The aim of the article is to reflect the results of a study that describes the motivation of the students and makes recommendations to sustaining motivation. Each year about twenty thousand young people begin studies at establishments of higher education in Latvia. However, some of them drop out and fail to continue their studies. Such a situation causes waste of personal time and money, as well as irrational use of public resources. One of the factors that affect taking up and continuing studies is the motivation to study. Nowadays, the process of choosing a profession which has to be studied at a university by young people is often directed by a pragmatic, useful, utilitarian motivation. During their studies, a young personality is changing and evolving dynamically. The value system of the students and its guidelines determine and direct their attitude towards their studies. The study collected survey results from 2013 to 2016. Its aim was to explore the motivation of the students for choosing the program “Sport Science.” The study included 515 respondents – 1st year students of the Latvian Academy of Sport Education (LSPA). The results of the survey show that the students choose education and training at LSPA, because they had a particular goal in life that they wanted to achieve and that was linked directly to sport. They want to operate in the field of sport, either in the capacity of a senior coach, sports teacher, sports manager, or recreation specialist. The study shows that the intensity of the advertising campaign or other people’s positive comments about the school or the particular study program do not significantly affect the students’ choice of the subjects. The study also shows that the choice is less influenced by family and friends.