Doing Joint degrees - worth it? easy? Forum

[CordeliusX]

I'm curious about this. No applications for JT programs this year - can you usually apply as a 1L?

I want to know if there's a good degree to do which complements law. I've also read by doing a PhD you can save money, in some schools.

But what do people focus the Joint degrees on? History (probably dealing with legal issues)?Literature (no clue how to relate it)?

Do people ever do degrees, totally unrelated to JD, "just 'cause"?

[jackassjim]

Do people ever do degrees, totally unrelated to JD, "just 'cause"?

Sure, but I suspect it's a very small minority. If you're talking PhD, then you have to realize how big of an investment that is. Spending 3 years of intense coursework and 2 years writing a 200 page dissertation is not a walk in the park. Plus, unless you have a really compelling reason why you chose to do this, future employers might wonder what's the deal with you...

[CordeliusX]

Do people ever do degrees, totally unrelated to JD, "just 'cause"?

Sure, but I suspect it's a very small minority. If you're talking PhD, then you have to realize how big of an investment that is. Spending 3 years of intense coursework and 2 years writing a 200 page dissertation is not a walk in the park. Plus, unless you have a really compelling reason why you chose to do this, future employers might wonder what's the deal with you...

Thanks for the response. I'm thinking if it's law-related (maybe US History and so forth?) you could say you wanted to explore it indepth... figure out about legal history, etc. If it was in medieval Arabic literature or something, maybe not so much

Anyone know - can you apply for these programs during 1L? Does it give you an "in"? (or for any program, for that matter). Also, for MBAs?

[jackassjim]

Does it give you an "in"?

Mostly it does not. Apps are evaluated separately. It is also usually easier to get in the law school than the PhD programs at good schools.

[englawyer]

i can't imagine any professional circumstance where a JD/Ph.D. will be useful other than academia or maybe a technical PhD for IP law. Most people "in the real world" do not like PhD degrees in fact.

[Aeon]

A joint degree might be worthwhile if you know what field of law you want to go into, and the other (not the JD) degree is related to that field. So, for example, if you want to do work involving direct interaction with legislators and the government (or lobbying), then a joint degree with a master's in public policy or administration could be useful. Or, if you want to go into tax law, then a number of schools offer joint JD/Tax LLM programs (for which in many cases you need not even attend the school granting the joint degree - you can do it as a visiting student - check out NYU's and Georgetown's joint JD/LLM programs for the details of how that works).

As far as its easiness, it really depends on the school where you're getting the degrees and the subject matter. For most programs you can apply for the joint degree during your 1L year (but not all - check your prospective school's page on joint degrees for more info on this). You would need to submit a separate application to the other school or unit if you want to get a joint degree; some might accept your LSAT score, whereas others might require the GRE or GMAT (or MCAT if you want to do a JD/MD).

[turkishangora]

The biggest advantage of a JD/PhD is that the JD is fully funded + stipend. Not sure if this is still the case if you apply during 1L though. Also, I heard that for academia a PhD is becoming more and more common, though not yet 'necessary'.

[jackassjim]

The biggest advantage of a JD/PhD is that the JD is fully funded + stipend

Definitely not true everywhere.

[turkishangora]

The biggest advantage of a JD/PhD is that the JD is fully funded + stipend

Definitely not true everywhere.

Yes but a lot of humanities ones are at the top schools. The problem is finding a school that's good in both law and x department.