Joint Degrees

J.D./M.B.A.

J.D./M.TAX

J.D./M.P.P.A.

Joint Degrees

Baylor Law School, in conjunction with other schools on the Baylor University campus, offers three joint degree programs to its law students.   This option allows law students to compliment their excellent legal training with education in business administration, taxation, or public policy and administration.  Students interested in seeking a joint degree should contact Associate Dean Leah Jackson.

To accommodate students who contemplate a career where business and law overlap, the Law School and the Hankamer School of Business offer a joint degree program that leads to the simultaneous award of Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees. The JD/MBA program strives to improve the effectiveness of both business managers and legal counsel for business entities by training each to understand the role of the other and the importance of their respective contributions to the successful operation of a business. JD/MBA students are encouraged to pursue a concentrated course of study at the Law School in Business Transactions or Business Litigation.

Students receive twelve hours of credit toward their JD upon the successful completion of the required MBA courses and twelve hours of credit toward their elective requirement for the MBA upon successful completion of law school course work. Thus, JD/MBA students complete 114 quarter hours of law and twenty-four semester hours of graduate business. Since both degrees are awarded simultaneously, all requirements in both schools must be completed in order to receive either degree.

Students with adequate business undergraduate degrees generally complete the joint JD/MBA program in three-and-a-half to four years. Students with a non-business undergraduate degree or undergraduate majors lacking proficiency in all business fields are required to participate in the Business School Integrated Management Seminar before enrolling in any graduate business courses.

Students must make regular application for admission to, and be accepted by, both the Law School and the Graduate School. All applicants must take the GMAT.
 

Baylor is the only law school in Texas and one of only a few law schools in the nation to offer a joint degree program that leads to the simultaneous award of the Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Taxation (MTAX) degrees. JD/MTAX students receive a broad-based legal education in the Law School, while the Hankamer School of Business Master of Taxation Program provides the students with an in-depth study of all major aspects of taxation. Graduate tax courses include tax research and planning, tax practice and procedure, advanced individual taxation, corporations, partnerships and S-corporations, and international, state, and local taxation. Joint JD/MTAX students take Estate Planning at the Law School. Students desiring a career in taxation (either planning or litigation), business planning and transactions, or estate planning would benefit from the joint JD/MTAX degree. JD/MTAX students are encouraged to pursue a concentrated study at the Law School in Business Transactions, Estate Planning, or Business Litigation.

Students receive twelve hours of credit toward their JD upon the successful completion of the required MTAX courses and twelve hours of credit toward their elective requirement for the MTAX upon successful completion of Law School course work. Thus, JD/MTAX students complete 114 quarter hours of law and nineteen semester hours of graduate tax. Since both degrees are awarded simultaneously, all requirements in both schools must be completed in order to receive either degree.

It is possible for students with adequate accounting backgrounds to complete the joint JD/MTAX program in thirty-six months. Students with a non-accounting undergraduate degree may be required to complete some basic level accounting courses before enrolling in any graduate tax courses.

Students must make regular application for admission to, and be accepted by, both the Law School and the Graduate School. All applicants must take the GMAT.
 

Students interested in governmental service at the federal, state or local level can complete their law degree along with a Master of Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) degree offered by the Political Science department of Baylor University. This joint degree program leads to the simultaneous award of Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Public Policy and Administration degrees. While the JD program trains students to recognize, analyze and formulate legal solutions to legal issues, the MPPA program develops students' abilities to work within the context of governmental entities that must confront larger issues of public policy. The JD/MPPA degree strives to improve the effectiveness of governmental leaders in the administration of massive, complex regulatory or benefit programs.

Students receive twelve hours of credit toward their JD upon the successful completion of the MPPA requirements and twelve hours of credit toward their elective requirement for the MPPA upon successful completion of law school course work. Thus, JD/MPPA students complete 114 quarter hours of law and twenty-four semester hours of graduate work. Since both degrees are awarded simultaneously, all requirements in both schools must be completed in order to receive either degree.

Students must make regular application for admission to, and be accepted by, both the Law School and the Graduate School. All applicants must take the GRE.