Application Procedure
New Students
A new student must independently apply for admission both to the College of Law and the College of Business (through the Graduate College) and meet the application requirements of each College. If the student is accepted by both Colleges, he or she is automatically admitted to the joint degree program.
College of Law Students
Students who are already enrolled in the College of Law and have completed not more than 48 hours at the College of Law (33 hours of first year courses and 15 hours of upper-level courses), may apply for admission to the College of Business (through the Graduate College), and, if admitted, are automatically admitted to the joint degree program. Law students must begin coursework in the College of Business no later than the fourth semester of law school.
College of Business Students
Students who are already enrolled in the MBA program, who have not completed more than 12 hours of MBA courses, and who have received a grade of B in each such course may apply for admission to the College of Law and, if admitted, are automatically admitted to the joint degree program.
Degree Requirements
A student must complete a total of 84 hours at the College of Law: the standard first year curriculum (33 hours) and 51 hours of upper-level courses.
The 51 hours of upper-level courses must include the following required courses:
- Constitutional Law I (3 hours) (this course must be taken during the first semester of the academic year immediately following the student’s first year at the College of Law;
- Legal Profession (3 hours) (this course may be taken any time after the student’s first year at the College of Law);
- A seminar offered at the College of Law that satisfies the College of Law’s substantial writing requirement (the seminar can be taken at any time after the student’s first year at the College of Law);
- An upper level professional skills course (6 credit hours required) (these courses may be taken any time after the student’s first year at the College of Law.) The following courses meet this requirement: Advanced Legal Research, Advanced Trial Advocacy, Advocacy in Mediation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Appellate Advocacy, Business Planning, Client Interviewing and Counseling, Children's Justice Clinic, Civil Clinic, Criminal Clinic, Construction Practice, Entrepreneurship Clinic, Estate Planning Clinic, Estate Planning Problems, Family Mediation, Immigration Clinic, Mediation, Negotiations, Pretrial Litigation, Trial Advocacy, and Externship (if approved by the Dean).
A student must register for all upper-level courses using the law course and class numbers unless the course will also count toward the MBA degree. In that situation, the student must register for the course using the “G” course numbers.
Up to 15 hours of the 84 hours of courses taken at the College of Law can be used to satisfy the 48 hours required for the MBA degree.
Course Requirements
College of Business
A student must complete 48 hours to receive the MBA degree. Of those 48 hours, 15 hours may be College of Law courses. The remaining 33 hours must be College of Business courses. The specific requirements are as follows:
- 30 hours of MBA core requirements (GRBA 808, 809, 811, 812, 813, 814, 815, 816, 851, 853).
- 9 hours of breadth courses. 3 hours must be a course which is cross-listed with a business department and law. 3 hours may be a College of Law skills related course. Please refer to the course options listed in Section II (4) above. The remaining 3 hours must be from a business department that is different than the business department used in the course cross-listed with law.
- 9 hours of electives consisting of 6 hours of Contracts and 3 hours of Torts.
If a student completed Law courses that count toward the MBA degree requirements prior to admission to the MBA, these courses should not be listed on the Memorandum of Courses (MOC) filed with Graduate Studies. If a student takes Law courses that count toward the MBA degree requirements after admission to the MBA, the student should enroll in the “G” section of the Law course and it should be listed on the MOC. Please see Section V below for more information regarding Memorandum of Courses.
Course Sequence
Students must complete the first year curriculum at the College of Law beginning in the fall semester of the academic year for which they were admitted. After they do so, they are free to take both law and business courses in whatever sequence they choose, subject to the requirements listed above.
Academic Eligibility
A student in the joint degree program must receive at least a grade of B in each course taken at the College of Business. A student who fails to satisfy this requirement will be dropped from the joint degree program and cannot apply for readmission to the program. A student who is dropped from the joint degree program can still pursue an MBA degree and a JD degree but must meet the normal requirements for each degree. Those requirements are 48 hours for the MBA degree and 93 hours for the JD degree with no dual credit for any courses.
Progress Evaluations
Before the end of a student’s first year at the College of Law, the student must submit a course proposal to the Associate Dean of the College of Law. After the first year at the College of Law, the student must meet with the Associate Dean of the College of Law each semester to discuss the student’s progress toward completing the requirements of the joint degree program and also to discuss the student’s course selections for the following semester. This meeting must take place prior to the time the student registers for the following semester.
When the student reaches the halfway point in his/her MBA studies, the student must file a Memorandum of Courses (MOC) with their MBA Advisor. For purposes of the MOC, the halfway point is defined as prior to completion of the 25th credit hour toward the MBA degree. It is extremely important that the MOC be filed in a timely fashion; the failure to do so will result in a delay in graduation.
Conferral of Degrees
A student enrolled in the joint degree program will normally receive a JD degree only after the student satisfies the joint degree program requirements for both the JD and MBA degrees. A student must file a separate application for each degree.