Former College Athlete Adds Business to His Law School Education through Joint J.D./MBA Program

As an undergraduate studying architecture and playing basketball at Princeton University, Jordan Muhammad ’26 MBA, L’27, is no stranger to hard work and commitment. So when he discovered that Syracuse University offered a joint online MBA at the Whitman School of Management and J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law, he had no doubt he could handle the demands of both programs while also holding down a full-time job as a real estate specialist for grocery chain Food Lion.

After receiving his undergraduate degree, Muhammad worked in the real estate space. However, since childhood, he had always thought about becoming a lawyer. Now married, working full-time and settled in Charlotte, North Carolina, he thought it might be too late to study law. But both his company’s contracted attorney and a client, who was an attorney and senior director of a big box chain, convinced him to make it happen.

Muhammad knew he needed to find a well-respected online law program that he could participate in from his hometown. When he came across the Syracuse University’s joint J.D./MBA program, he realized he could also earn an MBA from the Whitman School—all in four years.

“I had never taken any formal business classes, but I was familiar with many business concepts,” he explains. “So I saw the J.D./MBA program at Syracuse as  a great chance to earn my law degree and get a formalized business education, too.”

Established in 2020 Syracuse University’s online J.D./MBA was the first of its kind in the nation, allowing students to accelerate the time it takes to complete both degrees from five years to four. Students must be accepted at the Law School and then apply to the Whitman online MBA program after successful completion of their first 34 credits of law school courses. Muhammad has already completed his 1L year at the College of Law and started his MBA program earlier this year. He will finish his MBA studies in 2026 before resuming law school to finish his J.D. requirements and graduate in 2027.

While his initial intention was to study law, Muhammad has enjoyed his online MBA classes and knows he is building a great business foundation for himself. Some of his favorite elements have been the MBA program’s required three in-person residencies, which bring students together either on campus or to other key destinations for a long weekend of learning, networking and interacting with other business professionals, professors and classmates.

Last spring, Muhammad came to the Syracuse University campus to attend his first residency, The Business of Sports, which included speakers Jade Daniels ’19 MBA, senior product manager for the NBA; Kyle Georger ’23 MBA, director of corporate partnerships/business development for the Buffalo Bills; and former NFL player and Whitman alumnus Latavius Murray ‘20 MBA, while also covering topics like the NCAA’s name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, the state of Major League Soccer in North America and where the future of sports business is headed.

In June, he traveled to Florence, Italy, for a four-day residency, Made in Italy: Business, Luxury and Branding Success, focusing on international business through Italian luxury brands such as perfume, wine, food and fashion. He and classmates also had time to enjoy the beauty of the city—something particularly meaningful to the former architecture student—while also enjoying the delicious cuisine and finding time to network and bond.

“The residency in Florence was very impactful and opened my eyes to how I might eventually combine international business and the law,” says Muhammad, who credits Professor Simone Anselmi, an affiliated faculty with SU Florence, for coordinating the program on site.

“The MBA residencies have introduced me to so many interesting people, and it’s like a giant think tank where we have the opportunity to share and learn with others who have had many different life experiences to share,” he says. “Both really opened my eyes to the possibilities that the addition of an MBA can offer my career.”

Muhammad credits Whitman’s Jenny Henderson, associate director, student services and online operations, for helping him keep track of the requirements of his joint degree and encouraging him along the way.

He is also grateful to his parents and grandparents for their support and the great examples they set for him about hard work and commitment, something he has always tried to do himself as the oldest of six siblings ranging from 28 to 21.

“I take that responsibility very seriously,” he says, “and I think I’ve done my best in being a good example to my siblings as they work toward their own futures.”

While Muhammad still has a couple of years of work to complete his J.D./MBA, he remains eager and enthusiastic. “I am happy that I took the chance to pursue law school and was so fortunate to find Syracuse, where I could not only complete my law school education online but also add a business background into the mix. It was a great decision and the quality of the programs, professors and classmates at the Whitman School and the College of Law have already made a big impact on me.”

By Caroline Reff