Sports Studies Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Sports Studies maps to BLS occupations averaging about N/A, with roughly 61,160 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $7,979; common paths include Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary and Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners.
Key Statistics
Sports Studies: what the data shows
Common questions about sports studies degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a sports studies degree?
A Sports Studies program is classified under NCES CIP 31.0508 in the Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness field family (31.05).
A program that focuses on the psychological, sociological, and historical aspects of sport and physical activity. Includes instruction in theory of sport, sport psychology, sport in American society, gender and race/ethnicity and sport, and sports history
IPEDS counted 362 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of sports studies degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 31.05 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Exercise Science and Kinesiology (CIP 31.0505)
- Parks, Recreation, & Leisure (CIP 31.0501)
- Physical Fitness Technician (CIP 31.0507)
- Sport and Fitness Administration/Management (CIP 31.0504)
How long does it take to get a sports studies degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 31.0508 in our file:
- 25 Associate (4.5% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 362 Bachelor's (64.8% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 172 Master's (30.8% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 31.0508, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a sports studies degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Sports Studies to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners | 7,600 | $30,460 |
| Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials | 15,080 | $38,820 |
| Athletes and Sports Competitors | 14,370 | $62,360 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 12,680 | $75,890 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a sports studies degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness bachelor's program family: median debt $28,390, median earnings $54,562 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.93.
About 4.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $7,979 and median net price is $15,996.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Sports Studies and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$7,979 Median In-State Public
$35,615 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Sports Studies majors are, on average, $7,979 for in-state public colleges, and $35,615 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Sports Studies programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Sports Studies from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Sports Studies.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 3 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 4 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 5 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Sports Studies programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haskell Indian Nations University | KS | $600 |
| 2 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 3 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 4 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Sports Studies programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 3 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 4 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 5 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Sports Studies programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Sports Studies programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Sports Studies is in OH (61 completions). That state represents about 16.9% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is KY (0.10% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| OH | 61 | 16.9% | 0.04% |
| NY | 53 | 14.6% | 0.02% |
| KY | 51 | 14.1% | 0.10% |
| NC | 44 | 12.2% | 0.04% |
| MA | 24 | 6.6% | 0.02% |
| IA | 23 | 6.3% | 0.05% |
| KS | 22 | 6.1% | 0.06% |
| CA | 16 | 4.4% | 0.00% |
| TN | 13 | 3.6% | 0.02% |
| VA | 13 | 3.6% | 0.01% |
| GA | 11 | 3.0% | 0.01% |
| MN | 9 | 2.5% | 0.01% |
| ND | 9 | 2.5% | 0.07% |
| IN | 8 | 2.2% | 0.01% |
| AL | 1 | 0.3% | 0.00% |
| AZ | 1 | 0.3% | 0.00% |
| MI | 1 | 0.3% | 0.00% |
| VT | 1 | 0.3% | 0.01% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 31.05 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Exercise Science and Kinesiology CIP 31.0505
- Parks, Recreation, & Leisure CIP 31.0501
- Physical Fitness Technician CIP 31.0507
- Sport and Fitness Administration/Management CIP 31.0504
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 31.0508 in the survey year used in our extract (559 total across levels below).
- 25 Associate (4.5% of IPEDS total)
- 362 Bachelor's (64.8% of IPEDS total)
- 172 Master's (30.8% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about N/A. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Sports Studies graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,630 | 11,430 |
| Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners | $41,322 | 7,600 |
| Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials | $66,530 | 15,080 |
| Athletes and Sports Competitors | — | 14,370 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $141,278 | 12,680 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness CIP family (268 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Sports Studies graduate.
- $28,390 median federal loan debt among completers
- $54,562 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.93 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 4.0% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$N/A Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Sports Studies majors is $N/A.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Sports Studies majors.
Occupations by Share
61,160 2023 Workforce
The number of Sports Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Sports Studies by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Sports Studies in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Sports Studies.
Age distribution for Sports Studies degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
362 Total Degrees Awarded
251 Male (69.34%)
111 Female (30.66%)
Gender distribution of Sports Studies degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
229 White (63.26%)
57 Black or African American (15.75%)
32 Hispanic or Latino (8.84%)
8 Two or More Races (2.21%)
4 American Indian/Alaska Native (1.10%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Sports Studies degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Sports Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Sports Studies.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Sports Studies field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Sports Studies majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Sports Studies majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Sports Studies majors.
About
A program that focuses on the psychological, sociological, and historical aspects of sport and physical activity. Includes instruction in theory of sport, sport psychology, sport in American society, gender and race/ethnicity and sport, and sports history
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Sports Studies.
CIP Code
31.0508 - Sports Studies
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $28,390 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $54,562, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.93. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Sports Studies graduate.
Men earned 39.2% of 607 Sports Studies completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about N/A. The largest mapped role by headcount is Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (11,430 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $7,979 in-state at public colleges and $35,615 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.