The University of Windsor's Master of Human Kinetics program in Sport Management and Leadership has once again been named the best graduate program in sports business in all of Canada.
The yearly ranking done by SportBusiness, a global consulting and analysis firm, says the Windsor program is not only the best in Canada, but among the top 15 in the world.
The ratings are done through a survey by alumni who have graduated in the past three years. Rankings are based on factors such as faculty, curriculum, investments, industry networks, and extracurricular's.
Windsor's program ranked in eighth place or higher globally in each of the categories.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift, Dr. Patti Millar, acting Associate Dean and Professor in the Department of Kinesiology Faculty of Human Kinetics, says she feels a great sense of pride following the ranking results.
"We're super proud of the results of this years ranking and to be the highest ranked Sport Management and Leadership program in Canada is something that we're extremely proud of. And to be listed alongside these top programs around the world, I think it just speaks to the great work that we're doing here at the University of Windsor."
She says having a great faculty-to-student relationship is what brings the program to such a high level.
"One of the things that we value really highly within our program is the students to faculty ratio. We get to know our students really well and our students get to know us," she continued. "And it's something that I think really leads to that experience where they then go out into the working world, into the sport industry and brings their experiences that they've gained through the program to have an impact in sport and recreation."
Students can choose between a thesis option and a internship option for the program.
Dr. Millar says when students take the internship route, they can travel all across Canada to various locations.
"We have students that are doing their internship locally, all the way across Canada and we're currently exploring some opportunities to expand that even further and have some potential international opportunities. So, the sport industry is just massive, and it's continuing to grow and that's really exciting for us here," she said.
SportBusiness has been publishing its analysis of graduate programs since 2012.
They say the goal of the analysis are to provide students and course leaders with a reliable ranking system for postgraduate sport management programs around the world.