by the committee chair. For example, should students complete their final classwork during term 2, they may elect to take the comprehensive exam in term 2 but no later than the end of term 5 unless extenuating circumstances arise.

Applying for the Comprehensive Examination

tudents are required to notify their Dissertation Committee Chair about their plan to complete the Comprehensive Exam. The Dissertation Chair and the student will work collaboratively to determine an approval for the comprehensive exam process. The coordination of submission dates for the qualifying papers and oral examinations is the responsibility of both the student and their Dissertation Committee Chair. Meanwhile, the Dissertation Committee members are given at least two weeks to review the qualifying paper.

Preparing for the Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination involves a collaborative effect between the student and the Dissertation Committee Chair, along with the participation of two other members selected from the comprehensive exam committee. It is necessary that at least two individuals, including the Dissertation Committee Chair, are affiliated with the School of Hospitality, Sport, and Tourism Management, while one member holding full-time Graduate Faculty status may be chosen from a related academic discipline. The qualifying papers will center on a subject and topic determined through collaboration between the Dissertation Committee Chair and the student. Students are required to submit research that is “ready for submission” as the qualifying papers. These papers may originate from a seminar or previous work. Depending on the target outlet and recommendations from the Comprehensive Exam Committee, the qualifying papers will likely include the following elements but may be subject to modifications:

• Title
• Abstract
• Key Words
• Introduction
• Theoretical framework
• Literature review
• Research question/design/methodological section
• Analysis or findings
• Conclusions
• References

Contact by the student with other committee members is recommended. The coordination of submission dates for the qualifying papers is the responsibility of both the student and their Dissertation Committee Chair.

Taking the Comprehensive Examination

The Dissertation Committee Chair will oversee the administration of the comprehensive exam including the submission dates for qualifying papers and scheduling the oral examination. The Dissertation Committee members are given at least two weeks to review the qualifying papers.

Written Examination

Qualifying papers must be prepared according to the style requirements of a specific peer-reviewed journal the student and Comprehensive Exam Committee agree upon. Students will be assessed in their academic writing skills, including organizing ideas, constructing arguments, citing relevant literature, data analysis, and the ability to situate one’s research within existing knowledge. The qualifying paper may be based on a term paper previously submitted for a graduate course (e.g., a seminar or previous work, and with the assistance of the comprehensive examination committee members) at Troy University, provided the course’s instructor approves.

Oral Examination

The student should prepare a 30-minute presentation reviewing their qualifying paper. The members of the Comprehensive Examination Committee should have reviewed and contemplated the qualifying paper in advance. Since the meeting lasts up to two hours, there will be sufficient time for questions and discussions during the research presentation. The student should expect to be examined in depth on subject matter directly and tangentially related to all aspects of the qualifying paper submitted. The questioning is not limited to the qualifying paper but may extend to areas that intersect with the chosen topic.

Evaluating the Comprehensive Examination

The written examination will be read and evaluated by all members of the student’s comprehensive exam committee. Generally, after the written examination the comprehensive exam committee will meet with the student for an oral component of the exam. NOTE: The comprehensive exam process will be scored by at least three members of the committee. Except for allowed substitutions, all members of the examination committee must be present with the student at the oral part. Performance on both the written and oral components of the exam must be acceptable to the comprehensive examination committee. At this time, the examination committee is responsible for deciding whether the student is qualified to be admitted to doctoral candidacy. After completing the written and oral examination, the committee will score the exam in the following manner:

Pass with Distinction: All of the committee members agree that the student responded to all parts of the examination in an outstanding manner.

Pass: The majority of the committee members agree student responded to the majority parts of the examination in an acceptable manner. However, in case of a tie, either the Dean or Associate Dean of the College of Health and Human Services will asked to read and evaluate the exam.

Fail Retake Permitted: At least three of the committee members agree that the student failed to respond in an acceptable manner to more than one of the sections asked and this is the first time the exam has been taken. Under such circumstances, the exam cannot be retaken until the next semester. The student will be required to be enrolled in at least one credit hour for the semester the exam will be taken for the second time. The student will not be allowed to propose a doctoral dissertation until the exam is passed. Additionally, if the committee members agree that the student failed to respond in an acceptable manner in the second exam, the student’s program will be terminated. Retaking the comprehensive final will be permitted only once.

Fail: All of the committee members agree that the student failed to respond in an acceptable manner to more than one of the parts asked, no retake will be permitted, and the student’s program is terminated.

Reporting Results of the Comprehensive Doctoral Examination

1. Only after the Committee reaches a decision on the results of the Comprehensive Exam should students be notified. Typically this should occur within about three weeks of the examination date.
2. The comprehensive examination committee chair will be responsible for notifying students of the examination results in a timely manner. Other Committee members should treat all exam information in the strictest confidence.
3. After a student successfully completes the written and oral components of the comprehensive examination, the comprehensive examination committee chair will be responsible for notifying the Troy University Dean of the Graduate School.

Admission to Doctoral Candidacy

Students seeking to enter Doctoral Candidacy must have:

1. Completed all coursework with a GPA of 3.0 or higher; and
2. Passed the comprehensive exams

Writing the Dissertation

The dissertation proposal indicates the student’s commitment to the dissertation advisory committee to complete the proposed project in a reasonable timeframe, generally a year or more. The most recent edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) will be the only writing style accepted in writing the dissertation. Additionally, a 12 point font Times New Roman font should be used consistently throughout the document. The student is encouraged to review the dissertation guidelines on the Troy University Graduate school website for further information.

