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J.D./M.A. Program

Purpose

Contemporary legal theory as it is done in law schools is strongly involved with certain areas of philosophy: philosophical jurisprudence, ethics, political philosophy, theory of knowledge, philosophy of language and philosophy of science. Philosophical questions often arise in the discussion of issues in constitutional law and criminal law. There is also an important connection in the other direction: issues in ethical and political theory often depend on and are informed by issues having to do with judicial interpretation. Further, and most important, there are significant questions about the evaluation of legal institutions that cannot be approached in a serious way without a substantial background in both law and philosophy.

Admission
Persons interested in the dual degree program must file separate applications to each school. The Law School and the Graduate School of Arts and Science admit applicants independently, on the basis of their usual standards. Application can be made simultaneously, but a student already enrolled in one program can also apply and be admitted to the other subsequently. Application for financial aid must also be made to the two schools separately.

Students interested in applying for a dual degree should inform both the Law School Admission Office and the Philosophy Department Director of Admissions.

Requirements
The School of Law requires 82 credits of study for the J.D. However, in the Dual Degree Program, up to 12 law school credits for courses in the GSAS may be applied in satisfaction of this requirement. Courses that are cross-listed in both the School of Law and the GSAS are counted in each institution according to the listed number of credits or points. For courses that are not cross-listed, law school credits will be assigned to GSAS courses on the basis of the number of class hours. So 12 law school credits will normally correspond to six GSAS seminars (24 GSAS points).

The GSAS requires 32 points for the M.A. However, in the Dual Program, credit for up to two one-term courses in the School of Law may be applied toward the M.A. One course in the School of Law, whatever its credits, will usually count as a 4 point course in GSAS. So the two courses are normally worth 8 GSAS points. The Philosophy Department requires 24 points in courses in the Philosophy Department or taught by members of the Philosophy Department. Courses taught in the School of Law by joint or affiliated members of the Philosophy Department count toward this requirement.

Among the courses in the School of Law that count towards the M.A. are:

• Contemporary Political Theory and Law
• Introduction to Jurisprudence
• Recent Analytical Jurisprudence
• Constitutional Law
• Current Constitutional Issues
• First Amendment Freedoms
• Colloquium on Law, Philosophy and Political Theory
• Colloquium in Constitutional Theory

Among the Graduate Philosophy courses suitable to count toward the J.D. are:

• Life and Death
• Freedom and Moral Responsability
• Political Philosophy
• Contemporary Ethical Theory
• Ethics: Selected Topics
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Science

But other courses may also be selected and each student's program is individually designed in consultation with the advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.

The M.A. in Philosophy requires a substantial research paper of appropriate quality, which may be written either in connection with a seminar or under the individual supervision of a departmental advisor, and which must receive a grade of B+ or better. A student's academic performance and status in the program are subject to periodic review by the Department.