The University of South Dakota

Diverse and Highly Accomplished Scholars
 

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Class Schedule Fall 2009
Class Schedule Spring 2010
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Joint Degrees
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Joint Degrees

Admission to the joint degree program is a formal process which requires approval from the School of Law, admission to the participating master's program, and is conditioned upon a cumulative grade point average of at least 75 upon completion of the first year of Law School or a subsequent semester.  

Students admitted to this program take courses concurrently leading to both degrees in three years. Students may receive up to nine credit hours toward the 90 credit hours required for the juris doctor degree. The amount of law credit accepted in a master's program is determined by each program. Law students may not receive law credit for more than one course each semester outside of the School of Law without permission of the Associate Dean. If students do not complete the requirements for the master's degree by the time of their graduation from law school, only six (6) hours of the credit earned toward the master's degree will be counted toward law school graduation requirements.

Although law students may not begin the joint degree program until successfully completing at least the first year of law school with a cumulative GPA of 75, applicants to the School of Law may simultaneously apply for admission to any master's program approved as a joint degree program. Students not simultaneously applying to the School of Law and to a master's program may apply to the joint degree program until the end of their fifth semester in the School of Law.  

Application and acceptance to a master's program is the applicant's responsibility. Classes taken in a master's program prior to matriculation in the School of Law will not receive Law School credit. Only those courses approved as a graduate course for this program will qualify for law credit.

Law students must have a cumulative grade point average of 75 to be admitted to and continue in the joint degree program. Non-law courses taken in the joint degree program are not used in computing a student's cumulative grade point average. Law students must obtain a grade of "B" or better in the approved graduate course in order to receive Law School credit.

Law students interested in the joint degree program should visit with the School of Law Associate Dean and the respective joint degree advisor in the school or college, as noted at the end of each program description.

Joint Degree Program Disciplines

• School of Business
• • JD and Master of Professional Accountancy
  • JD and Master of Business Administration
  • Cross-Disciplinary Studies
• • JD and Master of Science in Administrative Studies
• School of Education
• • JD and Master of Arts in Education Administration (non-certified)
• College of Arts and Sciences
• • JD and Master of Arts in English
  • JD and Master of Arts in History
  • JD and Master of Arts in Political Science
  • JD and Master of Arts in Public Administration
  • JD and Master of Arts in Psychology (non-certificated)

Academic Calendar

Fall 2009

Spring 2010