Randolph holding information session for next Master of Arts in Coaching and Sport Leadership cohort

Randolph’s Master of Arts in Coaching and Sport Leadership (MACSL) program will begin accepting applications for its newest cohort on Feb. 1.

The program’s first cohort began in July and will finish after two sessions this spring.

“It will be interesting to get back on campus and have some of our students here,” said Meghan Halbrook, a sport and exercise studies professor and director of the program. “I’m really excited about that. Most of those who will be on campus are graduate assistants who will work with our athletic teams.”

The same courses—which include coaching psychology, sport administration, coaching techniques and theories, research methods, and conditioning and safety principles—will be offered to the new cohort, some in a slightly different order based on comments from current students.

“That’s been a really valuable piece of information. Students are best at knowing, ‘I wish I’d known this before I took this class,’” Halbrook said. “Students really seem to be enjoying the classes and have given some really good feedback.”

Halbrook will be holding a virtual information session for the new cohort from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12. It will be an open house-stye format, where attendees can drop in at any time to learn more about the program. Classes for the new cohort begin in June. For more information or to get the Zoom link, email Halbrook at mhalbrook@randolphcollege.edu.

Applications, which can be found at https://macsl.randolphcollege.edu, must include two letters of recommendation, a resume or CV, and a personal statement.

“It’s really their chance to tell us what about the program interests them,” Halbrook said. “I want to know what their end goals are, and what experiences they’ve had up to this point that make them think they’re ready for graduate school.”

The current group is a mix of students. Some enrolled right out of undergrad, while others have been working in their chosen fields and chose to come back for a graduate degree.

For example, one student started the program as an assistant collegiate coach and has since been hired as the head coach at a different institution.

“Having this experience and being able to take this seriously, it says a lot about their passion and dedication to their craft,” Halbrook said. “That dedication, that passion and excitement, isn’t always clean and measurable, but they’re the things that really matter at the end of the day.”