Dual MPA-JD Program, Public Administration - Law

Options Available

Public Administration (None)

Law (None)

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Admissions Standards/Procedures

• Applicants for the dual MPA-JD program must make separate application to, and be independently accepted by, the Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs (Baker School) and the Office of Graduate Admissions for the MPA and the College of Law for the JD.
• Applicants must also be accepted by the Dual Degree Committee.
• All applicants must submit a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score.
• An applicant’s LSAT score may be substituted for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score, which is optional for admission to the MPA program.
• Application may be made prior to or after matriculation in either the JD or the MPA program, but application to the dual program must be made prior to entry into the last 29 credit hours required for the JD and prior to entry into the last 15 credit hours required for the MPA.

Academic Standards

• For grade recording purposes in the Baker School and the College of Law, grades awarded in courses in the other unit will be converted to either Satisfactory/No Credit and will not be computed in determining a student’s GPA or class standing.
• The College of Law will award a grade of Satisfactory for an approved MPA course in which the student earns a grade of B or higher and a grade of No Credit for any lower grade.
• The Baker School will award a grade of Satisfactory for an approved law course in which the student earns a grade of C+ or higher and a grade of No Credit for any lower grade.
• The official academic record of the student maintained by the Office of the University Registrar shall show the actual grade assigned by the instructor without conversion.
• During the first two years in the dual program, students will spend one academic year completing the required first year of the College of Law curriculum and one academic year taking courses solely in the MPA program.
• During those first two years, students may not take courses in the opposite area without the approval of the JD-MPA coordinators in both academic units. In the third and fourth years, students are strongly encouraged to take both law and MPA courses each semester.
• Dual degree students who withdraw from the program before completion of the requirements for both degrees will not receive credit toward either the JD or the MPA degree for courses taken in the other program except as such courses qualify for credit without regard to the dual program.
• To be eligible to receive the JD, candidates must earn at least 58 credit hours in residence at the College of Law.
• The course of study for the JD must be completed no earlier than 24 months and no later than 60 months after a student has commenced law study at the College of Law or a law school from which the college has accepted transfer credit.

Credit Hours Required

• 107 graduate credit hours
  • 89 credit hours for the JD that accepts 9 credit hours from the MPA, for 80 credit hours;
  • 36 graduate credit hours for the MPA that accepts 9 credit hours from the JD, for 27 credit hours.

Required Courses

• Law major: See the requirements for the Law, JD catalog entry.
• Public Administration major: See the requirements for the Public Administration Major, MPA catalog entry.
• The College of Law will award a maximum of 9 credit hours of credit toward the JD for successful completion of approved graduate level courses (500- or 600-level) offered in the Baker School.
• The MPA program will award a maximum of 9 credit hours of credit toward the MPA for successful completion of approved courses offered in the College of Law.
• All courses for which such cross-credit is awarded must be approved by the MPA-JD coordinators in the College of Law and the Baker School.
• In addition to all of the requirements required for graduation from the College of Law, all candidates for the dual degree must successfully complete LAW 821 Administrative Law, 3 credit hours. This requirement includes Baker School students who are required to take LAW 821 to fulfill the 107 credit hour requirement for graduation.

Non-Course Requirements

• All courses for which such cross-credit is awarded must be approved by the MPA-JD coordinators in the College of Law and the Baker School.
• A dual degree candidate must satisfy the requirements for both the MPA and the JD, as well as the requirements for the dual program.