Dual-Degree Programs

The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program prepares students for research, teaching, and professional employment in the operational agencies in the field of criminal justice. It is offered through the Institute of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Maryland, College Park. For more information, call (301) 405-6838 or visit http://www.ccjs.umd.edu/.

The JD-MALA Dual-Degree Program is offered in cooperation with the St. John’s College (SJC) Graduate Institute in Annapolis, Maryland.

Through credit sharing, students in this dual-degree program can satisfy the requirements for two degrees in different disciplines in less time, and at less expense, than would otherwise be possible. Students interested in the JD-MALA Dual-Degree Program must apply separately for admission to both schools. Applicants must meet the separate admission criteria and complete the distinct degree requirements at each institution. 

If admitted to both programs, students may enroll in and obtain degrees from both programs simultaneously, although students typically enroll in one school and defer admission to the other school until the following year. For example, the first year of study at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law is comprised almost entirely of required courses; therefore, first-year law students do not take courses at the SJC Graduate Institute that year. Instead, students beginning the program at the law school enroll in relevant courses at SJC during the second year. Alternatively, JD-MALA Dual-Degree Program students may begin their studies at SJC before beginning the first year of law school, but none of the courses taken that year would transfer from SJC to the JD program. 

Regardless of the order of enrollment, participation in this JD-MALA Dual-Degree Program must be formally established prior to the completion of any coursework that would be intended to transfer from one of these institutions to the other.  Once participation is approved, the schedule for fulfilling degree requirements for each program may be completed in a variety of ways, including completing courses at both institutions concurrently or successively. The SJC MALA program must be completed within eight years of matriculation, while the Maryland Carey Law JD program must be completed within seven years. To be strategic, students are encouraged to communicate interest in this dual-degree program as early as possible and to work very closely with both institutions to devise a sensible and comprehensive long-term enrollment plan. Ultimately, in order to be listed as a dual-degree recipient in both commencement programs, dual-degree program participants must complete their last requirements for both degrees in the same term. 

The University of Maryland Carey School of Law will accept nine credits awarded by the SJC Graduate Institute Politics and Society segment toward the JD, provided that those credits were earned after the start of enrollment at Maryland Carey Law. Specific topics to be submitted for approval in conjunction with the Politics and Society segment include courses in the areas of History, Politics and Society, and Philosophy and Theology. In all cases, any classes taken at SJC that are intended to apply to the law degree must be approved by the Office of Registration and Enrollment at Maryland Carey Law prior to the student’s enrollment in those SJC courses. This approval process formalizes the student’s participation in the JD-MALA Dual-Degree Program from the perspective of the law school. 

The St. John’s College Graduate Institute will accept nine credits awarded by the University of Maryland Carey School of Law toward the MALA degree, provided that grades of B- or higher were earned at Maryland Carey Law. Specific courses to be considered for transfer include Constitutional Law II, Criminal Law, and Property Law. In all cases, any classes taken at Maryland Carey Law that are intended to apply to the MALA degree must be approved by the SJC Associate Dean of Graduate Programs prior to the student’s enrollment in those School of Law courses. This approval process formalizes the student’s participation in the JD-MALA Dual-Degree Program from the perspective of the SJC Graduate Institute. 

For more information about the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts at the St. John’s College Graduate Institute, visit https://www.sjc.edu/annapolis-current-graduate-students/jd-mala-dual-degree or email annapolis.gradadmissions@sjc.edu.

The Master of Business Administration program is designed to prepare students for positions of responsibility in industry, commerce, or government, or as preparation for legal careers working with those in such positions.

The University of Maryland Carey School of Law partners with three local-area MBA programs:

• Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park (or its evening program offered on the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus). For more information, call (301) 405-2278 or visit http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu.
• Merrick School of Business at the University of Baltimore. For more information, call (410) 837-4777 or visit http://www.ubalt.edu/merrick.
• Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University. For more information, call (410) 234-9220, email carey.admissions@jhu.edu, or visit http://carey.jhu.edu/admissions.

Specifically, Maryland Carey Law and the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins have an agreement in which any student who completes their first year of law school at Maryland Carey Law in good standing is automatically admitted to the MBA program at Johns Hopkins.  You can find more information  about the submitting an application for the MBA program and the JD/MBA here.

The University of Maryland Carey School of Law partners with the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics for law students also interested in obtaining their Master of Bioethics (MBE), an innovative, interdisciplinary program combining approaches from science and technology, the humanities and arts, and public health and medicine. The MBE degree prepares students from diverse personal and professional backgrounds to address the bioethics challenges they will face in professional and civic life. The purpose of the JD/MBE dual degree program is to facilitate the integration of both legal and bioethics academic programs to prepare students for a diverse range of careers in the law and bioethics. Students will receive two degrees, one from each school. Program students must seek advising from each school for a clear understanding of course requirements and options available.

