Overview

With formal programs encompassing 27 joint degrees, combined with additional opportunities to seek approval for other joint degrees and limitless possibilities to customize your own academic path, Stanford Law School has taken the concept of interdisciplinary education to a new level.

Our wide-ranging joint degree program is inspired by the world in which our students will ultimately work—a world in which no one works alone or in just one discipline, and in which it is imperative to understand and master a variety of skills.

Joint degrees are not only for students with clearly chosen career interests—nor do they constitute a specialized education. Law school teaches you how to "think like a lawyer"—a valuable and transferable skill that explains why lawyers are able to succeed in so many different arenas. But this is only one skill, and the skills and conceptual tools taught in other disciplines are also transferable. A student who learns, in addition to thinking like a lawyer, how to work with numbers or understand science or think in a sophisticated way about risk will have received a broader education that opens more doors and creates more opportunities even if he or she ends up on an unexpected career path.

Intellectual property lawyers must be able to translate law into terms scientists can understand, negotiate with other lawyers, and translate the work of scientists into legal documents. Stanford prepared me to do all three, with a joint degree that captures the critical art of communicating across fields. – Noah Richmond, JD/MS in Law and Bioengineering, '08

Proven Model

Stanford's JD/MBA is among the nation's oldest and most successful joint degree programs, and its graduates have achieved remarkable career success, whether they pursue law or business. The reasons for this success are clear. In addition to gaining knowledge of both disciplines, JD/MBA students experience two complementary intellectual cultures: the problem-spotting, analytical culture of law, and the problem-solving, practical culture of business. The combination is an unbeatable formula.

Our strategy is to apply this successful model of cross-cultural immersion to other disciplines that fit or underlie the many career paths future lawyers may pursue–from management science and computer science to sociology, economics, environmental policy, bioengineering, education, health policy, politics, and more.

Throughout my career, I've had to do cutting-edge deals, create new business relationships, invent what had never been done before. My Stanford JD/MBA helped me be more creative, more agile. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to do interesting work, solve sophisticated problems, and understand the complex environment that organizations must navigate to succeed. – Miriam Rivera, JD/MBA '95, former Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Google

Stanford Advantage

My Stanford joint degree prepared me for legal practice in a world increasingly defined by the interaction of disparate legal, economic, social, and cultural forces. My study of one discipline inspired, expanded, and enlightened my study of the other. – Ashley Conrad Walter, JD/MA in Law and Religious Studies, '09

Comprehensive Excellence

No other law school can match the breadth of excellence Stanford Law offers students who want to study across disciplines. Stanford University ranks in the top 10 in 17 academic categories; in the top five in 15 academic categories; and in the top three in 13 of 17 categories—a record of consistent excellence that no other university in the world comes close to matching.

Flexibility

At Stanford Law, joint degree opportunities are not limited to formal programs. You can create a tailored joint degree program in practically any discipline offered at Stanford University or earn your non–law degree at a different university.

Time and Cost

Most Stanford JD/MA degrees can be completed in three years. Most JD/PhDs can be completed in one and a half to two years less time and, more important, at one–third the cost required at other institutions. To learn more, please read about Stanford's dual–crediting system and tuition and financial aid.

Twice the Expertise

Stanford Law joint degree students benefit from the wisdom of two faculties and the guidance of two faculty mentors—one from the law school and one from their discipline of choice.

Pursuing two courses of study has given me a broad set of tools for understanding conflicts in the international arena. I'll be uniquely well prepared to assist in resolving both domestic and international disputes. – Matt Steinberg, JD/MA in Law and Diplomacy (MALD Fletcher School, Tufts University), '09

Flexible Application

To pursue a joint degree, you must apply to both Stanford Law and the school or department in which you wish to specialize. You can apply for a joint degree program when the time is right for you: when you initially apply to Stanford Law, or after your first or second year in the law school or in another Stanford department or school.

Joint Degrees

Stanford Law offers two types of joint degree—JD/Master's and JD/PhD—in 20 subject areas.

JD/Master's

Our JD/Master's programs are ideal for students who plan to practice law after graduation, though they may also be helpful for students interested in an academic career. Most JD/Master's degrees can be completed in three years, although several may take longer, depending on the specific master's degree.

