Juris Doctor / Master of
Science in Criminal Justice Joint Degree Program
The
faculties of the College of Law and the Department of Criminal Justice
have approved a joint degree program
culminating in both a Juris Doctor degree (JD), awarded by the College
of Law, and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice degree (MSCJ),
awarded by the Department of Criminal Justice. Under this joint degree
program, a student can obtain the degrees in significantly less time
than it would take to obtain both degrees if pursued consecutively.
Essential criteria relating to the joint degree program are as follows:
Candidates for the program must meet the entrance requirements for
and be accepted by both programs. Both programs must be informed by the
student at the time of application to the second program that the
student intends to pursue the joint degree.
The joint degree program is not open to students who have already
earned a JD or a MSCJ.
For law students, enrollment in the MSCJ program is required no
later than the completion of 63 credit hours in the JD program. For MSCJ
students, enrollment in the JD program is required no later than the
completion of 22 credit hours in the MSCJ program.
A student must satisfy the curriculum requirements for each degree
before either degree is awarded. The Department of Criminal Justice will
allow 12 credit hours of College of Law jurisprudence
and criminal law courses to be credited toward both the MSCJ and JD degrees. These 12
credit hours of law classes will be in lieu of four elective courses.
Reciprocally, law students may receive 9 hours of credit toward the
satisfaction of the JD degree for courses taken in the MSCJ curriculum
upon completion of the MSCJ degree with a grade point average of 3.0 or
higher. Subject to prior approval, law students are normally
allowed 6 credit hours from graduate level courses offered by other
units of the university as counting toward the JD degree.
A full-time law student enrolled in the joint degree program may
spend the first year in either the College of Law or the Department of
Criminal Justice. A part-time law student enrolled in the joint degree
program may begin his or her studies in either program, but must take
the first three semesters of law study consecutively. Students admitted
to one program may enter the second program thereafter without once
again qualifying for admission so long as they have notified the second
program before the end of the first week of the first semester in the
second program and are in good academic standing when studies commence
in the second program.
A student enrolled in the joint degree program will not receive
either degree until the student has satisfied all of the requirements
for both degrees, or until the student has satisfied the requirements of
one of the degrees as if the student had not been a joint degree
candidate.
Students in the joint degree program will be eligible for
graduate teaching and research assistantships in the
Department of Criminal Justice on the same basis as other MSCJ students,
subject to the guidelines and restrictions set by the Department of Criminal
Justice.