Overview of the Interdisciplinary Sport Studies Program
Graduate students interested in sport history, physical culture studies, sport law, sport and politics, sport philosophy, and other related subject areas may pursue doctoral training within the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education through the Interdisciplinary Program in Sport Studies. The Sport Studies Ph.D. Program includes coursework from at least two (and generally three) academic departments at the University of Texas. Courses and areas of specialization are chosen based on the student’s research interests and proposed dissertation topic. Sport Studies doctoral students have traditionally drawn from History, American Studies, Public Affairs, Law, Women and Gender Studies, Higher Education Administration, Exercise Science, and Sport Management in their degrees. A five-member faculty committee (three must be from Kinesiology) determines the student’s program of work and administers comprehensive exams at the completion of the student’s coursework. The members of this committee may or may not be members of the student’s dissertation committee.
The University of Texas offers unique resources for those interested in studying sport and physical culture. The H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports includes the largest and most complete archive in the field of physical culture in the world. In addition, the Stark Center is recognized as an official Olympic Studies Center by the International Olympic Committee, one of only two in the United States and also has extensive sport holdings. The Stark Center is also the official repository of the UT Intercollegiate Athletic Department Media Relations Archives and as such provides a unique opportunity for scholars interested in intercollegiate sport. For more information, please visit the Stark Center online.
In addition to the Stark Center, the holdings of the general libraries of the University of Texas are among the best in the world. The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History contains the archives of the University Interscholastic League and the records of the women’s physical education program at UT among other athletic resources. The LBJ Presidential Library, the Jamail Center for Legal Research, the Harry Ransom Center and the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection are also located on the UT-Austin campus and provide additional research opportunities.