Overview

The J.D./M.A. Live Entertainment Management graduate degree program is a comprehensive and intensive investigation of the essential knowledge and expertise required of professionals in live entertainment management today. Students explore critical issues facing the industry through required rigorous required courses and selected electives.

Throughout the curriculum, we explore the best practices of live entertainment management perfected over many decades by leading-edge arts innovators, and explore the innovative practices now transcending traditional arts and entertainment boundaries. Legal issues are at the forefront of the live entertainment careers today, and so graduates are at the leading edge of the industry’s future.  Through this joint program, students can complete both degrees in less time (3 to 4 years). 

Admission Requirements

•       Applicants may apply before they begin the J.D. program OR they may apply during their first or second year of Law School.  (Students must be accepted to the J.D. program before they are eligible for acceptance into the J.D./M.A. program.)
•       Students should let Professor Gary Wood know that they are applying to the M.A. program.
•       Students will find an application for the joint degree program here.

•       Only the LSAT exam is required.
•       Students who apply to the joint degree program are giving permission for the M.M. (or M.A.) program admissions staff and faculty to review their complete J.D. application.  
•       Students already enrolled in the M.A. program are not eligible to apply to the joint program.
•       All the requirements of the J.D. and M.A. programs must be fulfilled.

Curriculum Requirements

•    Students will complete the first-year law school curriculum in its entirety before taking any M.A. courses.
•    All other J.D. requirements must be met. Six credits will be satisfied by two M.A. courses. These courses must be completed before the J.D. degree will be conferred.
•    Twenty-one credits of M.A. courses are required and cover topics such as tour management and production, live entertainment industry agreements and legal aspects, music copyright, performing arts center and facility management, sponsorship in the live entertainment industry, marketing and promotion, and others.  More information about courses in the M.A. curriculum can be found in the UM Academic Bulletin.
•    Nine School of Law credits will be applied to the M.A. degree in the areas of intellectual property, business, and tax law topics. The M.A. degree will not be conferred until these nine credits are completed.
•    Students are encouraged to fashion a balanced upper-class law school curriculum which prepares them to provide legal services to clients in the business and entertainment industries including specific offerings regarding arts and entertainment law, as well as more general offerings in domestic and international aspects of fields such as antitrust, business associations, commercial law, intellectual property, tax and torts.
•    The M.A. curriculum is prescribed and is offered primarily in the fall and spring semesters, with limited offerings in the summer. Most courses are offered only in the fall or spring of a given academic year.  Some courses may be available to take online.
•    If a student in the joint program wants to take music elective course (e.g., Musicology, Psychology of Music, Audio for Producers, etc.) arrangements will be made to accommodate the request.
•    Students are able to complete the joint degree program within three years if summer courses are taken.  Students may also choose to complete the program within three and ½ years or four years. 

JD REQUIREMENTS73
Law Electives in Fulfillment of Both Degrees *9
Please select from the following or others with approval:
Business Associations
Copyright Law
Intellectual Property Problem Solving
International Intellectual Property
Applied Topics in Advanced Music Copyright Law
International Copyright
Law and the Media
MA in Live Entertainment Management
MIN 643Marketing in the Music Industry3
MIN 726Global Live Entertainment3
MIN Electives6
Final Project
MIN 804Live Entertainment Practicum3
Cumulative Exit Exam
MIN Courses in Fulfillment of Both Degrees
MIN 736Financial Management in Live Entertainment3
MIN 738Legal Aspects of the Live Entertainment Industry3
Total Credit Hours103

* To fulfill joint degree requirements, credits must be earned with a grade of B or higher. 

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
FallCredit Hours
LAW 11 Civil Procedure I 3
LAW 12 Contracts 4
LAW 13 Elements 3
LAW 15 Torts 4
LAW 19 Legal Communication and Research I 2
 Credit Hours16
Spring
LAW 14 Property 4
LAW 16 Criminal Procedure 3
LAW 17 U.S. Constitutional Law I 4
LAW 29 Legal Communication and Research II 2
Law Elective 3
 Credit Hours16
Summer
Upper Level Law Courses 6
 Credit Hours6
Year Two
Fall
Upper Level Law Courses 8
MIN 726 Global Live Entertainment 3
MIN 736 Financial Management in Live Entertainment 3
 Credit Hours14
Spring
Upper Level Law Courses 10
MIN 643 Marketing in the Music Industry 3
MIN Elective 3
 Credit Hours16
Summer
Upper Level Law Courses 6
 Credit Hours6
Year Three
Fall
Upper Level Law Courses 10
MIN 738 Legal Aspects of the Live Entertainment Industry 3
MIN Elective 3
 Credit Hours16
Spring
Upper Level Law Courses 10
MIN 804 or 840 Live Entertainment Practicum (or MIN elective)
or Project in Live Entertainment
3
 Credit Hours13
 Total Credit Hours103