At Iowa, JD students are able to develop joint degree programs with most graduate colleges and departments in the University. The cross-crediting feature of the joint degree program allows students to receive the JD and another graduate/professional degree by taking six to 24 hours (equivalent to one or two semesters) less course work than would be necessary if the two degrees were pursued independently.
Joint Degree Objectives
The College of Law places few restrictions on the University of Iowa graduate department/college in which a student might pursue graduate work while pursuing a law degree. The "relatedness" of the dual degree objective is the main criterion; the joint degree student should bring to one discipline the insights and experience gained in the other. Currently, the most popular joint degree objectives include:
- JD/MBA (Management)
- JD/MPH (Public Health)
- JD/MHA (Health Management & Policy)
- JD/MA or MS (Urban & Regional Planning)
- JD/MA (Journalism)
- JD/PhD (Communication Studies)
Other graduate departments/colleges in which law students are enrolled include:
- Accounting
- Economics
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Higher Education
- History
- Library and Information Science
- Medicine
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Social Work
Please contact us if you are interested in a program that is not listed above.
How Does it Work?
To pursue joint degrees under the Joint Degree Program, students must apply to and be accepted to both the College of Law and the graduate college of interest. Students have the option of seeking admission to the Joint Degree Program after matriculation at the College of Law by applying to the graduate program of interest during the first year of law school. Similarly, students who have already begun graduate work at the University of Iowa may apply to the College of Law and seek admission to the Joint Degree Program at that point.
Because the Joint Degree Program is available in so many graduate departments/colleges at the University of Iowa, the College of Law has not created special "Joint Degree Program" courses or programs of study.
In essence, the cross-credited courses are elective courses in each discipline, and Joint Degree Program students must satisfy the usual hours and course requirements that all other students must satisfy for each degree separately. Students considering the Joint Degree Program should keep in mind that the first year program in the College of Law consists of required courses, and so they may not take courses outside the College of Law that first year.
The College of Law may credit up to 12 hours of pre-approved graduate work earned in another graduate department/college under the Joint Degree Program toward the 84 hours required for the law degree, even though those hours are also being credited toward the other graduate degree. However, these hours must be earned after the student has matriculated at the College of Law; graduate work earned prior to matriculation at the College of Law will not be accepted for credit toward the law degree. Please seek advance approval from Associate Dean Carin Crain.
Not all graduate departments/colleges are willing to take as many as 12 hours of law. Their decision is largely governed by the number of required courses they have in their own discipline and the number of elective hours they permit in any outside department. Prospective students should check with the graduate department/college of interest to determine the number of law hours it accepts for cross-crediting purposes and other rules or restrictions concerning cross-crediting with the College of Law.
A student who seeks admission to the Joint Degree Program and obtains admission into one college but not the other may enter the college to which the student is admitted. However, the student will not be admitted to the Joint Degree Program. Likewise, a Joint Degree Program student who terminates work toward either degree after entering the Joint Degree Program may continue to work toward the other degree.
Joint Degree Tuition Cost
As a member of the Joint Degree Program, you would pay only one program's tuition, that being the greater of the two programs' tuition costs.
Admissions
Prospective Joint Degree Program students must submit separate applications to the College of Law and the graduate program of interest. Therefore, prospective Joint Degree Program students must take both LSAT for admission to the College of Law and comply with all College of Law admissions requirements. They also must meet the requirements and the testing requirements of the other graduate programs (e.g., GRE or the GMAT, depending on the graduate degree at issue). Admission to the College of Law does not guarantee admission to the other graduate program, and vice versa.
Students interested in the Joint Degree Program should indicate they are seeking the Joint Degree Program with Law on their applications. Students who are admitted to both colleges will receive separate letters of admission from those colleges as well as an official notification of being admitted to the Joint Degree Program from the UI Office of Admissions at Calvin Hall. Students who are admitted to both colleges but do not receive official notification of being admitted to the Joint Degree Program should contact the main UI Office of Admissions at 107 Calvin Hall, 800-553-IOWA.
For more information about admission to the JD program, please see the JD Program web pages.
For information about other graduate programs of interest, please visit the following links:
General Information
All Graduate Programs – Alphabetical OrderBusiness
MBA
Other graduate programs in businessJournalism & Mass Communication
MA & PhDMedicine
MDPublic Health
MHA (Health Management & Policy)
MPH
Other graduate programs in public healthUrban & Regional Planning
MA or MS
