Dual M.A.–J.D.

Students seeking admission into the dual degree program must meet the admission requirements of each program, although their application may include LSAT scores in lieu of GRE scores. Acceptance into one program does not guarantee acceptance into the other.

Students admitted to the dual program will spend their first year in the program taking exclusively Law School courses. Starting in the students' second year at the Law School, they will be begin taking graduate-level POSC courses.

Students will fulfill the credit hour requirements of both the Law program and either the POSC of the INAF program, along with all other normal degree requirements. A minimum of 21 credit hours at the 6000 course level are required. The core seminar requirements for the POSC and INAF M.A. programs apply to students in the dual program. The 9 credit hours of Law courses are treated as "cognate" courses by the Department of Political Science. Although POSC or INAF M.A. students are generally only allowed 9 credits of cognate course work, one additional cognate course may be approved on an individual basis if there is a compelling reason to do so. Students in the dual program will be expected to complete the research papers requirement and pass the M.A. comprehensive examinations. One of these may be a research paper completed in the Law School.

Students in the M.A.-J.D. dual program are eligible for financial aid from both the Law School and the Department of Political Science. However, in both cases, tuition scholarships may be used only for coursework in the unit in which they are awarded. In awarding research assistantships, the Department of Political Science normally grants preference to students who will be completing mostly POSC graduate courses during the period they will hold the assistantship. Those interested in financial aid from the Department of Political Science should follow normal financial aid application procedures.

The Department of Political Science also offers an "M.A. for Lawyers." Applicants to either M.A. program who have already completed a J.D. will be considered to have completed 9 hours of cognate credits which will count toward the 30 hours of credits required for an M.A. in Political Science or International Affairs. This will substantially shorten their course of study. Applications for this program are considered solely by the Department of Political Science.

Candidates for admission to the dual programs must submit applications to both of the programs sponsoring the dual degree. General admission requirements and applications procedures for both units apply to applicants to the dual program, except that in the case of the M.A.-J.D., the Department of Political Science will accept LSAT scores in lieu of GRE scores and in the case of the M.A.-M.B.A., the Department of Political Science will accept GMAT scores in lieu of GRE scores. Acceptance by one unit does not guarantee acceptance by the other. Students who are already admitted to or who have begun taking courses in any single program may still apply for the Dual Program.