Degree Programs
Juris Doctor
The curriculum of Baylor Law School’s Juris Doctor program is structured to provide a logical progression of legal study from fundamental legal doctrines in first-year courses to increasingly more sophisticated and complex issues in second and third-year courses. You will find that the broad exposure to legal fundamentals and our curriculum’s well-rounded education and training teach you to be an outstanding lawyer, prepared to pass the bar exam and sought after by legal employers.
For an overview of the classes available, visit the Juris Doctor Course Catalog.
Dual Degree Programs
One of the advantages of studying at Baylor Law is the opportunity to pursue multiple degrees simultaneously in a manner that is efficient and cost-effective.
To accommodate students who contemplate a career where business and law overlap, the Law School and the Hankamer School of Business offer a dual 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 elective credit toward their elective requirement for the MBA upon successful completion of law school coursework. Thus, JD/MBA students complete 114 quarter hours of law courses and twenty-four semester hours of graduate business courses. Since both degrees are awarded simultaneously, all requirements in both schools must be completed in order to receive either degree.
Students generally complete the dual JD/MBA program in three-and-a-half to four years. All MBA students begin the program by participating in a four-week set of classes called Business Frameworks. These classes serve as a primer for the MBA curriculum and consist of one credit hour of each of the following: accounting, finance, Excel, and statistics. JD/MBA students start the business portion of their coursework in July and with completion by May the following year.
Students must apply to, and be accepted by, both the Law School and the Business School. The application fee has been waived and scholarships are available for competitive applicants. An LSAT score will be considered in lieu of a GMAT/GRE score for applicants who have been accepted to Baylor Law.
To contact the Business School and for information about the application, click here.
To accommodate students who contemplate a career where healthcare and law overlap, the Law School and the Robbins MBA Healthcare Program offer a dual degree program that leads to the simultaneous award of a Juris Doctor (JD) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in healthcare administration.
Healthcare has become an increasingly specialized area of the law, and healthcare administrators are integral to successfully managing hospitals, nursing homes, hospice facilities, insurance companies, provider networks, and government policy organizations. This dual degree program provides appropriate general background courses and specialized healthcare law classes while allowing students to examine healthcare administration's legal and business aspects from multiple perspectives drawn from a cross-section of multidisciplinary expertise.
Unlike many healthcare administration MBA programs, the Robbins MBA Healthcare Program requires a ninth-month paid Executive Residency with a leading, progressive health organization. With a residency placement rate of 100%, every student can receive guidance from well-qualified, practicing healthcare executives, apply and test administrative theory in practical work situations, and develop leadership skills in an actual healthcare organization.
Upon completing the required MBA-Healthcare Administration courses, students receive twelve hours of elective credit toward their JDs. Both degrees are awarded simultaneously upon meeting all requirements in both schools.
Students generally complete the dual JD/MBA program in three-and-a-half to four years. All MBA students begin the program by participating in a four-week set of classes called Business Frameworks. These classes serve as a primer for the MBA curriculum and consist of one credit hour of each of the following: accounting, finance, Excel, and statistics. JD/MBA students start the business portion of their coursework in July and with completion by May the following year.
Students must apply to and be accepted by both the Law School and the Business School. The application fee has been waived, and scholarships are available for competitive applicants. An LSAT score will be considered in lieu of a GMAT/GRE score for applicants accepted to Baylor Law.
To contact the Business School and for information about the application, click here.
This dual degree program links the faculties, resources, and education of a nationally-recognized law school and a top-tier seminary, offering students an education that prepares them well for many leadership opportunities. Graduates will be fully qualified to serve in a traditional law practice or in a congregational setting. Beyond these contexts, the skill sets developed from this program will also allow graduates to serve in non-profit organizations, particularly those focused on human rights or in careers that provide legal advocacy for society’s underserved populations.
The dual JD/MDiv degree program requires students to meet the standard requirements of both degree plans. A prospective student must make regular applications for admission to and be accepted by the Law School and the Seminary. Once admitted to both schools, the student will declare their intent to enroll in the dual degree program with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Seminary and the Associate Dean of the School of Law.
For more information about the JD/MDiv degree, click here.
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 dual 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 more significant public policy issues. The JD/MPPA degree strives to improve the effectiveness of governmental leaders in administrating massive, complex regulatory or benefit programs.
Students receive twelve hours of elective credit toward their JDs upon completing the MPPA requirements and twelve hours of credit toward their elective requirement for the MPPA upon successful completion of law school coursework. 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 school requirements must be met to receive either degree.
Students must make regular applications for admission to and be accepted by both the Law School and the Graduate School. All applicants must take the GRE and the LSAT.
For more information about applying to the Graduate School, click here.
Baylor is the only law school in Texas and one of only a few law schools in the nation to offer a dual 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. At the same time, the Hankamer School of Business Master of Taxation Program provides 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. 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 both degrees. 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 elective credit toward their JDs upon completing the required MTAX courses and twelve hours of credit toward their elective requirement for the MTAX upon completing Law School coursework. Thus, JD/MTAX students complete 114 quarter hours of law and nineteen semester hours of graduate tax. Since both degrees are awarded simultaneously, all school requirements must be met to receive either degree.
Students with adequate accounting backgrounds can complete the dual 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 graduate tax courses.
Students must make regular applications for admission to and be accepted by the Law School and the Business School. All applicants must take the GMAT and the LSAT.
For more information about the MTax program, click here.
