New Intake of the M.A. Olympic Studies

The international part-time master´s programme M.A. Olympic Studies will begin for the ninth time in September with a ceremonial opening at the German Sport University Cologne. During the application phase, the Olympic Studies Centre at the German Sport University received 76 applications from all over the world. After a detailed selection process, the selection committee has now granted admission to 30 candidates.

The international group of participants consists of 14 women and 16 men from 26 different countries of all world regions: 6 from Africa, 7 from the American continent, 8 from Europe and 9 from Asia.
The 9th Intake is the first to follow the course content revised during the successful reaccreditation of the program and adapted to the latest developments in the Olympic Movement and society. For example, it now addresses the contribution of sport and the Olympic Movement to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The M.A. Olympic Studies is organized by the Centre for Olympic Studies in cooperation with renowned international partners. In addition to the New Zealand Centre for Olympic Studies (University of Canterbury, NZ), the Centre d'Estudis Olímpics of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ES) and the Institute of Sports Science (Department of Sports Economics) of the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel (D), the ninth Intake will for the first time include the two new project partners, the Department of Public Health of Aarhus University (DK) and the Grupo de Pesquisa em Estudos Olímpicos of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (BRA). The M.A. Olympic Studies continues to be supported and valued by the International Olympic Committee, as evidenced by the awarding of 9 Olympic Values program scholarships by IOC Olympic Solidarity to students of the Masters.

The M.A. Olympic Studies also received the prestigious Presidential Award (Special Fair Play Promotion Diploma) from the International Fair Play Committee (IFPC) last September for exemplary promotion of Olympic values.

Program Director Prof. Dr. Stephan Wassong is looking forward to welcoming the new students in Cologne in September: "We are pleased that we have been able to develop the program together with our partners over the past 10 years into one of the most important advanced training programs in the field of the Olympic Movement. Due to the large number of highly qualified applicants, we were able to assemble a strong group for this year's 9th Intake, which will certainly contribute to the further positioning of the M.A. Olympic Studies and will subsequently further develop our study content, from Olympic Education to Good Governance, in their organizations."