Students in the program complete the joint degree in four academic years. In the first two years of the program, students are required to enroll for one full year of study at the Law School and for one full year of study at the Business School; either can come first. In the third and fourth years of the program, students are enrolled in, and take courses at, both schools. Both schools have upper level requirements that are described in more detail below.
Law School
The first year at the Law School consists of (1) the required courses in Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Property, Torts, Contracts, the Administrative and Regulatory State and International Law; (2) First-year Legal Research and Writing; and (3) a spring elective at HLS of at least 3 credits.
Business School
The first year at the Business School consists of the Required Curriculum with the year divided into two terms: Term 1 courses: Finance 1, Financial Reporting and Control, Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Marketing, and Technology and Operations Management. Term 2 courses: Business, Government and International Economy, Strategy, The Entrepreneurial Manager, Negotiation, Finance II, and Leadership and Corporate Accountability.
Students in the joint degree program are enrolled in and take classes at both schools during each of their upper-level semesters of the third and fourth years of the joint degree program. The requirements for each school and the Program are as follows:
Law School
Joint degree students must earn no fewer than 52 additional credits including 36 Law School classroom credits of which no fewer than 18 must be earned in the first year of combined upper-level study. The total number of classroom credits includes the required minimum of two credits to satisfy the Professional Responsibility Requirement, credits from the required winter term (provided that the course chosen offers classroom credits) and credits from the required Joint Degree Program Seminar. Classroom credits include those connected to courses, seminars and reading groups, but not writing or clinical credits.
In addition, Business School credits equivalent to 10 Law School credits may count toward the total Law School credit requirement. The remaining six required Law School credits may be earned in classroom, writing or clinical courses.
Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 10 total credits each semester in Law School, Business School, or other authorized courses, with no fewer than six of these being Law School classroom credits toward the requirement of 36 classroom credits. Students should complete a minimum of 20 total Law School credits each year in order to ensure a balanced program of study.
Students enrolled in the JD/MBA program are permitted to waive one of the winter terms. The remaining Winter Term requirement may be completed through classroom or clinical credits or participation in the Winter Term Writing Program. Further information on the Winter Term Writing Program is available from the Law School Registrar’s Office.
Joint degree students must also complete the Joint Degree Program Seminar and the Written Work requirement (see below for further discussion of these requirements).
Joint degree students must complete the HLS pro bono requirement of 40 hours of public service.
Business School
Joint degree students must enroll in eight three-credit Elective Curriculum courses at HBS during the third and fourth years including: (1) at least 18 classroom credits in total and (2) at least six credits each term. In contrast, traditional MBA candidates must complete 30 credits, or 10 full-term courses, in the second year Elective Curriculum.
Joint degree students must complete the year-long Joint Degree Program Seminar that is taught by Law School and/or Business faculty members and confers two Law School credits. The Joint Degree Program Seminar is held every other year and will next be held in 2007-2008.
Joint degree students must also complete an integrative piece of work. This work may be done in one of three ways, each of which may satisfy the Law School Written Work Requirement if completed according to the standards for the Requirement.