Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration

The Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration Dual Degree Program (JD/MPA Program or Program) offers graduate students the opportunity to earn two graduate degrees evidencing the completion of the curriculum for the Juris Doctor (JD) Degree from the College of Law and the curriculum for the Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Political Science and Public Administration. The Program is administered jointly by the College of Law and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. The Program is designed for students who wish to be effective in administrative and regulatory positions in public and in private, non-profit organizations.

Administrative Structure: In general, the College of Law sets the requirements for and administers the elements of the Program leading to the JD Degree, and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration sets the requirements for and administers the elements of the Program leading to the MPA Degree. The Program is coordinated by a JD/MPA Coordinating Committee (Coordinating Committee), composed of at least one faculty member from the College of Law, appointed by the Dean of the College of Law, and of at least one faculty member from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, appointed by the Chair of the Department. The College of Law and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration shall share power equally on the Coordinating Committee. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Law and the Director of the MPA Program in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration will make certain decisions regarding credit to be awarded for certain courses in their respective degree programs.

Admission Standards and Requirements: To be admitted to the JD/MPA Program, a student must first be admitted to both the College of Law and the MPA Program in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. The student must qualify for admission to each degree program, make separate application for admission to each program, and be admitted to each program in order to be eligible for the JD/MPA Program.

After admission to the College of Law and the MPA Program in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, the student must be admitted to the JD/MPA Program by the Coordinating Committee.

Admission to the College of Law: To be eligible for admission to the College of Law, a student must have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution at the time of initial enrollment, must have taken and submitted the scores of the Law School Aptitude Test, and must have timely followed all the College's application requirements and procedures. Admission to the College is on a competitive basis. Except for transfer credit from other law schools, the College of Law grants no credit towards the JD Degree for courses completed before enrollment in the College.

Admission to the Master of Public Administration Program: To be eligible for admission to the MPA Program, a student must have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. In addition, the student must, within two years before application, have taken either the Graduate Record Examination, the Graduate Management Aptitude Test, or the Law School Admission Test. In appropriate cases, a student may be admitted to the MPA Program with advanced standing, except that law courses completed more than three years before admission to the MPA Program cannot be credited toward the MPA Degree. In appropriate cases, the Department of Political Science and Public Administration may require a student to take additional prerequisite courses in order to qualify for the MPA Degree.

Admission to the JD/MPA Program: To be eligible for admission to the JD/MPA Program the student must first be admitted to both the College of Law and the MPA Program. Then, the student must apply to the Coordinating Committee for admission to the JD/MPA Program, following the procedures established by the Coordinating Committee. The Coordinating Committee has discretion to admit or to deny admission to any applicant, taking into consideration all factors relevant to admission to the Program, including but not limited to the career goals of the applicant, the undergraduate and graduate records of the applicant, and likelihood that the applicant will be successful in the Program.

Requirements for Degrees and Continued Participation in the Program

Juris Doctor Degree: In order to qualify for the Juris Doctor Degree from the College of Law, a student must comply with all the academic and non-academic rules of the College with respect to the admission process and during the period after initial enrollment in the College until the granting of the Degree.

In general, in order to be eligible to receive a JD Degree, a student must have successfully completed 89 credit hours of study, including all required courses, under the auspices of the College, and must have successfully completed all writing requirements. The College of Law will grant credit toward the JD Degree for certain courses taken in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration under the JD/MPA Program, as detailed below.

Masters of Public Administration Degree: In order to be eligible for the MPA Degree from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences, a student must complete at least 12 graduate-level courses (36 credit hours), including at least five courses open only to graduate students, of which three must be at the 600 level, with an overall grade point average of at least 3.0. A student must complete any prerequisite courses and all required courses, and the MPA's experiential learning requirement. The Department of Political Science and Public Administration will grant credit toward the MPA Degree for certain courses taken in the College of Law, as detailed below.

Academic Deficiency; Disciplinary Action: A student may be placed on probation for academic deficiency under the rules either of the College of Law or of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. The College of Law will not award credit toward the JD Degree for courses taken by the student in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration during the College of Law probationary period. The Department of Political Science and Public Administration will not award credit toward the MPA Degree for courses taken by the student in the College of Law during the Departmental probationary period.

A student who is dismissed from the College of Law or the Department of Political Science and Public Administration for academic deficiency, or who is suspended or dismissed from the College of Law or the Department for other reasons, will be deemed dismissed from the JD/MPA Program.

