Master's Degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology

At Ball State, students have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of clients including, but not limited to, NCAA Division I student-athletes, club sport teams, youth athletes, military students, exercisers, injured athletes, and performing art students. Many Ball State teams regularly choose to have a student in the Sport and Exercise Psychology program work with their team, and students are also encouraged to pursue working with individual clients. Students take the main practicum course in their second semester and have the opportunity each semester to continue working with clients if they choose. Students doing applied work are mentored by Dr. Blom or Dr. Lebeau and can count their applied hours toward the Mental Performance Consultant Certification delivered by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

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This program works closely with the counseling and clinical psychology departments at Ball State to offer options for a dual master’s degree, double major, or a minor:

• dual master’s degree – Students can pursue two master’s degrees by including our program in clinical mental health counseling or rehabilitation counseling.
• double major – Students can pursue two majors in cognitive and social processes or clinical psychology.
• minor – Many of our students concurrently complete a minor in counseling, allowing them to learn more about the interpersonal skills needed to consult.

With extensive academic and professional experience, our faculty members are leaders in the field of sport and exercise psychology. These accessible, collaborative educators will support your academic pursuits and advise you along your career path.

Dr. Lindsey Blom is a Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology, the Faculty Athletics Representative, the Sport & Exercise Psychology Graduate Program Coordinator, and the President-Elect for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). She joined the Ball State faculty in 2008 and is certified mental performance consultant (CMPC) and an AASP Fellow.

Dr. Jean-Charles Lebeau is an Assistant Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology in the School of Kinesiology. Dr. Lebeau is originally from France where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Sport and a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology. After working as a certified psychologist and teaching psychology to coaches and athletes, he decided to move to the USA to complete his PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Florida State University. His dissertation was investigating the effects of acute exercise on driving and executive functions in older adults. His research interests revolve around the relationship between exercise and cognitions, and more generally exercise motivation. He has also a general interest in perceptual-cognitive skills and expertise in sport. Dr. Lebeau has received over $100,000 in external grants to implement and test exercise interventions in the community. He also published articles in top-tier journals in the field, including Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Journal of Experimental Psychology, and International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology.

Dr. Lebeau is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. He has worked with athletes and coaches since 2010 at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels. As an athlete, he has raced motocross for 20 years in Europe, and he has been a circus performer during his time at Florida State University. He likes to integrate his athletic background with his consulting training in his work with athletes and performers. 

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Third Year Graduate Students

Second Year Graduate Students

First Year Graduate Students

The Sport and Exercise Psychology lab is a multipurpose space for students to utilize during the course of their graduate work. The Lab serves as a functional area used for mental skills presentations with athletic teams, student and faculty research, class projects, group meetings, and as a collaborative place of study. The Lab is equipped with a variety of tools for assessing and improving athletes’ and exercisers’ performance, such as biofeedback, mindfulness training tools, and virtual reality equipment. The Lab also consists of many innovative apparatus used in research, such as a recumbent bike, elliptical, iPads, video recording, exergaming, and various research-related software.

Our program offers ample research opportunities. Students assist professors, assist each other, do their own work, and complete a thesis/research project. Students can get experience in qualitative and quantitative methodology, as well as lab and applied research.

We also support students to attend professional conferences and help them obtain opportunities to present research and write grant proposals.  Recent students have presented at the European Congress of Sport and Exercise Psychology (FEBSAC), Association for Applied Sport Psychology national conference (AASP), American Psychological Association (APA), Midwest Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium (MSEPS), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) meeting, and the U.S. Center for Coaching Excellence summit (USCCE).  Recent student work has been published in the Journal of Sport for Development, the Journal of Sport Behavior, The Physical Educator, The Sport Psychologist, International Journal of Exercise Science, and Psychological Reports.