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#Joint Degrees

In cooperation with other schools and departments of Yale University, the Law School offers programs leading to a master’s degree and a J.D. (Juris Doctor) or to a doctorate and a J.D. These programs are intended for those who wish to acquire the specialized skills of some body of knowledge related to law. All proposals must be submitted to and approved by the Faculty Committee on Special Courses of Study.

While joint degrees have been most common with the Graduate School and the School of Management. students have also arranged joint work in the schools of Forestry Environmental Studies. Divinity. and Medicine. A joint-degree program is also offered in conjunction with the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. On a case-by-case basis, the Law School has permitted students to pursue joint degrees with relevant programs in other universities as well.

Joint-degree students must satisfy one of the two writing requirements before they can register for their penultimate term at the Law School.

Some Graduate School departments and programs offer one-year master’s degrees and others, e.g. Global Affairs. offer two-year programs. In either case, a student can complete a joint J.D.–M.A. program in four years.

At the end of the fourth year, students should have completed all requirements for both the law degree and the one-year master’s degree. Additional courses in the Graduate School are required in two-year master’s degree programs. Individual departments generally also impose requirements such as reading knowledge of a foreign language or passage of particular examinations.

Application for a master’s degree program should be made at the same time as application to the Law School or during the student’s first or second year at the Law School. Initial inquiries should be directed to the appropriate associate dean. Application to the Graduate School should be made by the first working day in January preceding the fall term in which the student wishes to matriculate in the Graduate School, although late applications may be considered at the discretion of the Graduate School. Detailed instructions on admissions should be obtained from the Graduate School Office of Admissions. Students should also consult the director of graduate studies in the relevant department. The Graduate School bulletin is available in the registrar’s office of the Law School.

Master of Environmental Management

Yale Law School and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies offer students the opportunity to jointly pursue a JD at Yale Law School and a master degree in environmental management (MEM) at the School of Forestry. Undertaken separately these two degrees would take five years to complete. Together students can earn both degrees in four years.

Studying at Yale Law will provide students the analytical skills to approach problems from the legal and advocacy perspectives, while training at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies will provide students opportunities to study environmental sciences, policy, and environmental history, for example, to build an expertise in an increasingly important global issue.

The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, a joint undertaking between the Yale School of Forestry Environmental Studies and the Yale Law School serves as a home for the joint JD/MEM program. The Center provides research, educational, career development and social opportunities for students enrolled in the joint program.

Please visit the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy for more information or contact the Center’s associate director, Josh Galperin, with questions: (203) 432 3123 or joshua.galperin@yale.edu .

The School of Management offers a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), which is normally completed in two years. The J.D.-M.B.A. joint degree program reduces the time taken to obtain both degrees. First-year law students may apply to complete a J.D.-M.B.A. degree in three academic years (six semesters without a summer session). The program is offered to prospective students applying simultaneously to the Law and Management Schools. The J.D.-M.B.A. is directed toward students interested in business law-related practice as well as in careers as entrepreneurs and managers in business and nonprofit organizations. Students in the Accelerated Integrated J.D.-M.B.A. program will graduate with their entering class at both schools.

For full program details, including application instructions, please visit the JD-MBA page.

A J.D.-M.B.A. joint degree program, in which the J.D. and M.B.A. degrees are earned in four years, will continue to be offered as an option. Students may apply to both the Law and Management schools simultaneously or to one school during their first year year at the other, for admission to this program.

It is possible to combine study for the J.D. and Ph.D. degrees. The total time in residence and the details of each program of study must be taken up with the Graduate School, the director of graduate studies in the relevant department, and the Law School. Students interested in such a program must be admitted to the two schools separately. They may apply to both simultaneously or, having been admitted to the Law School or the Graduate School, may apply for admission to the other program. Ordinarily, the Law School encourages a joint-degree candidate to complete the J.D. within four years. Inquiries concerning joint J.D.–Ph.D. programs should be directed to the appropriate associate dean. The deadline for application to Ph.D. programs is early in January.

This joint-degree program is intended for students wishing to pursue a career in business law teaching. The program is structured to permit course requirements to be completed in four years. The expectation is that law students will apply for admission in their first year of law school, but they may apply at any time. Law students interested in applying to the program should contact the director of the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law .