JD/MBA Degree: Wharton & Kellogg Tell Us What This Dual Degree Option Means For Students

MBA Podcaster and Law School Podcaster are teaming up to showcase one of the most popular joint degree programs: The JD/MBA Degree

With rising graduate school tuition costs, and an uncertain job market, there’s a lot of interest in joint JD/MBA programs. More schools each year offer more options for pursuing the dual degree. So, MBA Podcaster and Law School Podcaster are bringing you an entire show devoted to the JD/MBA – “Deciding Whether To Pursue a JD and an MBA: When It Makes Sense To Go ‘Two-for-One.’” In this segment, we take a close look at everything from the different types of programs, to the appeal of such programs, to what types of career opportunities are out there for those holding the joint degree.

Host Althea Legaspi gets things started by looking at how different schools might handle the application and admission process. She spoke with David E. Van Zandt, Dean of Northwestern University School of Law, who created the first three-year joint J.D./M.B.A. program in the nation. He outlined the application process at Northwestern Law and The Kellogg School of Management. “Ours is unique in that it’s a ‘fully integrated 3 year program,’ in which the student gets both the JD degree, which qualifies them to sit for the bar in any state in the country and an M.B.A. from Kellogg. It’s integrated in the sense there is a single application separate from either the MBA or JD application, and you don’t have to get accepted by both schools, you just have to get accepted into the program. We accept the GMAT, and you are required to give us the GMAT score; you are not required to give us the LSAT. We also do financial aid on a ‘fully integrated’ basis, which means that ‘if you get a financial aid award, it is from the program itself.’”

The University of Pennsylvania Law School and The Wharton School also launched a 3 year condensed JD/MBA program in the Fall of 2009, in addition to the 4 year joint program previously offered. The new accelerated JD/MBA program is seven semesters squeezed into three years, including one summer semester between the first two years. Edward B. Rock, of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, The Saul A. Fox Distinguished Professor of Business Law and Co-Director of Institute for Law and Economics at Wharton, is the architect of the new 3 year program and he explains that applicants to the joint degree program at Penn have to satisfy admission requirements at both the law school and the business school. “In our program, you have to be admitted separately to the law school and to the Wharton School, so the law school requires the LSAT, and Wharton requires the GMAT or the GRE.” No easy feat to accomplish both, but Rock points out that if you can, you graduate holding a joint degree with “valuable advantages in the marketplace.”

Van Zandt and Rock highlighted some of the advantages and the limitations of the JD/MBA programs, and it’s clear that these programs are not for the faint-hearted. Dean Van Zandt acknowledges the Northwestern/Kellogg program is “pretty intense, you’re in school for 22 straight months.” The joint program at Penn Law and Wharton is also “very concentrated” and “tightly focused.” Rock explains that while the 3 year route has its advantages, there are ‘clearly limits’ and a ‘cost in that sense in the focus.’”

We’ll have another post about some of the ways a JD/MBA can impact your career goals, featuring some highlights from our conversation with the Directors/Deans of Career Services at NYU Law School and Stern School of Business, a client partner at Korn Ferry International and some words of wisdom from two recent graduates from JD/MBA program on how the dual degree helped shape their careers.

Stay tuned to hear the full show, launching next week on MBA Podcaster!

(Updated! Listen to the complete JD/MBA show here: http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/JD-MBA.asp?iEpisode=86)

Schools are Making it Easier to get a JD/MBA

The Wall Street Journal came out with a great report today detailing how schools are trying to make it easier for students to get their JD/MBA degree in a shorter amount of time and with less red tape that is usually associated with dual degrees.

According to the report the JD/MBA is offered at around 42 schools across the country. Total enrollment in such programs fell from 330 to 287 students between the 2005-06 and 2007-08 school years, according to a recent survey by AACSB International, which accredits business management and accounting programs. The numbers are dropping as more and more students realize they want to start their careers sooner and start earning money to pay back the graduate school loans they've accumulated.

In response, a handful of schools are offering fast-tracked, condensed programs. Starting this fall, the University of Pennsylvania will offer a J.D./M.B.A. in seven semesters squeezed into three years (as opposed to the usual eight semesters over four years), including one summer semester between the first two years.

In Northwestern's shorter program, students complete the core requirements for both the law and business schools and then cherry-pick electives from either curriculum. This year, applications shot up 50% to 250, says Beth Flye, director of admissions for the university's Kellogg School of Management.

Yale will offer its coming three-year J.D./M.B.A. program without any required summer classes. The shorter joint degree aims to develop analytic and quantitative skills that are beyond what law schools traditionally offer, says Sharon Oster, dean of Yale's School of Management. The four-year degree will still be offered but will go deeper into certain subjects.

"Someone who's interested in a career in something specific, such as real-estate finance, would probably want to do a four-year," Ms. Oster says. "But for those who want something more general, the three-year is a great option."

Of course, there are advantages of a longer program. One is the added time for forming relationships with classmates and professors or spending time abroad. The multiple summers also allow students to "test-drive" multiple career paths. Some of the shorter programs require students to take summer courses, meaning less time for internships. And students in three-year programs often have such jam-packed schedules they aren't able to participate in law reviews or take as many elective courses.

Some schools are saying that the full four years are necessary to adequately prepare for a career in either law or business, let alone for a potential career combining both.

Larry Kramer, dean of Stanford University Law School, says the school thought about shortening its four-year program to three years, but decided against it. "We considered it because of the competition for students," says Mr. Kramer. "Unaltered, the programs are five years' worth of study. To cut 40% was just not responsible."

(Updated! Listen to our JD MBA show here: http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/JD-MBA.asp?iEpisode=86)