Ph.D. in Kinesiology (Sport Pedagogy)

Overview

The mission of the Ph.D. in Kinesiology with coursework focusing on sport pedagogy is to provide students with the coursework, laboratory, and practical experiences to become a leading educator and researcher.

Program Coordinator:  Dr. Oleg Sinelnikov

Admission Requirements

https://catalog.ua.edu/graduate/education/kinesiology/phd/#requirementstext

Application Process

An electronic application is available through the graduate school (graduate.ua.edu). Applications for graduate assistantships that cover tuition and provide a stipend can be completed here. Applications are accepted year round.

Program Requirements

The sequence of steps for a doctoral student from admission to graduation is 1) satisfaction of admission requirements; 2) declaration of intent; 3) formation of doctoral program of study; 4) completion of coursework; 5) completion of comprehensive exams; 6) formation of doctoral dissertation committee; 7) proposal of doctoral dissertation; 8) admission to candidacy; 9) oral examination of the dissertation; and 10) submission of final copies of the dissertation.

The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 72 hours beyond the master’s degree. This program includes

• 24-hour sport pedagogy core
• 12-hour competency in educational research and statistics
• 12 hours of foundation courses to support the major
• 24 hours of dissertation

Major Field (24 hours minimum)

Sport pedagogy students who have not completed a master’s degree at The University of Alabama take the following 8 courses for a total of 24 hours*:

• KIN 508 Perceptual Motor Development (3 hours)
• KIN 512 Physical Education Curriculum (3 hours)
• KIN 538 Advanced Adapted Physical Education (3 hours)
• KIN 612 Research in Physical Education Teacher Education (3 hours)
• KIN 622 Analysis of Research on Teaching in Physical Education (3 hours)
• KIN 632 Systematic Observation in Physical Education (3 hours)
• KIN 642 Instructional Design in Physical Education in Higher Education (3 hours)
• KIN 691 Research Studies in Sociology of Human Performance (3 hours)

*Those sport pedagogy students who have taken some of the above courses in a master’s degree at the University of Alabama may substitute the above courses with the courses listed below:

*Those students who wish to focus on adapted sport pedagogy may get approval from Dr. Hardin to substitute a maximum of two of the courses listed below for KIN 632 & KIN 691.

• KIN 596 Independent Study in Physical Education
• KIN 602 Readings in Physical Education (3 hours)
• KIN 603 Special Projects in Physical Education (3 hours)
• KIN 604 Seminar in Physical Education (3 hours)
• KIN 685 Fieldwork and Laboratory Experience in Physical Education (3 hours)
• KIN 698 Nondissertation Research (3 hours)

KIN 699 Dissertation Research (24 hours)

Research/Statistics Competency (12 hours)*:

Possible Prerequisites

• Must have done basic research methods course in Master’s program. If not must take KIN 506 as a prerequisite.
• Must have done a basic statistics course in Master’s program. This could have been covered within a research techniques course. If not must take BER 540 Quantitative Statistics 1.

*Please note that KIN 506 and BER 540 do not count towards the 12 hours in the research/statistics competency.

Then take:

• BER 640 Quantitative Statistics 2

Then choice of going (a) quantitative or (b) qualitative or (c) combination with last 3 courses.

Qualitative Option:

• BER 631 Inquiry as Interpretation: Qualitative I
• BER 632 Reflexiveness and Resistance in Research Representation: Qualitative II
• BER 633 Ethics and Aesthetics of Meaning Making: Qualitative III or BER 630 Case Study Research Methods

Quantitative Option

• BER 645 Advanced Experimental Design
• BER 641 Multivariate quantitative methods
• BER 642 Advanced Regression Methods

Combination Option

• BER 631 Inquiry as Interpretation: Qualitative I
• BER 645 Advanced Experimental Design
• BER 641 Multivariate quantitative methods or BER 695 Mixed methods or BER 632 Reflexiveness and Resistance in Research Representation: Qualitative II

Foundations concentration (12 hours minimum)

Take a concentration of courses which are “foundational” to the major.  Examples of concentrations:

• Health Promotion
• Human Development
• Educational Psychology
• Educational Leadership
• Educational Foundations
• Educational Policy
• Research
• Special Education
• Others to suit student’s research/teaching interests

Doctoral Dissertation

The doctoral dissertation is designed to provide students with a significant research experience and is considered a contribution to the research and the literature in the field. It is anticipated that students will complete credits for the dissertation after the completion of all coursework and the comprehensive examination. The student will work closely with the doctoral program chair and committee in developing a dissertation proposal and conducting the dissertation research. The doctoral dissertation committee will consist of a minimum of five faculty members, one of whom must be from outside the department.

Dissertation Committee

• Select chair from sport pedagogy area
• Select 2 others from sport pedagogy
• Select 1 person from research competency
• Select 1 person from foundations concentration
• Call faculty and ask if they are willing to be on the committee.
• Let the chair know list of names.
• Produce program of study document
• Let chair contact faculty on committee
• Either meet, discuss, and sign program of study plan or just sign having passed the document around for signatures.

Advising

All doctoral students will be assigned an interim advisor upon admission to the Ph.D. program. The interim advisor will assist the student in the evaluation of previous work, selection of coursework, and the preliminary work in selecting a program chair and a program advisory committee.

Financial Support

A limited number of graduate assistantships are available each year. These assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. Graduate assistants may be asked to assist with teaching, research, and/or the outreach mission of the academic unit.

Time Limit for Doctoral Study

Students must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. degree within seven calendar years from the time they are officially admitted to a program of study.