Joint Degree Program with the School of Law (J.D./Ph.D.)
The Department of English and the School of Law offer a joint program leading to a J.D. degree combined with a Ph.D. in English.
This J.D./Ph.D. program is designed to provide an opportunity for students to develop a deep expertise combining study in English with law, providing strong preparation for academic positions in literature departments or law schools as well as outside of academia in the public humanities, law, arts administration, or public policy.
Admission to the J.D./Ph.D. Program
Students interested in the joint degree program must apply and gain entrance separately to the Law School's J.D. program and the Department of English's Ph.D. program. Students must also gain permission from both academic units to pursue the two degrees as part of a joint degree program. Interest in the 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 the English department may apply for admission to the other program and for joint degree status in both academic units.
Students are encouraged to begin their course of study by spending the first year in the Law School, followed by a full year in the English department, and then by taking courses from either academic unit.
Degree Requirements
The Law School approves courses from English that may count toward the J.D. degree, and the English department approves Law School courses that may count toward the Ph.D. in English. Some courses may be approved broadly as countable toward both degrees for all students; other courses may be approved on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the particular student's fields of focus and other courses taken.
Faculty advisors from each academic unit participate in planning and supervising each student's joint program. Both units assign at least one faculty member to provide advice and supervision related to the joint degree program.
Students must complete 190 quarter units to complete both degrees. Up to 54 units of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees.
The two academic units have agreed to apply the same tuition agreement that operates for other established J.D./Ph.D. Namely, tuition is exclusive to the School of Law during the joint degree student's first year of the law program and is exclusive to the English department's Ph.D. program during all other quarters. Tuition rates within each academic unit for any given quarter match rates that apply to non-joint-degree students at similar stages of their studies in the unit.
For more information, see the Law School's Degrees and Joint Degrees web site.