Application Requirements

Apply here.

Fee payment must accompany the online application.

You are required to disclose and provide official academic transcripts for all post-secondary academic study completed and in progress. This includes individual courses for academic credit, certifications, certificates, transfer coursework, study abroad, second bachelor’s degrees, and advanced degrees. All institutions attended must be listed in the Enrollment History section of the online application.

Instructions for Submission of Transcripts When Applying

Applicants should upload a transcript (unofficial transcripts are permissible) of any academic work from each university-level institution you have attended for use in review of your application. Falsification, forgery, and misrepresentation of any type, will risk forfeiture of admissions and/or enrollment. Forfeiture may occur whenever an integrity lapse is discovered, and may include admissions revocation, expulsion, or another sanction outlined within the Standards of Campus Discipline.

If your post-secondary credentials are from an institution outside the United States, the Office of Admissions also requires you to submit all post-secondary credentials (undergraduate and graduate) to World Education Services, Inc. (WES), a third-party verification agency for a course-by-course evaluation for admission consideration.

Instructions for using WES

WES must complete a course-by-course evaluation of all post-secondary credentials. Please select the WES basic course-by-course evaluation (with GPA and course-levels) and request to have WES send your evaluation to Columbia University School of Professional Studies. The school can be found by searching Columbia University and then selecting School of Professional Studies. The evaluation provided to the School of Professional Studies becomes an official academic record and sole property of the School of Professional Studies upon its receipt.

WES evaluations will be reviewed by the School of Professional Studies administrators and the determination of degree equivalency to U.S. degrees is at the discretion of the School of Professional Studies.

Instructions for Submission of Transcripts When Accepting an Offer of Admission

All students who have attended a college or university in the United States must submit electronic transcripts directly from their school or via the vendor that provides that service for their institution to apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu.

If a school does not offer electronic delivery, you must write to apply [[at]] sps [[dot]] columbia [[dot]] edu to provide us with the link to your institution's webpage concerning transcript orders. After verification, we will respond with further instructions.

If your post-secondary credentials are from an institution outside the United States, and you have completed additional coursework since the initial WES evaluation was provided, you must request an updated report and have WES send your course-by-course evaluation to Columbia University School of Professional Studies.

Note if you passed any of the SOA/CAS exams.

Letters of recommendation should be written by current or former supervisors or by faculty members with whom you have studied, who can assess your academic work, intellectual ability, academic potential for graduate work, address your suitability for the program and your ability to commit to the rigorous curriculum.

All applicants are required to submit at least one academic reference, unless you have received a bachelor’s degree more than 5 years prior to the date of the application. Applicants who received a bachelor’s degree more than 5 years prior to the date of the application are strongly encouraged, but not required, to submit an academic reference.

Applicants must list recommenders and their contact information within the online application. Please provide your recommender’s professional email address and note that your recommender will receive an email requesting the recommendation upon your completion of the recommendation section of the application. Your recommender will be asked to log into the online application system, answer a few questions, and upload a letter of recommendation typed on professional letterhead. Recommendations must be submitted within the online application system. We strongly suggest notifying your recommender of these requirements prior to entering their information into the application system. You have the ability within the application system to re-notify your recommender of the request, and change your recommender if necessary. Apart from the initial notification sent through the application system, applicants are responsible for notifying and reminding the recommender about the request.

The statement of academic purpose should address your purpose in pursuing a degree in sports management, and the specific skills and attributes that you will bring to the program.

Please choose from one of the following:

• Describe a situation when you had to persuade someone recently to accept an idea (or a plan or product)
• Describe the most significant personal challenge you have faced in a work situation and the ways in which you overcame the challenge

For complete information regarding the GRE, go to www.gre.org. School report code: 3602.

For complete information regarding the GMAT, go to www.gmac.com. School report code: 3831.

GRE and GMAT scores are considered valid for five years after your test date.

After you have submitted your application and fee, you will be required to submit a 1-minute video essay. You will be given time to create test videos to ensure that your system is working properly. When you are ready, you will be given a randomly selected prompt for which you will have one minute to prepare and one minute to record a response. You will not be able to re-record your video.

This may be required. 

English Language Proficiency

Applicants whose native language is not English will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the English language by submitting official scores from either the TOEFL or IELTS.

Applicant total scores must meet the Columbia SPS minimum requirement of 100 (TOEFL iBT), 600 (TOEFL pBT), or 7.0 (IELTS). You will be required to enter your test scores or your anticipated testing date within the online application, and official test score reports will be required for your application to be considered complete and ready for admission review. TOEFL and IELTS scores are valid for two years after your test date. Applicants receiving scores below the posted minimums may be advised to apply directly to the American Language Program. (Use school code 2594 to report TOEFL scores.)

Visa Requirements

International students are responsible for ensuring they have read and understand the University’s student visa application eligibility and requirements. Please note that it is not permissible to enroll while in B-1/B-2 status. Since the program offers a full-time study option, international students enrolled in a full-time course load—registered for at least 12 points of credit-bearing courses a term—are eligible for a student visa.

Eligible international students who wish to apply for a student visa should do so immediately after they have received their letter of admission to Columbia University. This should be done by completing the Application for Visa Certificate (AVC). Applicants should be aware that after admission into a program it may take up to four weeks to receive the documents needed from Columbia to obtain a student visa, so please plan accordingly.

International students who require a student visa to study at Columbia are required to pay an International Services fee. See Tuition and Fees for more information.

You can find the online application for visa certificate by clicking here: http://isso.columbia.edu/. While you are not permitted to submit the application until you have gained admission, we strongly encourage you to read the instructional information provided.

For questions about individual cases please contact:
International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO)
212-854-3587
isso [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/isso