JD/MPP Forum
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AllBusiness
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:24 pm
Re: JD/MPP
This is my post from the other recent thread discussing JD/MPP programs.
I was accepted to JD/MPP programs at multiple top-30 schools, but I don't think I'll be enrolling in any of them. It just doesn't seem to be worth the money. From what I've gathered, an MPP on top of a JD--because, of course, the JD is the primary degree--is largely redundant. It's my understanding that a JD alone is often sufficient to secure jobs in government/policy/nonprofit/public-sector work, which is what you would probably be going for if you were to enroll in a JD/MPP program. I've also heard that in these fields experience is often valued more highly than additional credentials. So on top of the loans I will already be taking out for law school, taking out a further $40-45K to cover the additional year of schooling doesn't seem worth it to me, especially if it won't dramatically increase my job prospects upon graduating, which, as I said above, I've heard it won't.
Also, if I am wrong about any of this, someone please correct me and steer me right!
I was accepted to JD/MPP programs at multiple top-30 schools, but I don't think I'll be enrolling in any of them. It just doesn't seem to be worth the money. From what I've gathered, an MPP on top of a JD--because, of course, the JD is the primary degree--is largely redundant. It's my understanding that a JD alone is often sufficient to secure jobs in government/policy/nonprofit/public-sector work, which is what you would probably be going for if you were to enroll in a JD/MPP program. I've also heard that in these fields experience is often valued more highly than additional credentials. So on top of the loans I will already be taking out for law school, taking out a further $40-45K to cover the additional year of schooling doesn't seem worth it to me, especially if it won't dramatically increase my job prospects upon graduating, which, as I said above, I've heard it won't.
Also, if I am wrong about any of this, someone please correct me and steer me right!
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neimanmarxist
- Posts: 417
- Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:41 am
Re: JD/MPP
Saw your post in the other thread. That's exactly right. I have several contacts who are faculty at a (top) PA school and right now the only kids that are getting jobs in their desired sector upon graduation are the kids that have extensive prior work experience. The rest of them have $40 k in loans to pay back and no really solid options. With the recent cutbacks in public sector funding, it's harder than ever to get one of these jobs, and the best thing is to get one more year of WE instead of an expensive degree. I imagine that the game changes if we're talking about, say, the Kennedy School, but I still think that a JD would be a better bet than an MPP from a from a mid-to-high ranked program or even a JD / MPP. I think if you focus your law school studies in the right areas and get the right summer WE during your law school career you would be a great candidate for the jobs you want even without the MPP .AllBusiness wrote:in these fields experience is often valued more highly than additional credentials.
