Joint J.D. and Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies

Law students are eligible to earn a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from the Women’s Studies Department in the UNLV College of Liberal Arts. The Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate Program provides a credential, plus theory, knowledge, and skills that can be useful in a variety of professions, including law.  The Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate requires a fifteen-unit program of coursework. The classes include required graduate courses in Feminist Theory, Principles of Feminist Inquiry, and Directed Readings and Research, and six units of elective courses on women or gender. The law school will accept six credit hours of Women’s Studies graduate course work to be applied to the J.D. degree requirements, and the Women’s Studies Department will accept three credit hours of relevant J.D. course work, and three credits from another department. For a full-time law student, women’s studies coursework begins after completion of required first-year course work. Once enrolled in the Boyd School of Law, students apply for admission to this certificate program by submitting a letter of interest to the Women’s Studies Department.

Dual Degree in Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.)

The William S. Boyd School of Law and the UNLV College of Business offer a dual Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.) degree program that allows students admitted to both programs to pursue the two degrees concurrently.

Pursued individually, the J.D. requires the completion of 89 credit hours and the M.B.A. requires the completion of 48 credit hours. The dual J.D./M.B.A. requires the completion of 80 law credit hours and 33 business credit hours, as 15 credit hours of law courses are accepted toward the M.B.A. and nine credit hours of business courses are accepted toward the J.D.

Applicants to the J.D./M.B.A. program must apply for, and gain admission to, both the Boyd School of Law J.D. program and to the College of Business M.B.A. program, respectively. For information on M.B.A. program application procedures, interested individuals should contact the College of Business at (702) 895-3362 or http://business.unlv.edu/. When seeking admission to each of the two schools, applicants are asked to submit with each application a statement indicating their wish to pursue the dual J.D./M.B.A.

While applications from current students in either program will be considered, students normally should secure admission to each program upon entering the university. However, petitions for admission to the dual J.D./M.B.A. program from students at more advanced stages in either program will be considered. Under American Bar Association standards, the Boyd School of Law cannot award credit for any coursework taken prior to matriculation into the J.D. program. J.D./M.B.A. candidates therefore normally must enroll at the Boyd School of Law and complete one year of study before taking any M.B.A. courses to be applied to the J.D.

Dual Degree in Juris Doctor and Master of Social Work (J.D./M.S.W.)

The William S. Boyd School of Law and the UNLV School of Social Work offer a dual Juris Doctor/ Master of Social Work (J.D./M.S.W.) degree program that allows students admitted to both programs to pursue the two degrees concurrently.

Pursued individually, the J.D. requires the completion of 89 credit hours and the M.S.W. requires the completion of 60 credit hours. The dual J.D./M.S.W. degree requires the completion of 80 law credit hours and 51 social work credit hours, as 9 hours of law courses are accepted toward the M.S.W. and 9 hours of social work courses are accepted toward the J.D.

Applicants to the J.D./M.S.W. degree program must apply for, and gain admission to, both the Boyd School of Law J.D. program and to the School of Social Work M.S.W. program, respectively. Admission requirements are the same as those listed under the regular J.D. and M.S.W. programs.

While applications from current students in either program will be considered, students normally should seek and satisfy admission to enter both programs upon entering the university. However, petitions requesting admission to the dual J.D./M.S.W. program from students at more advanced stages in either program will be considered. Under American Bar Association standards, the Boyd School of Law cannot award credit for any coursework taken prior to matriculation into the J.D. program. J.D./ M.S.W. candidates therefore normally must enroll at the Boyd School of Law and complete one year of study before taking any M.S.W. courses to be applied to the J.D.

Those interested are encouraged to submit a request for permission to participate in the program, along with applications for admission, at the earliest possible time. For information on M.S.W. program application procedures, interested individuals should contact the UNLV School of Social Work at (702) 895-3311 or http://socialwork.unlv.edu/.

Dual Degree in Juris Doctor and Ph.D. in Education (J.D./Ph.D.)

The William S. Boyd School of Law and the UNLV College of Education offer a dual Juris Doctor/Ph.D. in Education (J.D./Ph.D.) degree program that allows students admitted to both programs to pursue the two degrees concurrently. Individuals seeking this dual degree will obtain a J.D. degree and a Ph.D. one of the following:

1. Educational Psychology (with an emphasis in Foundations or School Psychology)
2. Higher Education Leadership
3. Special Education

Pursued individually, the J.D. degree requires the completion of 89 credit hours and the Ph.D. degree requires the completion of a minimum of 67-72 (dependent upon program) credit hours.  The J.D./Ph.D. degree would require the completion of 80 law credit hours and a minimum of 54-63 (dependent upon program) education credit hours, as 9 hours of education courses are accepted toward the J.D. degree and 9-18 (dependant upon program) hours of law courses are accepted toward the Ph.D. degree.

Applicants to the J.D./Ph.D. degree program must apply for, and gain admission to both the Boyd School of Law J.D. program and to the College of Education Ph.D. program, respectively. For more information on the College of Education Ph.D. program application procedures, interested individuals should contact the College of Education at (702) 895-3374 or visit education.unlv.edu. When seeking admission to each of the two schools, applicants are asked to submit with each application a statement indicating their wish to pursue the dual J.D./Ph.D.

While applications from current students in either program will be considered, students normally should secure admission to each program upon entering the university.  However, petitions requesting admission to the dual J.D./Ph.D. program from students at more advanced stages in either program will be considered.   

Under American Bar Association standards, the Boyd School of Law cannot award credit for any coursework taken prior to matriculation into the J.D. program. J.D./Ph.D. candidates therefore normally must enroll at the Boyd School of Law and complete on year of study before taking any Ph.D. courses.