Alexander Said:

What classes should I take if I am going for a sports journalism degree?

We Answered:

Any advanced writing courses will help you. Or perhaps a phys. ed. type course.

William Said:

Can I become a college coach with a degree in Sports Psychology?

We Answered:

No degree is required to become a college/university coach (although most have one in something); proven ability is required at that level. You start coaching at a lower level or as an assistant coach and when you prove you can consistently produce winners then you get offered a head coach position. When you prove you can produce winners as a head coach, better teams start trying to get you. When you're the very best, you get recruited by pros and the USOC. Nobody really cares about what degree you have or where you got it - only about how well you perform as a coach.

The only time the degrees really matter (except when the position also requires being a teacher) is when you have no coaching experience to back you up - in which case very few programs will be interested anyway unless they're desperate. Once you have coaching experience then it's the quality and level of that experience that matters.

There's a huge difference between a small NCAA-II school's periphery sports and a Division I big-time prime sport too. What's acceptable in some wouldn't get you on the field in some others. It varies widely from school-to-school and sport-to-sport.

That MS in Sports Psych won't be enough to get a job as a team psychologist, you'll need a PhD and a license from your state for that job. The MS Psychologist is usually a supervised assistant.

As for learning coaching skills via a degree; some majors are particularly useful. Human Biology is a good example. Kinesthetics is another. In fact, some colleges even have a master's degree in coaching theory. (example: http://cpass.wvu.edu/academic_programs/m… )

Some coaching jobs in the university go to people that are qualified to also teach undergraduate courses (they often like to not hire more people than they really need) so an academic degree at the master's (minimum) or PhD level can be very helpful. Many of those jobs aren't faculty appointments though and go to the best qualified coach - not a teacher. They're also (except for many football and basketball positions) usually not full time.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos251.htm is a pretty good place to start reading about the variety of requirements.

Kathy Said:

How much does a Sports Psyhcologist make?

We Answered:

The starting salary for sports psychologists is roughly $41,850. However, salaries vary widely depending on the job, employer, education level and the psychologist's experience within the field.

Self-employed individuals make an average salary of $71,880, while a professional working at a college or university earns $55,000 on average.

Chad Said:

How long do you have to go to university for a degree in sports and children's psychology?

We Answered:

Bachelor's degree in psychology: 4 or 5 years
Master's degree: 2 or 3 years
Doctorate degree: 4 or 5 years

Many graduate programs in clinical psychology (where child and sports psychology streams are typically found) have a combined Master's/PhD program where they claim it takes five years to complete. Do not believe this. Most students take longer to complete their PhD if they go this route. If you want to go the graduate school route, make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. It also doesn't hurt to gain some work and/or volunteer experience working with athletes or children...I've had colleagues in my program drop out of the Master's program because they realized they didn't like working with kids. Seems like a no-brainer, but it's an often over-looked fact. Graduate school is a HUGE commitment and will impact your relationships and finances.

Earl Said:

What are the top universities in ohio for an undergraduate degree in psychology?

We Answered:

Just go to the cheapest state school. Because once you have your doctorate no one cares where you got your undergrad degree.

By the time you have your undergrad degree you will know the best graduate school.

Hopefully you are aware that there are almost no jobs for someone with only a bachelor's in psych. No sense running up a ton of student loans for an undergrad degree with no jobs.