JD MBA Program Requirements

Admission Requirements

1. Students are required to apply to both the Law School and the School of Graduate Studies. Admission recommendations will be made to the School of Graduate Studies by the Director of the M.B.A. Program and approved by the Graduate Dean. The Law School Admissions Committee will determine admission into the Law School.
2. Students are expected to fulfill the minimum competence requirements prior to beginning M.B.A. course work.
3. Students pursuing a J.D. degree and wishing to add the M.B.A. degree must do so no later than the third semester of the J.D. program.
4. Admission requirements of each program will remain the same in the joint admission process as what is currently required to be admitted into each program separately.

Degree Requirements

If each degree were earned separately, a student would be required to complete 90 credit hours for the J.D. degree and 34 credit hours for the M.B.A. or 43 credits for an added concentration. The joint degree program will enable a student to receive the two degrees and include a 9 credit hour area of concentration in the M.B.A. upon completion of 81 law credit hours, 34 required M.B.A. credit hours, and 9 additional credit hours (concentration). The School of Law thus accepts 9 credit hours of M.B.A. coursework that will be applicable toward the J.D. degree, and the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration accepts 9 credit hours of J.D. courses toward the M.B.A. degree with concentration. The total credits required for each degree will be unchanged, because each program will accept credits toward the other degree.

In addition to the required courses for all students earning the J.D. degree, students enrolled in the joint degree program must successfully complete the following School of Law courses: Business Associations, and at least two Commercial Law courses. Other School of Law courses may be chosen to fulfill elective requirements.

Sample Curricular Plan (degree completion in four years)

The first year of the joint degree program will consist of the required curriculum in the School of Law. The third semester of the joint degree program will usually consist of law school courses, with M.B.A. Curriculum courses beginning in the fourth semester. To promote the integration of the two courses of study, courses after the third semester usually will be taken in each of the schools concurrently, rather than having the student located exclusively in one school or the other for an entire semester. Note: This timetable assumes that all undergraduate prerequisite courses have been completed prior to entering the joint program.

Normally, the joint program will be completed in only four years. With summer school classes it may be possible to obtain both degrees even more quickly. All degree requirements in the Law School must be completed within 84 months of starting the program. Both degrees will be awarded simultaneously after all degree requirements are met in both programs.