Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree with a Major in Sport Analytics

Program Learning Outcomes for the BA Degree with a Major in Sport Analytics

Upon completing the BA Degree with a major in Sport Analytics, students will be able to:

  1. Analyze data using statistical analysis, data mining, visualization, predictive analytics, and machine learning.
  2. Communicate sport analytics, statistics, and data science results effectively to a non-technical audience (written, verbal, graphics).
  3. Develop computer programming skills to be able to extract, scrape, manage, and parse data for use in statistical analyses.
  4. Identify and understand how to apply the various skills, roles, and functions of the different areas in the sport management industry.

Requirements for the BA Degree with a Major in Sport Analytics

For general university requirements, see Graduation Requirements. Students pursuing the BA degree with a major in Sport Analytics must complete: 

  • A minimum of 15 courses (46-48 credit hours, depending on course selection) to satisfy major requirements.  
  • A minimum of 120 hours to satisfy degree requirements.  
  • A minimum of 10 courses (31-32 credit hours, depending on course selection) taken at the 300-level or above. 
  • A maximum of 6 courses (18 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit after matriculation at Rice may be applied towards specific major requirements. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this major. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the major’s academic advisor, or where applicable, the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the major's Official Certifier.) Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary

Total Credit Hours Required for the Major in Sport Analytics46-48
Total Credit Hours Required for the BA Degree with a Major in Sport Analytics120

Degree Requirements

Core Requirements
COMP 140COMPUTATIONAL THINKING3-4
or DSCI 101 INTRODUCTION TO DATA SCIENCE
Select 1 course from the following:3-4
DATA ANALYTICS
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS FOR DATA SCIENCE
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS
Select 1 course from the following:3
TOOLS AND MODELS FOR DATA SCIENCE
INTRODUCTION TO DATABASE SYSTEMS
INTRODUCTION TO DATA SCIENCE TOOLS AND MODELS
Select 1 course from the following:3
WEB DEVELOPMENT
MACHINE LEARNING FOR DATA SCIENCE
INTRODUCTION TO MACHINE LEARNING
INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL MACHINE LEARNING
MATH 101SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS I 13
or MATH 105 AP/OTH CREDIT IN CALCULUS I
MATH 102SINGLE VARIABLE CALCULUS II 13
or MATH 106 AP/OTH CREDIT IN CALCULUS II
SMGT 260INTRODUCTION TO SPORT MANAGEMENT3
SMGT 276SPORT MANAGEMENT PRACTICUM3
SMGT 373SPORT ANALYTICS INTERNSHIP 13
SMGT 430INTRODUCTION TO SPORT ANALYTICS3
SMGT 431ADVANCED SPORT ANALYTICS3
SMGT 441ADVANCED SPORT BUSINESS ANALYTICS3
STAT 405R FOR DATA SCIENCE3
STAT 410LINEAR REGRESSION4
Capstone Requirement
SMGT 490SEMINAR IN SPORTS ANALYTICS3
Total Credit Hours Required for the Major in Sport Analytics46-48
Additional Credit Hours to Complete Degree Requirements *41-43
University Graduation Requirements *31
Total Credit Hours120

Footnotes and Additional Information

Policies for the BA Degree with a Major in Sport Analytics

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s transfer credit advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities. 

Program Transfer Credit Guidelines

Students pursuing the major in Sport Analytics should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:

  • No more than 6 courses (and a maximum of 18 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards specific major requirements after matriculation at Rice.
  • Students seeking transfer credit should contact the appropriate department with requests for approval (i.e. transfer credit requests for STAT courses must be approved as equivalent by the Statistics department).
  • Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.

Please Note: Additional transfer courses may count toward meeting university graduation requirements, but not toward fulfillment of requirements for the major. Credits awarded to transfer students for courses taken prior to matriculation at Rice are not counted against the departmental limit on transfer courses, but all students must complete more than half of their upper-level major coursework (300-level and 400-level courses) at Rice.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Sport Analytics website: https://sport.rice.edu/.

Opportunities for the BA Degree with a Major in Sport Analytics

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Sport Analytics website: https://sport.rice.edu/.