JD/MBA Joint Program

The J.D./M.B.A. program is a joint degree program of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University and the Hofstra University Frank G. Zarb School of Business. The program is typically completed in four years, although students can complete the program in less time by taking summer session and/or winter intersession courses and by seeking credit for certain business courses taken as an undergraduate.

The J.D./M.B.A. program provides students with:

• knowledge of the administrative process necessary for attorneys pursuing careers in business and not-for-profit institutions;
• specialized proficiency in fields auxiliary to law, such as accounting, banking, finance, investment, marketing, real estate and taxation; and
• knowledge of the economic implications of legal processes.

Maurice A. Deane School of Law Requirements

The program requirements for fulfillment of the law section of the curriculum are as follows:

• Completion of required first-year law courses, 30 credits
• Completion of required upper-level courses (Constitutional Law I & II, Professional Responsibility), 8 or 9 credits
• Completion of approved Business School credits, 9 credits
• Completion of additional law credits to total a minimum of 87 credits (including the 9 approved Business School credits)
• Completion of Writing Requirements 1 and 2
• Completion of the Skills requirement

The J.D./M.B.A. program is open to full-time law students.

The Law School will grant up to a total of 9 Law School credits for courses required for all J.D./M.B.A. students. Students may receive academic credit toward the J.D. degree only for Business School courses approved by the faculty of the Law School. The Law School registrar maintains a list of such approved courses.

Further, in order for the Business School credits to be accepted by the Law School toward the 87 required credit hours, (1) the student must receive at least a C+ in the course, and (2) the student must complete the J.D./M.B.A. curricula and receive the M.B.A. degree.

No grades received in Business School courses will be counted in the student’s Law School GPA.

Frank G. Zarb School of Business Requirements

The program requirements for fulfillment of the business section of the curriculum are broken down into five different components:

• Component I: Residency Requirements, No credit
• Component II: Core Competencies, 2-6 credits
• Component III: Advanced Core, 24 credits
• Component IV: The Major Concentrations, 6 credits
• Component V: Capstone, 3 credits

(Nine credits from the Law School will be transferred in consultation with the Executive Director of Graduate Business Programs Jeffrey D. Mon.)

Due to the core competency courses in the Business School, students who have obtained undergraduate business degrees will have different plans of study than students who have not done so. Thus, students who must complete certain core competency courses in the Business School will incur additional tuition charges.

The Business School will accept 9 credits of approved coursework from the J.D. program toward the M.B.A. degree. The Executive Director of Graduate Business Programs Jeffrey D. Mon maintains a list of such approved courses.

Please note that students in the J.D./M.B.A. program are not permitted to take courses in the Honors/E.M.B.A. program and may not register for full-time day M.B.A. courses.

Scheduling and Tuition

The number of credits a J.D./M.B.A. program student will take in the Frank G. Zarb School of Business during the second, third and fourth years will depend on the student’s undergraduate major and whether any courses have been taken in the summer sessions or the winter intersession.

In any semester in which a student will be registered for classes in both the Maurice A. Deane School of Law and the Business School, the student is required to meet with the faculty advisor, Professor Miriam Albert, and with Executive Director of Graduate Business Programs Jeffrey D. Mon. The maximum number of credits any Law School student may take in any semester is 17.

Students in the J.D./M.B.A. program pay full-time Law School tuition for the first year and pay the then-current J.D./M.B.A. per credit rate for Law School classes and the M.B.A. per credit rate for Business School classes in the three years of combined study.

If the student has received a scholarship from the Law School, he or she would receive the amount (e.g., $20,000) for the first year and then $40,000 (representing Law School years 2 and 3) pro rata over the next three years of combined study.

Conferral of each degree is contingent on conferral of the other, and the J.D. and M.B.A. degrees will not be awarded until all course requirements are satisfied under both programs. Students will not be bar-certified until both degrees have been conferred. Students must complete the J.D./M.B.A. program within five years.

The packaging of students’ financial aid will be handled by both the Law School Office of Financial Aid and the Hofstra University Student Financial Services office, depending on students’ course load.