Law School Joint Degree
Law is seen as one of the most competent, challenging, and probably sophisticated careers in this age. It is for this reason that lawyers allot a great deal of effort and time in perfecting their skills, sharpening their analytical capacities, and broadening their knowledge and expertise. To reach these goals, would-be lawyers take the prestigious opportunity to earn a law school joint degree.
Law Joint Degrees: An Overview
Leading to J.D (Juris Doctor)/Masters or J.D/PH.D, joint law degree programs are good avenues for achieving customized and complementary education. Basically, a law school joint degree allows the students to enroll in a law school and apply for other area of discipline, which they deem necessary in their future careers, within the same university or in another one. For instance, if a lawyer wants to specialize in business law, he can apply for an MBA or PH.D in finance through which he will explore the culture and analytical approaches to business. (1) That being said, a law school joint degree, as an interdisciplinary concept of education, makes a future lawyer an expert in two fields of study.
Admission to Law School Joint Degree
Rules vary, but the most common of all requires that students enroll in each course separately and that both courses must be taken up simultaneously. (2) In New York University, for example, the students apply for an NYU law joint degree and another degree program at the same time, or during the students' first year in law school. (3) The Yale Law School also implements the same standard. (4) Take note, however, that both degree applications are decided on independently. This means that a student's admission to law school does not necessarily equate to admission to, say, political studies.
Practical Perspective on Law School Joint Degree
A law school joint degree is typically completed within three to four years. In the duration and upon completion of the joint degree, the student is expected to have been immersed in both of the disciplines' cultures, analyzed their relations and complexities, and equipped enough to apply their principles in real-life settings.
Literary Citations & Article References:
(1) http://www.law.stanford.edu/program/degrees/joint/
(2) http://www.law.nyu.edu/depts/admissions/info/joint/