JD & Joint Degrees
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
To qualify for the juris doctor degree, a student must:
- Successfully complete all required courses;
- Successfully complete one rigorous writing course during the second or third year of law study under the direct supervision of a faculty member;
- Successfully complete additional work sufficient to total 90 semester hours;
- Attain a cumulative grade point average of at least a 4.00 (C minus) in all work taken in the College of Law and a grade of C on all work taken at other approved law schools;
- Complete the last academic year (30 hours) in residence in the College of Law;
- Complete all degree requirements within seven years of initial enrollment;
- File an official Application for Graduation.
The student is responsible for ascertaining whether these requirements are fulfilled.
Click here to see course descriptions.
The College of Law offers several joint degree programs with various colleges on campus. To be eligible to enroll as a joint degree candidate, you must apply to both programs separately, satisfying all of the prerequisites for both programs and taking any necessary admission tests.
Joint Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.)
The business administration requirements for the dual J.D./M.B.A. degree are identical to the College of Business Administration's M.B.A. requirements, with one exception: instead of taking 18 credit hours of elective business courses as normally required, the candidate will take 9 credit hours from a list of business-related law courses. The law requirements for the dual degree are identical to the College of Law's J.D. requirements, with two exceptions:
- 80 rather than 90 hours are required;
- A student may receive no more than four credit hours in approved curricular activities.
Persons interested in pursuing the dual J.D./ M.B.A. program must make regular application for admission to and be accepted by both the College of Law and the Graduate College. For further information on the M.B.A. program, contact the University of Oklahoma, Price College of Business Administration Graduate Office, Price Hall 1040, 1003 Asp Ave., Norman, Oklahoma 73019-4302, or e-mail GradInfo@ou.edu, website gradweb.ou.edu.
Joint Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.)
The College of Law and the College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Department of Health Administration and Policy currently offer a 114-credit hour dual degree program leading to both the J.D. and Master of Public Health in Health Administration and Policy. The objective of the program is to offer students at the College of Law who are interested in a public health law specialty the opportunity to combine into four years of study the three-year J.D. program offered by the College of Law and the two-year M.P.H. offered by the College of Public Health. The program is designed to offer the student who plans to practice law in the public health arena or to enter public health directly, a thorough academic grounding in both disciplines with emphasis on increasing the convergence of these professional areas.
The J.D. degree requires a minimum of 90 hours, and the M.P.H. requires a minimum of 44 hours. Under the dual-degree program, the J.D. course of study is substantially unchanged except that 80 rather than 90 hours is required and four courses (12 hours) are added to the normal 40 hours of required courses for J.D. candidates. A student is not permitted to enroll in courses in the Department of Health Administration and Policy during the first year of law school study. The student will complete 34-36 hours toward the M.P.H. in the College of Public Health, and ten hours from the College of Law course work is accepted as elective course work within the M.P.H. program to complete the 44 credit hour degree. These elective courses are selected by the student with the approval of an Oversight Committee comprised of one faculty from each college. One of the law course electives replaces the Public Health Law and Regulations course normally required for the M.P.H. Students must complete an M.P.H. Practicum in accordance with all of the practicum policies of the College of Public Health, and perform satisfactorily on the M.P.H. culminating experience examination at the end of the M.P.H. program. The program awards both degrees upon completion of the 114-hour curriculum. Students interested in the dual program must be accepted by both colleges, and both degrees are awarded during the same academic session. Those students who desire more information should contact Dr. David Johnson, david-johnson@ouhsc.edu.
Joint Juris Doctor (J.D.) / Master of Science or Arts (M.S. or M.A.)
The College of Law permits students to pursue unique dual degree programs through other colleges of the University of Oklahoma. Applicants must be admitted separately to the graduate program on the Norman Campus. Students wishing to pursue such a program should contact the College of Law Office of Student Services early on in the application process to obtain a suggested course of action.