ILR School partners with ESCP-EAP European School of Management on dual degree program

Students will earn both MILR and Master of Management degrees

The ILR School continues to extend its international reach with the establishment of the ILR School & ESCP-EAP European School of Management dual degree program. 

The program, the first of its kind for ILR, builds on an existing and successful student exchange agreement with the ESCP-EAP European School of Management, ranked by Financial Times as one of the top business schools in Europe.

Master of Industrial and Labor Relations (MILR) students who are admitted to both schools will earn, in three years, both an MILR degree from ILR and a Master of Management from the ESCP-EAP European School of Management. Future Master of Professional Studies (MPS) students also will be eligible. The inaugural class will begin in the fall of 2008 and study at the school’s Paris campus. Future students are expected to have the option to study at any one of the campuses, which include London, Madrid, Berlin and Turin

Robin Remick, managing director of ILR International Programs, played an instrumental role in establishing the dual degree program. She says that the ESCP-EAP European School of Management was interested in this joint effort because of ILR’s social science perspective and how that could enhance an overall business education, in ways that would be much more beneficial than a partnership with another business school.

“Participating in this program will help our students gain an even greater global perspective. They’ll be studying in Europe, doing internships in Europe, learning languages and, overall, making themselves much more marketable,” Remick says. She adds that employers ILR has spoken with, as well as students, have expressed great interest in this new program.

Students who want to enroll in the dual degree program will apply separately to each institution following established admissions processes and pay the standard fees required by each institution. An MILR student will complete his or her first year in Ithaca, the second year in Europe, and return to Ithaca to complete the final year of the MILR program. Students also will have opportunities to complete summer internships in Europe before and after their year of study there.

The program requires MILR students to take a total of 10 courses – six core business courses and four electives on European/global issues -- at the ESCP-EAP European School of Management (EMS). Admission to the ESCP-EAP European School of Management requires proficiency in two European languages, so students without a second European language will have to take one language course as well.

“The dual degree is a tremendous opportunity for ESM students. They will be able to acquire, within one of the best international academic institutions in the field of industrial and labor relations, a more complete perspective in social sciences and to combine it with their business education,” says Béatrice Collin, professor, ESM. “Moreover, in these fields where the cultural environment plays a determining role, they will be able to immerse themselves in the American context after having gained in-depth knowledge of the European context of management.”