Combined-Degree Programs
Virginia offers several combined-degree options
in conjunction with other graduate divisions of the University
and three external graduate programs. Students enrolled in joint
degree programs must file required documents with the Student
Records Office.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
Credit for Courses Taken Before Enrollment
as a J.D. Candidate No credit is granted to any student, except
transfer students, for any academic work completed prior to enrollment
as a J.D. candidate, including law courses in the Law School and
graduate courses in schools and departments at the University
of Virginia with which the Law School maintains combined-degree programs.
Limited Enrollment While in residence
and enrolled in the Law School, no student may be simultaneously
enrolled in courses as part of a degree-granting program or
otherwise at another institution without prior approval by
the curriculum committee.
Documentation for Combined-Degree Programs
Students must present documentation indicating acceptance into
a combined-degree program to the Student
Records Office. During one semester of their tenure in the
School of Law, students must be registered in the school in which
the second degree will be obtained. The Student Records Office
must be informed of the semester in which the student will be
enrolled in the other school.
J.D.-M.A.
PROGRAMS
The Law School offers
programs in conjunction with the University’s Graduate School
of Arts & Sciences that lead to the J.D. and the Master of
Arts degrees. You may apply for admission to receive the M.A.
in bioethics (in conjunction with the School of Medicine), English, history, philosophy, sociology, or government and foreign
affairs. You must be admitted separately to both the Law School
and the program of your choice in the Graduate School of Arts
& Sciences, and credits may be double-counted toward your
degree, depending on the program.
J.D.-M.B.A.
PROGRAM
The Law School offers
a combined program with the Darden
School of Business that leads to the
J.D. and the M.B.A. degrees in four years, instead of the five
required if each degree were pursued independently. Candidates
must be admitted separately to both the Law School and the Darden
School. No students are admitted to the joint program after completing
the first year of either Law or Darden, although application to
one school may be made by a first-year student at the other. After
successfully completing the first-year program of each school,
students are required to earn 32 credits per year for the next
two years by taking courses from the curricula of the two schools
concurrently. Details
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact the Law School admissions office at (434) 924-7351 and
the Darden School admissions office at (434) 924-7281. For information
about the course of study in the J.D./M.B.A. program, contact
Law School faculty advisor Paul
Mahoney or Edmund
W. Kitch.
J.D.-M.U.E.P.
PROGRAM
The Law School offers a combined program with the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning of the School of Architecture, in which the student may earn both the degrees of Master of Planning (M.U.E.P.) and the J.D. in four years’ time. This program is similar in format to the J.D.-M.B.A. program. Thus, a student must be independently admitted both to the Law School and to the Architecture School, Department of Planning. The student enrolls for two semesters in the Architecture school program and six semesters at the Law School. Twelve credits earned in planning courses may be counted toward the J.D., and 20 credits earned in Law School courses may be counted toward the M.P.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Write to Daphne Spain, Chair, Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture, Campbell Hall, P.O. Box 400122, Charlottesville VA 22904-4122. The Law School faculty
advisor for this program is Professor Thomas
R. White III.
J.D.-M.P.H.
(PUBLIC HEALTH) PROGRAM
Instituted in 2003
by the Law School, School of Medicine, and Graduate School of
Arts and Sciences, the J.D.-M.P.H. Program requires students to
be admitted separately to the Law School and Graduate School of
Arts and Sciences. You may seek admission to the Graduate School
and initiate the combined-degree program after beginning Law School.
Up to 12 credits in the Graduate School may count towards your
J.D. and up to 12 credits from the Law School may count toward
your M.P.H. No more than 18 credits may be applied toward both
degrees. Details
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Professors
Richard
J. Bonnie (e-mail rbonnie@virginia.edu
or call (434) 924-4764) or Richard
A. Merrill.
J.D.-M.S.
(ACCOUNTING) PROGRAM
The School of Law and the McIntire School of Commerce offer a combined-degree program, which permits the combined-degree student to earn both the J.D. and the M.S. in Accounting degrees in seven semesters instead of the eight that would normally be required if the degrees were earned separately. Combined-degree candidates must secure admission to each school through the regular admissions process.
After completing the first year of law school, combined-degree students are free to take courses from both the Law School and the McIntire School as their schedules permit; however, students must meet all of the requirements specified by the respective schools. Students may earn up to 12 of the 86 credit hours required for the J.D. degree by successfully completing approved graduate-level work in the McIntire School. Similarly, students may earn up to six of the 30 credit hours required for the M.S. degree by successfully completing courses in the Law School.
As a general principle, the McIntire School will accept any law course as long as it does not duplicate knowledge that the student received at the McIntire School or prior to admission (e.g., basic business law). Likewise, the Law School will accept any graduate accounting course as long as it does not duplicate knowledge that the student received at the Law School or prior to admission (e.g., basic tax). As a control factor, students in the joint program must get courses approved by their Law School and McIntire School faculty advisors.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact
Law School faculty
advisor Thomas
R. White III.
The Law School does
not maintain formal combined-degree programs with schools in other
universities. However, for a student who is admitted independently
both to the Law School and to one of the following three schools,
the Law School will approve a combined degree for the study
of public international law on application by the student:
You may begin the program by attending a
year at either Virginia or the other school. However, only after
completion of the first year of Law School, consisting of all
required credits and two semesters of residence, may credits
earned at the other school be applied to the J.D. Students who successfully complete the program may
apply up to 14 semester hours of credit and one semester of residence
credit from the other school toward the J.D. Details of the requirements
at Princeton, Tufts, and Johns Hopkins must be obtained from
those schools, as the programs are administered independently.
You must have a faculty advisor at the other school who approves
your degree curriculum.
The Law School faculty advisor for a public
international law combined degree is Professor
John Norton Moore. Professor Moore's permission is required
in order to pursue one of the above degree programs. Transfer
students and students who visit at another school for their
third year are not eligible. External studies projects may
not be undertaken by students in external combined-degree programs.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact
Law School Professor John
Norton Moore.
Juris
Doctor (J.D.) I Master
of Laws (LL.M.) I Doctor
of Judicial Science (S.J.D.)
Master of Laws in the Judicial
Process (LL.M.) I Joint
Degree Programs