Joint MS&E and Law Degrees

The School of Law and the Department of Management Science and Engineering offer joint degree programs leading to a J.D. degree and an M.S. degree in MS&E, or to a J.D. and Ph.D. in MS&E. These programs are designed for students who wish to prepare themselves for careers in areas relating to both law and to the decision making, policy making, and problem solving knowledge and skills developed in the MS&E program. Students interested in either joint degree program must apply and gain admission separately to the School of Law and the Department of Management Science and Engineering and, as an additional step, must secure consent from both academic units to pursue degrees in those units as part of a joint degree program. Interest in either joint degree program should be noted on the student's admission applications and may be considered by the admission committee of each program. Alternatively, an enrolled student in either the Law School or MS&E may apply for admission to the other program and for joint degree status in both academic units after commencing study in either program.

Joint degree students may elect to begin their course of study in either the School of Law or MS&E. Students are assigned to a joint program committee composed of at least one faculty member from Law and one from MS&E. This committee plans the student's program jointly with the student. Students must be enrolled full time in the Law School for the first year of law studies, and it is recommended that students devote exclusively one Autumn Quarter to the MS&E M.S. program to initiate their MS&E work. After that time, enrollment may be in MS&E or Law, and students may choose courses from either program regardless of where enrolled. A candidate in the joint J.D./Ph.D. program should spend a substantial amount of full time residency in MS&E. Students must satisfy the requirements for both the J.D. and the M.S. or Ph.D. degrees as specified in this bulletin or by the School of Law. The Law School may approve courses from MS&E or courses in the student's MS&E program from outside of the Department of Management Science and Engineering that may count toward the J.D. degree, and MS&E may approve courses from the Law School that may count toward the M.S. or Ph.D. degree in MS&E. In either case, approval may consist of a list applicable to all joint degree students or may be tailored to each individual student's program. The lists may differ depending on whether the student is pursuing an M.S. or a Ph.D. in MS&E.

In the case of a J.D./M.S. program, no more than 45 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees. In the case of a J.D./Ph.D. program, no more than 54 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees. In either case, no more than 36 units of courses that originate outside the Law School may count toward the law degree. To the extent that courses under this joint degree program originate outside the Law School but count toward the law degree, the law credits permitted under Section 17(1) of the Law School Regulations are reduced on a unit-per-unit basis, but not below zero. The maximum number of law school credits that may be counted toward the M.S. in MS&E is the greater of: (a) 18 units in the case of the M.S., or (b) the maximum number of hours from courses outside the department that an M.S. candidate in MS&E is permitted to count toward the applicable degree under general departmental guidelines or under departmental rules that apply in the case of a particular student.

Tuition and financial aid arrangements are normally through the school in which the student is then enrolled.

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Joint MS&E and Law Degrees