Combined Doctor of Jurisprudence—Master of Business Administration
and
Combined Doctor of Jurisprudence—Master of Public Accountancy
See description under Business and Commercial Law.
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Combined Doctor of Jurisprudence—Master of Public Affairs
The School of Law and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) have a combined degree program that enables students to take a four-year sequence of courses leading to the Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and the Master of Public Affairs (M.P.A.) degrees.
The program offers students the opportunity to specialize in areas such as comparative and international affairs, environmental and natural resources management, health services administration, personnel management and labor relations, policy analysis, public financial administration, public information systems management, or public or urban management. Most graduates work in the public or governmental sector.
Students should apply to both schools at the same time for the combined degree. However, students already enrolled in the School of Law may apply for admission to the School of Public and Environmental Affairs up to the completion of the second year of law study; students enrolled in SPEA may apply for admission to the School of Law no later than the end of the first year of M.P.A. study.
In order to graduate with the combined J.D./M.P.A. degrees, a student must complete 77 credit hours in law and 36 credit hours in SPEA, including all degree requirements in both schools. Since both degrees are awarded simultaneously, all degree requirements in both schools must be completed in order to receive either degree.
Students customarily spend the first year in the School of Law. Thereafter, they divide the second, third, and fourth years between the two schools, taking an average of 4 to 8 credit hours of law courses and 4 to 8 credit hours of SPEA courses each semester. This gives students a continuing educational experience in both schools.
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Combined Doctor of Jurisprudence—Master of Science in Environmental Science
See description under Environmental Law.
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Combined Doctor of Jurisprudence—Master of Arts in Journalism
and
Combined Doctor of Jurisprudence—Master of Arts/Master of Science in Telecommunications
See description under Communications, Information, and Intellectual Property Law.
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Combined Doctor of Jurisprudence—Master of Library and Information Science
The School of Law and the School of Library and Information Science offer a four-year combined program leading to the Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Library Science (M.L.S.) degrees. The program is designed for students who wish to enter the field of law librarianship. Students should apply to both schools at the same time for the combined degree. However, students already enrolled in the School of Law may apply for admission to the program no later than the end of their second year of law study, and students already enrolled in the School of Library and Information Science may apply to the School of Law no later than the end of their first year of M.L.S. study.
The program requires students to complete 80 credit hours in the School of Law, including all degree requirements, Copyright Law and Constitutional Law II, and 30 credit hours in the School of Library and Information Science, including the degree requirements of that school for this program.
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Law and Society Program
The "law and society" concept is one rooted in interdisciplinary teaching and study of legal institutions, processes, doctrines, and applications. Because law has an effect on so much of social practice, both shaping it and being shaped by it, study of law and society issues is of vital importance to scholarship, policy formulation, and legal decision making. As countries become involved in global legal, economic, and political structures and alliances, study of the interactions of culture, society, and law becomes even more central to scholarship and teaching in the social sciences and law.
The school has a rich history of interdisciplinary legal studies. We developed our program not only because there is significant research activity in the area, but because teaching in so many subject areas—ranging from crime and criminology and political science to anthropology and psychology—involves understanding the intersections. The Law and Society Program facilitates the interaction among disciplines that is crucial to the teaching mission and the advancement of knowledge at a major university.
As a significant part of the curriculum outside the classroom, the Program for the Study of Law and Society provides a forum for scholars and students in the Law School and throughout the university who are interested in interdisciplinary law-related research. Each year the program sponsors a major symposium that brings together prominent law and society faculty from Indiana University and leading scholars from around the world. Sponsored symposia include:
Globalization of Law, Politics, and Markets—Implication for Domestic Law Reform
National Conference on Juries and the Death Penalty
Law and Society: Civil and Domestic
Law and the New American Family
Religious Liberty at the Dawn of a New Millennium
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Graduate Legal Studies Program
The Graduate Legal Studies program is designed primarily for internationally trained lawyers and has been home to hundreds of international students since 1904. Students who choose Indiana University benefit from the Law School's long tradition of academic excellence in a congenial and supportive environment. The director of graduate programs, together with teaching assistants, provides individualized attention to the needs of each student. Additionally, our international students have the opportunity to develop close working relationships with the faculty and to meet distinguished visiting jurists and scholars from around the world.
The program immerses students in the study of American law, providing an in-depth understanding of American common law and the American legal system. Students may also choose from a variety of courses that examine global legal issues. Most significant is the fact that the Law School can provide students with the foundation they need to accomplish their academic and professional goals, from passing the bar examination to practicing law within the global context.
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Master of Laws
The Law School offers a choice of master's degree programs to accommodate a range of academic interests and backgrounds, welcoming to the program legal scholars, practicing attorneys, and jurists, as well as recent law school graduates.
LL.M. Thesis:
For those who are interested in pursuing an academic career, the LL.M. thesis provides an excellent foundation in scholarly research and writing. This degree requires the completion of 30 credit hours, 6 to 10 of which are dedicated to a thesis that focuses on the student's primary research interest. Students are assigned thesis advisors whose academic expertise is compatible with the students' interests and with whom they work closely in completing their thesis projects. Students may choose from a variety of courses that support their thesis work or from other areas of interest.
LL.M. Practicum:
The practicum provides aspiring legal practitioners and jurists with direct experience in the American legal system. Students enrolled in this program have the opportunity to observe judicial proceedings at various stages and venues and to interact with practicing attorneys and judges. The LL.M. Practicum requires completion of 27 credit hours.
