The opportunities for graduate study beyond a law degree are particularly rich at the University of Wisconsin. The UW Law School offers dual degree opportunities in conjunction with master's and doctoral programs on the campus. The Law School has established programs with:
- La Follette School of Public Affairs
- School of Business
- Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program
- Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
- Department of Philosophy
- Department of Political Science
- Department of Sociology and Rural Sociology
- School of Library and Information Studies
A strong tradition of research at the UW and an environment that encourages interdisciplinary work support the dual degree programs. In addition, the Law School offers certificate programs that provide an opportunity for concentrated study, but do not involve an additional degree. Certificates are available in three subject areas: Environmental Law, Russian Area Studies, and International Law and Business.
A dual degree is not a joint degree or a double degree. A dual degree is two separate degrees, one of which is granted by a graduate department or school and one of which is granted by the Law School. In most instances, completing the requirements for a master's degree and a J.D. will add about a year of study to the three years that it usually takes to complete law school and saves approximately one year of study compared to attaining both degrees separately. A combination of a J.D. and a Ph.D. will take considerably longer. The mechanism for reducing the time for each degree is the permission to "double count" some courses taken for the J.D. degree toward the master's or Ph.D. degree and vice versa.
In addition, the Law School is committed to helping students create individual programs that combine law and related fields of study. Students wanting to combine a J.D. with a master's or doctoral degree not already approved in the Law School Rules (listed above) must receive permission for their programs from a faculty committee. Lastly, the Law School has adopted a general regulation to facilitate dual J.D./Ph.D. programs in fields where no established dual degree program currently exists. That rule allows the Law School to grant a semester of advanced standing to students in such programs if certain standards are met.
General requirements
Dual degree candidates must apply to and be admitted by each school or department separately. Students apply to both the Graduate School and the particular department, and to the Law School. Final admission to graduate programs is approved by the Graduate School; the Law School makes its decision separately.
Dual degree students must be enrolled in both programs concurrently at some point in their career. Generally, students need not apply and be admitted to both programs in the same year. However, some departments or schools may require that students be admitted to both for the same academic year; therefore, it is essential that applicants familiarize themselves with the admission and dual degree requirements of both the Law School and the proposed dual degree department when considering a dual degree program. Note that students earning dual degrees usually will not graduate with the law class with which they matriculated. Only those dual-degree students who completed at least a year in the non-law program before starting law school will graduate with their first-year classmates.
To receive dual degrees, students must satisfy all of the requirements for each degree. Tuition and fees for most semesters will be billed according to a combined fee schedule set by the UW Registrar's Office, which is the average of the tuition and fees from each department.
How Dual Degrees Affect Earning the J.D. Degree
Students earning dual degrees must satisfy the same subject area requirements as all other law students seeking the J.D. degree and Diploma Privilege (the ability to waive taking the Wisconsin State Bar Examination before practicing law in Wisconsin). Likewise, dual degree students must earn a total of 90 credits, including up to 30 elective law credits. However, dual degree students may count 15 credits from their other degree program as law electives. The Law School will accept any 15 graduate credits from the outside program in which the student earned a B or better. The outside program, however, usually specifies in advance which law courses count toward the master's or doctoral degree and will "double count" only those courses. In the dual degree program with the Business School, students may need more than 75 Law School credits in order to meet the requirements for the J.D. degree with diploma privilege and satisfy Business School requirements for particular law courses.
The following diagram demonstrates how a dual degree student who begins as a Law student might complete a J.D. and a master's degree in four years. Note that this order is not required. From the Law School's perspective, students may begin course work in the "other graduate program" before or after the first year in law school. Once dual degree students begin taking law courses, they must complete the first-year course sequence of 30 credits within two academic years, starting in a fall semester. Students are strongly advised to complete the first-year of Law School as full-time students in one academic year.
|
YEARS |
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
TOTAL CREDITS FOR J.D. |
|
Year 1 |
17 credits of law |
13 credits of law |
30 |
|
Year 2 |
12 credits
of Other Graduate Program + 3 credits
of law |
12 credits
of Other Graduate Program + 3 credits
of law |
36 |
|
Year 3 |
12 credits
of law + 3 credits of Other Graduate
Program |
12 credits
law+ 3 credits of Other Graduate
Program |
60 |
|
Year 4 |
15 credits of law |
15 credits
of Other Graduate Program |
90* |
NOTE: The dual degree student in this hypothetical example completes
75 law credits (including the subject requirements) and adds 15 credits
from the other graduate program to meet the requirement for 90 credits
for the J.D. degree. These 15 credits from the other department substitute
for 15 elective law credits that otherwise would have been required.
Dual degree students combining J.D. and master's degrees will receive the J.D. (and this transfer of credits) only when both programs are complete. In dual J.D./Ph.D. programs, the transfer of outside credits may occur earlier than the completion of the doctoral degree. A dual degree student who does not finish the other degree will only be able to count 6 outside graduate credits toward the J.D. degree.