For more information, contact Rebecca Hall, Managing Director of the Law & Health Care Program, at r.hall@law.umaryland.edu.

The Community Planning Program brings together an active community of scholars and students to creatively confront the issues facing our cities and metropolitan regions. Through instruction, participation in research, and community interaction, students explore the changing character and critical problems of modern urban development. The curriculum emphasizes student understanding of the political, economic, institutional, and social context within which planners work with a diverse range of stakeholders to develop and implement plans, policies, and programs. Specializations include housing and economic development, land use, growth management and environmental planning, transportation planning, and social planning. The Urban Studies and Planning Program will accept up to 9 credits of JD coursework towards the MCP degree, while Maryland Carey Law will grant up to 9 credits of MCP coursework toward the JD.

Applicants must apply to each program separately and be accepted by both programs. The MCP program requires a grade of B or better in law coursework in order to grant transfer credit. Credits from the MCP program can be transferred to the Law program only if they are taken while the student is enrolled in the Law program and vice versa. This means that students cannot take advantage of the transfer of credits if they have already completed either of the programs.

Applicants for the dual-degree in Community Planning/Juris Doctor should use the four-letter code “LCPL” on the online University of Maryland, College Park application for the MCP.

For more information, contact Dr. Casey Dawkins, URSP Program Director, at cdawkins1@umd.edu or (301) 405-2158; and Kristen Stack Tepper, URSP Program Coordinator, at ktepper@umd.edu or (301) 405-6311.

The University of Maryland Carey School of Law partners with two MPH programs:

• The Master of Public Health (MPH) Program, based in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, is designed to provide students in the professional schools of the University (Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Social Work) with the opportunity for formal training in public health. Students may choose from one of three concentrations — Epidemiology, Community & Population Health, and Global Health. The goal of these concentrations is to emphasize the development of public health skills through core and concentration requirement courses that are skills based.
• The Master of Public Health Program at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

For more information, contact Rebecca Hall, Managing Director of the Law & Health Care Program, at (410) 706-5369 or r.hall@law.umaryland.edu.

The Master of Social Work Program exposes students to issues and methods of social work and to the relationships between social work programs and the legal system. It is offered through the University of Maryland School of Social Work. For more information, call (410) 706-7922.

The purpose of the Doctor of Pharmacy dual-degree program is to facilitate the integration of these two academic programs to prepare students for a diverse range of health care and legal careers. This program is offered through the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. A very useful FAQ about the dual degree program is located at http://www.pharmacy.umaryland.edu/academics/dualdegrees/PharmD-JD.html. For more information, call the School of Pharmacy Admissions at (410) 706-7653; and Rebecca Hall, Managing Director of the Law & Health Care Program, at (410) 706-5369 or r.hall@law.umaryland.edu.

Through the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park, students may earn a Master of Public Policy. This program develops the critical and analytical skills necessary to the formulation of public policy and management of public sector and nonprofit programs. Students in the Master of Public Policy program must complete 48 credits of approved courses consisting of a core curriculum, requirements of a chosen specialization, and general electives. For more information, call (301) 405-6331, email policy-applications@umd.edu, or visit http://publicpolicy.umd.edu/graduate/admissions/application-process/dual-programs.

This is offered through the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The Law and Public Policy program recognizes that a knowledge of legal and social science, literature, combined with the analytical tools from both fields, is strong preparation for careers in teaching, legislative analysis, or policy positions. The law school will accept 9 credits from the policy sciences program, and policy sciences will normally accept 6 to 9 law credits at the master's level 12 to 15 law credits at the PhD level. For more information, call Graduate Admissions at (410) 455-2537, School of Public Policy at (410) 455-3202, or visit http://www.umbc.edu/gradschool/programs/pub_pol.html.

Maryland Carey Law and UMBC have partnered to facilitate the integration of two academic programs to prepare students for a diverse range of cybersecurity and legal careers. Through a sharing of elective credits and flexible scheduling, students can earn the Juris Doctor (JD) and the Master’s of Professional Studies (MPS) in Cybersecurity degrees in less time, and therefore with less cost, than would be required if each degree was completed separately. To obtain the MPS degree, students must earn 30 credits. Up to 12 credits from Maryland Carey Law can be used to fulfill this requirements. Up to 9 credits from the MPS program at UMBC can be used to complete the 85 credit requirement for the JD degree. Students interested in the Dual Degree program must apply and meet all application criteria and be admitted into the JD and the MPS programs separately before beginning this Dual Degree program. If accepted into both programs, students will work with each program’s administrators to plan out their academic schedule.

For information about each program, visit: https://www.law.umaryland.edu/Programs-and-Impact/Cybersecurity-and-Crisis-Management/Degree-Programs/ and https://professionalprograms.umbc.edu/cybersecurity/masters-of-professional-studies-cybersecurity/

For additional information, please contact Markus Rauschecker, CHHS Cybersecurity Program Director, at mrauschecker@law.umaryland.edu