Any non-thesis M.S. seeking student majoring in Sport Management must complete the following two requirements as part of their graduate final exam for the M.S. in Sport Management degree:
The student must complete all core courses to graduate from the Sport Management M.S. program. In each core course (except HLP 6515 and SPM 5506), there will be a key assignment that will assess the knowledge levels of the student on the course material that is equivalent of a graduate final exam evaluation. The instructor will have marked the assignment clearly on the syllabus. The following statement will be on every syllabus of the core courses except for HLP 6515 and SPM 5506.
Graduate Final Exam Requirement (ONLY for New Fall 2020 Students and beyond)
During this course, the successful completion of the _______ paper will fulfill a requirement of the graduate final exam which is a requirement to be completed prior to the completion of the M.S in Sport Management degree at the University of Florida. To successfully complete the ______ paper, the student must earn a minimum of 80% on the assignment. A failure to meet the minimum of 80% will require the student to rewrite and resubmit the ______ paper to the instructor by the stated deadline which will be before the end of the semester. However, the rewrite grade will not count towards the course but will count towards the successful completion of that graduate final exam portion. A failure to successfully rewrite and resubmit the _______ paper will result in earning an “Incomplete” (I) grade for the course until the requirement has been met. (Please note: An “Incomplete” (I) grade becomes punitive to your overall GPA approximately one semester following the assigned “Incomplete” grade.) It is the student’s responsibility to arrange with the instructor and agree in writing the timeline for successfully completing the ______ paper in fulfillment of the graduate final exam portion. If the student successfully earns a minimum of 80% on the first submission of the _______ paper, then no further action is necessary.
Submission Guidelines for Writing Component Grade Report – You will be added to a Canvas site to submit your writing component grades earned for the key assignment in each of the core courses. These grades will be compared to the grades recorded by the instructor. If you are currently completing any of the core courses, please report “in progress”. Remember, if you earn below an 80% on the key assignment, then you have to resubmit the assignment to earn an 80% or higher before the end of the semester. If the resubmission and earning of an 80% or above does not occur before the end of the semester, then you will receive an “I” (Incomplete) grade in the course until the appropriate grade is received.
Completion of the professional portfolio provides the student the opportunity to (1) reflect and share their professional passion and the qualities they have developed to position themselves to be competitive for a career in pursuit of that passion and (2) connect with resources and intentionally organize their thoughts and documents to support their efforts in seeking employment opportunities.
Submission Guidelines for Professional Portfolio – You will be added to a Canvas site to submit your professional portfolio during the semester in which you will graduate. Your submission must be in accordance with APA 6th or 7th edition (e.g., cover page, table of contents, header, page numbers, section and subsection headings, margins, font, spacing), and begin each section on a new page. Failure to follow these instructions or the submission of plagiarized work, may result in failure of the professional portfolio and a delay of your graduation.
Submission Deadlines – If the due date falls on a holiday, then your portfolio is due the prior day
Each section of the portfolio will be evaluated on a 5-pt scale (i.e., 1=Poor to 5=Excellent). If ANY section does not meet the academic standards (i.e., 4 or 5 rating), the student may be asked to rewrite that section.
Complete the Alumni Information Survey and Graduation Survey and include screenshots of the “thank you” page of each survey (this page will appear after you complete each online survey).
Passion – Discuss your professional “passion” (i.e., the type of work you would like to pursue or impact you would like to make). Then, discuss two (2) professional goals related to the pursuit of that passion you would like to accomplish in the next five (5) years? (300-400 words)
Professional Position – Identify a specific professional position you would potentially pursue upon graduation (please include a screenshot of an actual job description/announcement). (If you do not have immediate plans to pursue a new role upon graduation, please identify a position you would potentially pursue at some point in the 5 years following graduation. If you have already accepted an offer for a new position, please include the job posting and/or description and focus your response on that position.) Discuss why you want this position. Be sure to connect your reasons for pursuing this position to your passion discussed in Section II -Passion. (300-400 words)
Strongest Trait/Attribute – Discuss your strongest personal character trait/attribute. Include a specific example from a professional experience that demonstrates this trait and/or attribute. (300-400 words)
Weakest Trait/Attribute – Discuss your weakest character trait/attribute. Include a specific example from a professional experience where this weakness impacted your performance. Then, please discuss steps you have taken and/or continue to take to address the weakness. (300-400 words)
Insight – Meet with an individual currently in a position similar to the position you identified in Section II – Professional Position, or an individual you believe could provide insight about the position you identified. Discuss three (3) insights you gained from this meeting. (300-400 words)
Industry Segment – List and discuss each of the following. Your responses must be RELEVANT to the position you identified in Section II – Professional Position (300-400 words):
1. one (1) professional association (i.e., a professional association seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession);
2. one (1) trade journal (i.e., a periodical containing news and items of interest concerning a particular trade); and
3. one (1) website that provides job postings.
Relevance – Identify the three (3) skills/qualities/experiences you believe are MOST important to be considered a competitive candidate for the position you identified in Section II – Professional Position. Provide specific evidence from your experiences that you have each of these skills/qualities/experiences. (If you do not currently have any of the three skills/qualities/experiences you believe are most important, please discuss your plan for attaining it.) (300-400 words)
Professional Documents – Provide the following (Be sure the skills/qualities/experiences you identified in Section III-Relevance are highlighted/emphasized):
Resources – Please reflect on your professional development throughout your time in the program by choosing three (3) of the following resources you utilized in the program: GatortoGator.com, Career Coaching, Networking events (Ex. ELO Trips, Online Conferences/Symposiums), Career Connections Center, or Engaged Learning and Outreach Canvas Page. Please discuss each resource and how it benefited your professional and career development. You may also include ways you plan to continue using the resource, if applicable. (300-400 words)
Supplemental resource: Here is a brief video from the UF Career Connections Center outlining their resources, networking opportunities, and career services.
Graduate Final Exam Requirements (printer-friendly)
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The Athlete Development specialization qualifies students to pursue certification through the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists (PAADS).