Columbia University’s Master of Science in Sports Management program has partnered with the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía (ISDE), a Madrid-based leader in legal education, to offer a companion degree program for individuals with a law background, who are interested in a career in international sports.
Following course work in New York and an international internship, students will be awarded two professional degrees: Columbia’s Master of Science (M.S.) in Sports Management and ISDE’s Master in Global Sports Law degree.
“This alliance between Columbia’s Sports Management program and ISDE represents a unique opportunity for students to obtain complementary degrees from two world-class institutions and reflects Columbia’s increased commitment to the global sports market” said Vince Gennaro, Director of the Columbia Sports Management program.
The joint program will launch this fall with sports management courses at Columbia in New York City, the sports capital of North America. These courses will provide foundational instruction on the sports industry combined with specific training in sports (accounting, finance, marketing, leadership, and analytics) and law (intellectual property law and alternative dispute resolution). Courses in New York can be taken over taken over a period up to ten months. After successfully completing their coursework, students pursue a 4-to-6-month internship with a global sports law firm, agency, team, league, or regulatory body, based on their academic profile and professional goals.
“This program is the perfect combination of two leading educational institutions in Europe and the USA,” stated Juan Jose Sanchez Puig, Director of ISDE. “Thanks to this association, expertly led by Columbia Professor and Director Vince Gennaro, we have managed to combine the most complete educational programs in the world of Sports Law and Sports Management.”
Both degree programs are taught by faculty from Columbia and ISDE who are leaders in the fields of sports law, sports analytics, sports media, as well as professional and collegiate athletics. Guest lecturers are among the world sporting community’s most respected lawyers, agents, and managers.
Networking events and practical workshops held at leading law firms and sports organizations in New York City complement the coursework.
Students in the program have access to the same academic and administrative benefits as other full-time Columbia students and are provided placement services by ISDE. In addition to the academically rigorous curriculum, the program offers students outstanding networking opportunities with peers at Columbia and ISDE, colleagues from across the Ivy League, and industry leaders.
Gennaro told Sports Litigation Alert that he had expected the program “to appeal primarily to an international audience. Instead, we are finding that most of our applications are coming from US-based/educated JD’s–a combination of early career JD’s, recent grads, and career changers.”
He added that “the offering of this companion degree program is another example of our innovative curriculum, which is focused on providing our graduates with the skills the sports marketplace is demanding.”
Columbia University’s master’s degree program in Sports Management was recently ranked #3 globally by SportBusiness International’s Masters Ranking 2015.
For more information, including some of the courses and professors, visit: http://ce.columbia.edu/sports-management/sports-law
