College of Law Unveils Nation’s First Joint J.D. and M.S. in Sport Analytics
The Syracuse University has launched the nation’s first joint J.D. and M.S. in sport analytics program in conjunction with the . The joint program, to be offered starting the Fall 2026 semester, allows College of Law students to earn their J.D. and M.S. concurrently, typically graduating in three years and at no cost beyond that of the J.D.
College of Law on-campus students entering their second year can apply for the J.D./M.S., the College of Law’s 13th joint program.
The master’s degree requires 36 credits. A total of 15 credits from the sport analytics program can be counted toward the J.D. Further, six designated law credits will count toward both the J.D. and the M.S. electives. Law students enrolled in the joint JD/M.S. must take 72 unique law credits and 30 unique M.S. credits. Therefore, obtaining the joint J.D./M.S. requires completing 102 total credit hours.
“This is a program that only Syracuse can offer,” says College of Law Dean Terence J. Lau L’98. “Our College of Law and the Falk College of Sport are literally next door to each other, and that proximity translates into a truly integrated curriculum. No other law school in the country can pair a J.D. with a world-class sport analytics program under one roof.”
The joint J.D./M.S. is designed for law students interested in working in the front office of sports teams, the legal departments of sports leagues, sport agents, sport gambling companies and others involved in sport.
“Being able to combine a law degree with a master’s degree in sport analytics provides our law students with an advanced credential that will set them apart when entering the workforce,” says College of Law Professor Todd Berger.
The M.S. follows Falk College’s established graduate sport analytics curriculum that emphasizes applied statistics, econometrics, databases and machine learning, R/Python programming, sport gambling analytics and visualization, among other disciplines.
“There is increasing demand for professionals who can navigate the complex intersection of law, analytics and sport business. The combined J.D./M.S. degree prepares graduates to meet this demand by equipping them with both legal acumen and advanced quantitative skills these roles increasingly require,” says Rodney J. Paul, Ph.D., professor and chair in the Department of Sport Analytics at Falk College.
“Analytics has been largely popularized in the sport industry, but it has the ability to impact many other industries. Based on my personal background as a sport lawyer, bringing analytics into the study of law is a natural extension for Falk College of Sport. But it is also an incredibly valuable tool for practicing attorneys and even judges to better understand trends and precedents in the law and to predict probable outcomes of cases,” says David B. Falk ’72, Syracuse University Life Trustee and founder and CEO, Falk Associates Management Enterprises.
Graduates will be uniquely positioned for roles in compliance, regulation, governance, player representation, sport betting and gaming law, collective bargaining and analytical decision-making across professional teams, leagues, sportsbooks and regulatory agencies.
