Doctorate Requirements – United States Sports Academy

Students attempting to gain admission to the Doctor of Education in Sports Management program must submit all of the following applicable documentation for review. See the complete Admission Requirements in the Academic Catalogs.

If you plan to use Financial Aid at some point while you are attending the Academy, please go to https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa and fill out the current year’s FAFSA. This will help speed up your admissions process. Note: please include the Academy’s federal code (021706) on your application.

Requirements

Application Form

All prospective students are required to complete the online application form.

Transcripts

All previous official transcripts are required. Full disclosure of all institutions attended and official transcripts from each institution is necessary and mandatory. Failure to do so may delay the application process and/or disqualify a student from admission. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required for admission. Applicants who do not satisfy the required minimum GPA stated will be referred to the Admissions Committee. The Committee may request additional documentation, including test scores (e.g. GRE, MAT, or GMAT taken within the last five years). Official transcripts can be mailed to:

United States Sports Academy
Attn: Admissions
One Academy Drive
Daphne, AL 36526

Electronic transcripts can be sent to admissions@ussa.edu. Please contact admissions@ussa.edu if you have questions or need additional information.

Qualifying Essay

A Qualifying Essay in narrative form. This essay must be well organized and neatly typed. It will be used to judge the student’s ability to write at a level appropriate to doctoral work and must include the following:

A brief biographical sketch; and an explanation of why the student wants to enter the Academy’s doctoral degree program. In addition, the essay must be written in accordance with guidelines set forth in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (most recent edition) or Concise Rules of APA Style (most recent edition). For more information, go to http://www.apa.org. Qualifying Essays are generally 5-7 pages in length. Essay should be saved as a .doc file and sent to admissions@ussa.edu. Please use the Writer’s Guide for the Qualifying Essay for further instructions and guidelines.

Photo ID

A copy of a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license or passport is required.

International Students

Application Form

All prospective students are required to complete the online application form.

Transcripts

An official, certified copy (English translation) of all college transcripts.

TOEFL Results**

Official results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) verifying a minimum score of 550 for full-standing admission or a score of 500-549 for conditional admission. An Internet-based score of 79 or above is required for full-standing and a score of 61-78 is required for conditional admittance. ** Applies to International Students only.

International Transcripts

Students who have obtained previous graduate education in a country other than the U.S. or Canada must have certified English translations of foreign school transcripts reviewed by a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services in a course-by-course evaluation. Transcripts must demonstrate that a student has attained a minimum of the equivalent of a graduate degree from an accredited institution in order to be admitted to the doctoral program. Once an international student has been officially admitted, the Academy expressly reserves the right to mandate English as a second language (ESL) instruction until reasonable mastery of the English language has been attained.

Certificate of Eligibility

A Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20) must be obtained if the international student plans to study in the United States (resident students only).

Passport

A copy of a valid passport and visa (resident students only).

Statement of Available Funds

Statement of Available Funds (see Issuance of a Certificate of Eligibility) (resident students only).

Qualifying Essay

Certificates of Eligibility

Certificates of Eligibility are issued for a 36-month period of time for doctoral students. International students who have been enrolled on a full-time basis with a satisfactory grade point average for a period of one year will be eligible to have their I-20s renewed for a subsequent 12-month period. International students studying in their own countries do not need to apply for an I-20. An international applicant must submit the following to Student Services for issuance of a Certificate of Eligibility, which is issued to accepted degree-seeking students only:

SEVIS Fee. Effective 1 September 2004, students are responsible for paying the $200.00 SEVIS fee for non-immigrant students and visitor exchange. See http://www.fmjfee.com for information.
Financial Resource Evidence. Documentary evidence in the form of a certified letter from a bank, a sponsoring government agency, a sponsoring company or another acceptable third party source stating the amount of financial resources available and/or amount guaranteed to provide for transportation and normal living expenses for the period of time to be spent in the United States.