Master of Comparative Law (M.C.L.):
The M.C.L. degree provides the same flexibility in academic planning as the LL.M. degrees, but with a greater focus on American common law. The M.C.L. degree requires the completion of 24 credit hours, which include practicum experience.
Any candidate for a graduate degree in law who has not already had a year in residence at an American law school and who does not hold a degree in law from a university in a common-law country is urged to acquire sufficient background in American political and economic institutions, methods and materials of American law, and use of the English language. Further information can be obtained from the Admissions Office.
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Certificate Program for Graduate Students
The Law School offers a Certificate in Legal Studies Program, which enables internationally trained lawyers and law graduates to immerse themselves in the study of American law for a shorter time period than would be required in the typical M.C.L. or LL.M. degree programs.
The Certificate in Legal Studies is conferred upon successful completion of 8 credit hours of course work that can be accomplished in one semester or during the short summer session (typically, two months would be required to complete the 8 credit hours of course work during the summer).
Internationally trained lawyers and law graduates participating in this certificate program select their own courses, depending upon their areas of interest. Certificate participants also have opportunities to gain valuable experience in the techniques of American legal research, including electronic research methods. Candidates for this program must submit applications at least five months prior to the start of the semester in which they plan to begin their studies.
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Doctor of Juridical Science
The School of Law offers an advanced graduate program, primarily for international students, leading to the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree. The program provides students of great promise and demonstrated ability with an opportunity for extended study, research, and scholarly writing. Those few admitted to the program must have outstanding records. All candidates must provide evidence of excellent reading and writing skills in English. Graduates of this program typically achieve distinction in their home countries as law professors or in public service.
The centerpiece of the program is a doctoral dissertation completed under the supervision of members of the law faculty, who direct or serve on the candidate's dissertation committee. When appropriate, a faculty member from another unit within the university may be invited to serve on a dissertation committee. The shape of the dissertation will be anticipated in significant part by a proposal of the research to be undertaken. In order for a student to be admitted to S.J.D. study, the Graduate Committee of the School of Law must conclude both that the applicant's research proposal is of exceptional importance and originality and that the applicant possesses the talent and the breadth of training and experience to carry the project through to completion.
S.J.D. applicants from abroad normally will have distinguished themselves in a demanding LL.M. program. They often will be LL.M. graduates of the IU School of Law. When the applicant has received an LL.M. degree from any other law school, the application should include names of professors at that school who are familiar with the applicant. When an applicant has obtained a J.D. with distinction from a U.S. law school, he or she may be considered without an LL.M. The Graduate Committee will weigh in such cases post-J.D. experiences that bear on the applicant's scholarly objectives. Admission into the S.J.D. program is highly selective. Some years few or no applicants are admitted into the program.
S.J.D. applicants will be expected to spend one year in residence at the IU School of Law. This requirement is in addition to any residence requirement satisfied here for an LL.M. degree. The Doctor of Juridical Science degree is conferred upon the successful completion of at least 30 credit hours. The candidate must take the courses and meet the requirements established by the Committee on Graduate Study in the School of Law.
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Doctor of Philosophy in Law and Social Science
The School of Law and the University Graduate School offer a combined program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in Law and Social Science. This program involves interdisciplinary research and problem solving in areas where law and social science overlap.
Applicants must apply separately to, and be admitted by, the Law School, the collaborating academic department, and the University Graduate School (which awards all Ph.D. degrees). Applicants whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL results. Applicants may also be required by the collaborating academic department to take additional tests, including the GRE.
Each Ph.D. candidate will be assigned an advisory committee consisting of at least two faculty members from the Law School and at least two faculty members from the collaborating academic department. The chairperson of the advisory committee will serve as the candidate's primary academic advisor.
The candidate must complete at least one academic year in residence in the Law School after matriculating in the Ph.D. program. The candidate must also comply with any residency requirements that may be imposed by the collaborating academic department.
The candidate must complete a minimum of 90 credit hours. At least 30 credit hours must be earned in required law courses, and at least 15 additional credit hours must be earned in the form of independent-study (dissertation research) credits taken in the Law School. The remaining 45 credit hours may be earned either in the Law School or elsewhere, as may be required by the collaborating academic department.
Specific information on required courses, examination and dissertation information, and other requirements of this program may be obtained through the Law School's Web site (www.law.indiana.edu) or by contacting the Law School Admissions Office.
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Minors
Minor in Law
Minor in Gender Studies
Minor in Business
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Minor in Law
Students pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Education, or Doctor of Business Administration may obtain a minor in law by completing 13 to 16 credit hours of course work in the School of Law. Required are a basic methodological course such as Contracts, Property, Torts, or Constitutional Law, and 2 credit hours in either a research seminar or independent research. Graduate students interested in more information about the minor in law should contact the dean for students in the Law School.
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Minor in Gender Studies
To be eligible to receive the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence with a minor in gender studies, a student must complete 80 credit hours in the School of Law, 6 credit hours of which must satisfy the gender studies cross-listing requirement; complete either G601 or G602 (interdisciplinary 3 credit course in gender studies, in alternate years); and complete a 3 credit hour elective course at or above the 500 level offered by the Gender Studies Program (some 300- or 400-level courses may be approved for graduate credit, with prior approval of the dean).
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Minor in Business
The minor in business is primarily designed for students who wish to take an intensive course of study in accounting. To be eligible to receive the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence with a minor in business, a student must complete a total of 92 credit hours—80 credit hours in the Law School, including required course work, and 12 credit hours in the Kelley School of Business. Required course work is necessary for graduation, and students must gain prior approval before entering the program.
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