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Sport Studies Certificate

The Sport Studies Certificate offers students the opportunity to engage, learn, and think critically about sport as part of the human experience from multidisciplinary approaches. Students learn how sport shapes economies, politics, world history, health, science and social life.

This certificate enhances students’ understanding of sport—its evolution, complexities and potential—and better prepares them for working in a sport-related field, such as sports media, sport for development, coaching and marketing. The more knowledge of the larger economic, political, social and historical forces shaping sport that students have, the more effective they can be in their professional careers. 

Courses for the Sport Studies Certificate examine sport from the disciplines of Africana studies, anthropology, classics, economics, English literature, gender and sexuality, history, philosophy and sociology. Other courses are based on analytics, and film and media studies.

This certificate requires completion of 18 credits in courses that focus on sport, described below. The general education requirements listed below are for Dietrich students who began at the University of Pittsburgh Fall 2018 or after. Please refer to your home school's general education catalog for verification purposes.

Gateway courses

Select one three-credit gateway course from the following list. These courses offer an expansive, multi-disciplinary overview of sport.

  • ANTH 0711 Introduction to the Anthropology of Sport (Diversity & either Social Science or Global Issues)
  • HIST 1082 Women, Gender, Sport (Diversity & Historical Analysis)
  • HIST 1083 History of Sport (Diversity & Historical Analysis)

Foundational course

Select one foundational course from the following list.

  • ANTH 0780 Intro to Cultural Anthropology (Social Science -or- Cross Cultural Awareness)
  • GSWS 0100 Intro to Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (Diversity & Social Science)
  • HIST 0601 US Since Reconstruction (Diversity & Historical Analysis)
  • HIST 1645/ECON 1010 American Economic History (Historical Analysis)
  • HIST 1661 Gender and Sexuality (Diversity & Historical Analysis)
  • HIST 1685 US Popular Culture (Historical Analysis)
  • SOC 0005 Societies (Global Issues)
  • SOC 0460 Race and Ethnicity

Elective courses

Select four courses from the following list. After one Gateway course is taken, other Gateway courses (*) can be taken to meet the Elective requirement. After the Foundational course is taken, other Foundational courses may not be counted toward the elective requirement.

  • ATHLTR 1811 Basic Athletic Training (in SHRS)
  • AFRCNA 0120 African American Experience in Sport (Diversity & Social Science)
  • ANTH 0711 Anthropology of Sport * (see above)
  • ANTH 1744 Anthropology of the Olympics (Diversity & either Social Science -or- Global Issues)
  • ANTH 1746 Olympic Identity (Diversity & either Social Science -or- Global Issues)
  • CLASS 0032 / HIST 1746 Athletics of the Ancient World (Specific Geographic Region)
  • ECON 0460 Sports Economics 
  • ENGCMP 0435 The Public Athlete 
  • ENGLIT 0627 Literature of Sport (Literature)
  • ENGFLM 0585 / FMST 0790 Technologies of the Body (Diversity & Creative Work)
  • ENGWRT 1393 Sports Writing 
  • FMST 1885 Broadcast I
  • GSWS 0200 Sex, Race, Pop Culture (Diversity & Social Science)
  • GSWS 1130 Gendered Bodies
  • HIST 1082 Women, Gender, Sport * (see above)
  • HIST 1083 History of Sport * (see above)
  • HIST 1095 Sport and Global Capitalism (Historical Analysis -or- Global Issues)
  • INFSCI 0530 Decision-Making in Sports 
  • PHIL 1319 Ethics and Sport 
  • PS 1220 Sport and American Politics
  • RELGST 1511 Yoga: Of Loincloth and Lululemon (Cross-Cultural Awareness)
  • RELGST 1428 Religion and Sport (Cross-Cultural Awareness)
  • SOC 0465 Sociology of Sport 

Internship credit

One three-credit internship may take the place of one elective course, pending approval by certificate oversight committee.

Grade Requirements

A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for all courses that count toward the certificate.

Satisfactory/No Credit Option

Any number of courses that count toward this certificate may be taken on the S/NC basis.

For more information

If you have questions about the certificate or would like more information, email SportStudies@Pitt.edu.