JD/PhD

Students interested in an academic career—or those seeking greater depth in another discipline—may want to consider a JD/PhD. The length of time required for these degrees varies depending how long it takes to complete a dissertation, but under Stanford Law's innovative programs, the typical JD/PhD can be completed in anywhere from 18 months to two years less time than required anywhere else. More important, a Stanford JD/PhD can be completed at one–third the cost of a similar joint degree anywhere else.

Established Joint Degrees

Course Requirements

Both schools related to the joint degree must approve your curriculum choices. In some instances, you may work from a preapproved list of joint degree courses; in others, you may customize a course of study. In any case, however, you will be able to work with particular advisors from both schools to determine and obtain approval for your curriculum.

To the extent that courses under a joint degree program originate outside the law school but count toward the law degree, law school credits shall be permitted only in accordance with ABA accreditation standards. To learn more about course requirements, please see links to specific degrees.

Academic Advisors

Joint degree students have two faculty advisors: one from the law school and one from the school or department related to the joint degree program they pursue.

Admissions

To enter a joint degree program, you must be admitted separately to both Stanford Law and a participating Stanford school or department as well as to the particular joint degree program. You can opt to apply at virtually any time: concurrently with your initial application for admission to Stanford Law or after your first or second year in law school or in another Stanford department or school.

Not yet enrolled in any program at Stanford

If you have not yet enrolled in any program at Stanford, you may apply for admission to both schools or departments related to your joint degree simultaneously—for example, Stanford Law and the Department of Sociology for a joint degree in law and sociology. Be sure to note your interest in a joint degree on applications to both related programs. Once you've been admitted to both programs, you may petition for joint degree status.

Already enrolled in the law school or another Stanford program

If you have already enrolled in the law school or another Stanford program, you may apply to earn a joint degree at virtually any time. For example, you may decide during your first or second year in law school to pursue a joint degree in law and business. At that time, you may apply for admission to the business school, and inform both schools (law and business) of your intent to pursue a joint degree. Except for the JD/PhD in Psychology, which accepts only applications from students who have already begun law school, you may begin your studies in either department—law or non-law. However, if you start in the non-law department, the length of your joint degree program may be affected.

Dual-crediting

Stanford Law School makes it possible to earn a joint degree in as little as three years and at one–third the cost compared to other institutions through a unique dual–crediting system.

Dual–crediting works as follows:

The law school will accept a certain number of credits earned in another school or department toward a JD/MA or JD/MS. The other school or department also will accept a certain number of law school credits toward the joint degree. (To learn the number of dual credits acceptable for a particular degree, please see individual degree descriptions.) In virtually every case, dual–crediting makes a joint degree possible in three years—the general exceptions being programs that require a two–year Master's degree (e.g., JD/MBA, JD/MPP in International Policy Studies). In these cases, what would usually a five–year degree becomes a four–year program.

Similar dual–crediting applies for students pursuing a JD/PhD. Other Stanford schools and departments will accept a certain number of law school credits toward the PhD, which enables most JD/PhD candidates to earn the degree in one and a half to two years less than would be possible at other institutions.

Please note: These are general guidelines. Credit requirements may vary from program to program, and from student to student. Schools and departments that partner with the law school in joint degrees may have specific requirements or limitations. To learn more, please check the specific degree in which you are interested.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Tuition and financial aid arrangements for joint degrees fall into three categories:

JD/MA or JD/MS in which the nonlaw degree can be completed in one year:

You enroll through the law school and pay tuition to the law school at the law school rate. You may also apply for financial aid through the law school.

JD/MBA:

During your first year in the program, you attend the law school full time, pay law school tuition, and apply for financial aid through the law school. During your second year, you attend the business school full time, pay business school tuition, and apply for financial aid through the business school. During your third and fourth years, you take courses through both law and business schools, pay a specific JD/MBA tuition, and may receive financial aid through both schools.

JD/MPP:

For three of your four years in this program, you enroll in the law school and pay law school tuition. For your fourth year you enroll in the School of Humanities and Sciences and pay tuition to that school. You may apply for financial aid and loans through the law school during all four years.

JD/PhD:

Students who pursue a JD/PhD dedicate one year to their JD and the rest of their time in the program to pursuing their PhD while finishing the requirements for a JD. During the year you're enrolled in law school you may apply for financial aid through the law school. While you're completing requirements for your PhD, you will receive fellowship support—negotiated when you are admitted—through your PhD department. Please note that fellowship support may require you to work (e.g., as a teaching assistant) or contribute some funds to your education, but typically should cover all cost associated with both degrees until you complete them or for five additional years.