CASA: Children and Adolescent Sport and Activity Research Centre

If you would like more information about our research, or if you would like to speak to someone about youth sport and physical activity, please contact us:

E-mail addresses:
Nick: nick.holt@ualberta.ca
Camilla: cjknight@ualberta.ca
Kacey: neely@ualberta.ca
Homan: homan@ualberta.ca

Telephone:
Lab (Camilla, Kacey, Homan): 780-492-9296 or 780-492-5644
Nick’s Office: 780-492-7386

Mailing Address:
Child & Adolescent Sport & Activity Lab
C/O Dr. Nick Holt
Van Vliet Centre
Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T6G 2H9

INFORMATION FOR POTENTIAL GRADUATE STUDENTS IN THE CASA LAB
Last Updated : JULY 8, 2011

NEWS
Dr. Holt will be accepting one or two students to begin their studies at the University of Alberta in the fall of 2012. If you are interesting in applying, you should contact Dr. Holt directly as soon as possible.

HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY OF SPORT & PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
The U of A has a rich tradition of scholarship in the psychology of sport and physical activity. Current researchers in this area include Dr. John Dunn, Dr. John Spence, Dr. Wendy Rodgers, Dr. Kerry Courneya, and Dr. Tanya Berry.
In recent years U of A professors have supervised PhD graduates who now hold positions at several prominent universities, including (but not limited to):

Dr. Katherine Tamminen (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Dr. Lee Jones (Duke University, USA)
Dr. Phil Wilson (Brock University, Canada)
Dr. James Mandigo (Brock University, Canada)
Dr. Ryan Rhodes (University of Victoria, Canada)
Dr. Kerry McGannon (University of Iowa, USA)
Dr. Shawn Fraser (Athabasca University, Canada)
Dr. Enrique Garcia Bengoechea (McGill University, Canada)
Dr. Chris Blanchard (Dalhousie University, Canada).

These leading young academics represent a cohort of PhD graduates from the U of A who have established independent and cutting edge research programs. Hence, we offer a climate of research excellence for our graduate students.

In addition to recent successes, the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation also has a rich history of producing scholars. As the first PE graduate program in the entire Commonwealth, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation Alumni have gone on to be leaders in the field. For example, in sport psychology Alumni members include:

Dr. John Hogg
Dr. Peter Crocker
Dr. Kerry Mummery
Dr. John Salmela
Dr. Sandy Gordon
Dr. Cal Botterill
Dr. Terry Orlick
Dr. Len Wankel

All of these individuals have a rich history of scholarship and practice; they have shaped the field. Students who join the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta will be following in their footsteps.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES
First and foremost, you must meet the entrance requirements for the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation graduate program. Please refer to our website (http://www.physedandrec.ualberta.ca/admissions_grad.cfm) for further information.

However, students must do more than simply meet the minimum entrance criteria. Rather, in accordance with President Dr. Indira Samarasekera’s vision, we are committed to “attract the best and brightest students and scholars to Alberta and retain them here in Alberta.” (see http://www.president.ualberta.ca//pdfs/DaretoDeliver.pdf). This includes graduate students from within Canada and Internationally.

FUNDING
An overview of scholarships and funding available for graduate students is available on the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation website: http://www.physedandrec.ualberta.ca/funding_grad.cfm

In the past Dr. Holt has been able to supplement basic funding with other resources (such as spring/summer funding, hardware, conference travel, etc.). Incoming students are strongly encouraged to apply for scholarships. For example, Canadian students should consider applying to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC - http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/ ). International students should consider the Commonwealth Scholarship program (www.csfp-online.org/hostcountries/gb.html).

Additionally, a variety of funding arrangements are possible, such as the highly competitive U of A PhD Recruitment Scholarship.

RESOURCES

All graduate students will be provided a workstation (with PC, internet access, printing, and phone) in the CASA office.

The Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation provides conference travel funding – one time during their degree for MA students and twice during their degree for PhD students. Dr. Holt also provides funding for additional conferences. As a result, CASA students typically attend one national or international conference per year.

Laptops have been provided to students in the past if they are working on a specific grant that has a provision in the budget for this hardware.

RESPONSIBILIBITES/EXPECATIONS OF GRADUATE STUDENTS

Graduate students in the CASA lab are required to attend a weekly lab meeting (usually 10.00am on Mondays) during which research and other activities will be discussed.

Students typically also have individual meetings with Dr. Holt at least once a month, if not more frequently.

Graduate students will normally become involved in a range of research projects in addition to their own thesis research. This involvement will include tasks such as interviewing, transcribing, data analysis, completing literature searches, assisting with and reviewing manuscripts. The specific nature of these tasks varies from student-to-student.

We do not require that all students keep the same office hours. It is more important that the work gets done, so students are free to schedule their own work timetable. However, students are expected to provide a copy of their schedule and keep in regular contact with the research group. At a minimum, students should spend some of their time in the lab most days of the week to ensure that they engage in frequent interactions with their fellow students.

OPPORTUNTIES

Although not a program requirement, students in the CASA lab take an active interest in the University and wider community. This could include membership of the Physical Education and Recreation Graduate Student Society (PERGGS), various university councils, and/or community sport and recreation programs.

Some students may have opportunities to engage in supervised applied sport psychology work. In the past, students have worked with University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas teams in addition to school and community teams and individual athletes. Whereas Dr. Holt does provide some supervision in this area, applied work is NOT a central aspect of the program and students must be careful not to over-commit in this area. Your academic program comes first.

Other good stuff: The Coutts library (which houses most sport psychology books and journals) and a coffee shop are both in the same building as the CASA lab. You don’t have to walk outside much in the winter