A student who voluntarily withdraws from the College of Law or the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences will be considered to have withdrawn from the JD/MPA Program.

A student who is readmitted or reinstated to the College of Law or the Department of Political Science and Public Administration must apply to the JD/MPA Coordinating Committee for admission, readmission, or reinstatement (as the case may be) to the JD/MPA Program.

The JD/MPA Coordinating Committee and a student who is no longer on probation, or who is readmitted or reinstated to the College of Law or the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, will establish an appropriate program of courses for the student leading to completion of the JD/MPA Program.

Curriculum

College of Law Credit for Certain Political Science Courses in the JD/MPA Program: Under the JD/MPA Program, up to 12 semester credit hours of approved graduate MPA courses may be applied toward the completion of the total 89 credit hours required for the JD Degree. The student must earn a grade of B (3.0) or better in an MPA course for the course to be credited toward the JD Degree.

The 12 hours of approved MPA courses are as follows:

3 hrs	PSC 5430	Public Personnel Administration
3 hrs	PSC 5470	Public Organization Theory
3 hrs	PSC 6420	Quantitative Methods in Decision Making
3 hrs	PSC 6430	Public Policy Analysis

On written application by the student, and for good cause shown, the Associate Dean of the College of Law may substitute another graduate PSC course for one on the approved list.

PSC courses must be taken after initial enrollment in the College of Law to be eligible for credit toward the JD Degree. (Under American Bar Association accreditation rules, the College of Law may not award credit for courses taken before the student initially enrolls in the College.)

Political Science Credit for Certain College of Law Courses in the JD/MPA Program: Under the JD/MPA Program, up to 12 semester credit hours of approved upper-level courses in the College of Law may be applied toward the completion of the 36 credit hours required for the MPA Degree. In College of Law graded courses, the student must earn a grade of C (2.0) or better, and in College of Law ungraded courses, the student must earn a "Pass" or better, for the course to be granted credit toward the MPA Degree.

The following College of Law courses qualify for credit toward the MPA Degree:

Administrative Law
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Business Associations
Civil and Political Rights
Conflict of Laws
Employment Discrimination
Employment Law
Environmental Law
Family Law
Federal Jurisdiction
Health Care Finance
Health Care Regulation
Juvenile Law
Labor Arbitration
Labor Law
Land Use Planning
Legislation
Mediation
Natural Resources Law
Negotiation
Public Sector Labor Law
Securities Regulation
State and Local Government and Taxation
Water Law

On written application by the student and for good cause shown, the Director of the MPA Program in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration may substitute another upper-level College of Law course for one on the approved list.

Writing Requirements and Internship/Externship Programs: In general, the writing requirements and the internship and externship programs of the College of Law and the Department of Political Science and Public Administration are independent of one another, administered separately by the College and the Department.

The College of Law will not award credit toward the satisfaction of the College of Law writing requirement or toward the JD Degree for political science seminars, research papers, the MPA Internship Report (PSC 6940), the MPA Research Report (PSC 5950), or the MPA Public Service Internship (PSC 6940).

The Director of the MPA Program in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration may grant appropriate credit toward the MPA Degree on a case-by-case basis for a student's participation in the College of Law's Public Service Internship, and for College of Law seminars and independent and honors research.

Scheduling: A full-time student entering the College of Law must enroll full time exclusively in the College of Law beginning in the fall, for the first academic year. A part-time student entering the College of Law must enroll exclusively in the College of Law beginning in the fall of the first year, for two academic years.

After the initial first year or two years (as the case may be) in the College of Law, a student in the JD/MPA Program is required to maintain his or her status as a student in the College of Law by taking at least one course for credit in the College during each academic year until the course requirements for the JD Degree are completed.

A student in the JD/MPA Program must complete the requirements for the MPA Degree by taking appropriate prerequisites and by following appropriate course sequencing as established by the Department of Political Science and Public Administration.

Award of Degrees: Ordinarily, a student enrolled in the JD/MPA Program will complete the requirements and receive the MPA and JD Degrees at the same time. The College of Law will allow the application of no more than seven credit hours from the MPA program towards the JD Degree until the completion of the requirements for both the JD and the MPA Degrees. Upon the completion of other requirements for both degrees, the College of Law will allow the application of up to 12 credit hours of approved PSC courses, in which the student has a grade of B (3.0) or better, towards the JD Degree.