The drafts of the dissertation will only be reviewed by all members of the dissertation committee. Feedback and suggestions from the dissertation committee members should be incorporated until the draft is considered acceptable by all members of the committee. The student should anticipate review by the dissertation committee and the incorporation of feedback to consume approximately two to three weeks.

Students must be continuously enrolled for a minimum of 1 credit hour in Dissertation (SM 8860) per term during and including the semester in which they successfully defend their dissertation. Dissertation credit hours may exceed but may not be less than the minimum of 18 term hours. For example, if students attain 18 dissertation credits but do not successfully defend their dissertation, they will be required to enroll in at least one credit hour of in Dissertation (SM 8860) until they successfully defend their dissertation. If a student fails to maintain the continuous enrollment requirement he or she may be required to undergo re-admittance into the Ph.D. program.

Dissertation Defense

The defense provides the candidate with an opportunity to address the components of the dissertation such as the introduction, importance of the study, methodology, results, and discussion/conclusion. The work must be of publishable quality using the Graduate School’s format requirements. To complete their degree, each doctoral candidate is required to prepare, present, and orally defend a dissertation that shows independent investigation. Upon completion of the dissertation, the student must successfully complete an oral defense pertaining to the dissertation research.

When the dissertation has been approved by all members of the Dissertation committee, the student with the approval of the Dissertation chair will determine the date, time, and site of the oral Dissertation defense. All members of the defense committee must receive a copy of the candidate’s dissertation at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense. If the student does not pass the oral dissertation defense, a subsequent oral defense may be scheduled at the discretion of the Dissertation chair. Only after the student has successfully defended the dissertation will the members of the dissertation committee sign the Dissertation Acceptance Page(s). The dissertation chair will notify the Dean of the Graduate School at least one week in advance of the scheduled oral Dissertation defense. The oral Dissertation defense must occur at least four weeks before the intended date of graduation/commencement. Due to distance constraints, if the student cannot physically be on the Troy campus for the dissertation defense, the student is responsible to arrange technology such as Skype, WebEx or Jigsaw, per the dissertation committee approval, for the dissertation defense.

After Dissertation Defense

Dissertations must be written in English and must be acceptable in form and content to present to the Dissertation Committee and to the Graduate School. The work must be of publishable quality and must be in a form suitable for publication, using the Graduate Schools’ format requirements. The Dissertation must be reviewed by the Graduate School for adherence to Dissertation formatting requirements (Appendix C in the Dissertation Guidelines). The student must submit a flawless copy to the Graduate School (Adams Administration Building, Room 231, Troy campus) for format review. The appropriate number of “Dissertation Acceptance Pages” and “Human and Animal Review Forms” with appropriate original signatures should be submitted along with Dissertation. The last date a fully approved Dissertation may be submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School is three (3) full weeks prior to the date of graduation. THIS DEADLINE IS NOT NEGOTIABLE. The student is responsible for checking the University academic calendar for relevant deadlines for commencement for the semester in which he or she plans to graduate (troy.edu/records/graduation/graduationinformation.html).

Plagiarism

The awarding of a university degree attests that an individual has demonstrated mastery of a significant body of knowledge and skills of substantive value to society. Any type of dishonesty in securing those credentials therefore invites serious sanctions, up to and including suspension and expulsion (see Standard of Conduct in each TROY Catalog). Examples of dishonesty include actual or attempted cheating, plagiarism*, or knowingly furnishing false information to any university employee.

*Plagiarism is defined as submitting anything for credit in one course that has already been submitted for credit in another course, or copying any part of someone else’s intellectual work - their ideas and/or words - published or unpublished, including that of other students, and portraying it as one’s own. Proper quoting, using strict APA formatting, is required.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense that Troy University does not tolerate. Evidence of plagiarism may prevent granting of a degree.

Doctoral Core (15 sh)

• SM 8812 - Seminar in Sport Marketing
• SM 8814 - Seminar in Sport Finance
• SM 8816 - Seminar in Organizational Behavior and Leadership
• SM 8820 - Seminar in Legal Aspects of Sport
• SM 8822 - Seminar in Sport Management Pedagogy

Research and Statistics Requirements (15 sh)

• SM 8803 - Quantitative Research in Sport Management
• SM 8805 - Qualitative Research in Sport Management
• SM 8810 - Seminar in Applied Statistics in Sport Management
• SM 8835 - Seminar in Advanced Statistics in Sport Management
• Elective (The student, in consultation with the major advisor, must select a minimum of three hours of advisor approved electives of research courses).

Cognate Area Requirements (12-18 sh)

Ph.D. Sport Management students may choose a traditional cognate area or a Business Cognate area:

1. Traditional Cognate Area (12 sh): This option allows doctoral students an opportunity to identify 12 hours of courses to further their expertise. With the approval of the major advisor, students have an option to complete 6000 level courses or higher from varied discipline offerings.
2. Business Cognate Area (18 sh): This option allows doctoral students an opportunity to identify 18 hours of courses to further their expertise within a focused area of Business. With the approval of the major advisor, students have an option to complete 6000 level courses in the following areas: BUS, FIN, HRM, QM, ECO, MGT, MKT, and /or MSM.

Comprehensive Examination (0 sh)

Dissertation Requirements (12-18 sh)

Dissertation Requirements for Traditional Cognate Area (18 sh)

Dissertation Requirements for Business Cognate Area (12 sh)

Total Hours: 60 semester hours