The JD/MBA program provides students with a strong and comprehensive foundation for careers in both law and business.
The JD/MBA program is a joint degree program of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law 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 program provides:
- 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.
Program Information
Law School Requirements
The program requirements for fulfillment of the law section of the curriculum are as follows:
- Pass all first-year courses
- Pass Constitutional Law II
- Pass Evidence
- Complete a professional responsibility requirement by passing either Lawyers’ Ethics or Ethics in Criminal Advocacy
- Successfully complete the two upper-class writing requirements (Writing Requirement I and Writing Requirement II)
- Maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.2
- Complete the 6-credit Experiential Requirement
- Pass Foundational Lawyering Skills
Complete additional law or other approved credits to a minimum of 87 credit-hours [which includes the 9 credits of approved coursework at the Zarb School of Business accepted by the Law School.
The Law School will accept up to a total of 9 credits of approved coursework from the MBA program toward the JD degree. The Office of Academic Records maintains a list of such approved courses. Further, in order for the Zarb 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 JD/MBA curriculum and receive the MBA degree.
Business School 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: Capstone, 3 credits
The Zarb School of Business will accept up to 9 credits of approved coursework from the J.D. program toward the MBA degree. Dr. Kaushik Sengupta, Associate Dean, Business Graduate Education maintains a list of such approved courses. Further, in order for the Law School credits to be accepted by the Zarb School toward the required credit-hours for the MBA, (1) the student must receive at least a C in the course, and (2) the student must complete the JD/MBA curriculum and receive the JD degree.
No grades received in Law School courses will be counted in the student’s Zarb School GPA. Due to the content of the core competency courses in the Zarb School, students who have undergraduate business degrees will have different plans of study than students who do not.
Scheduling and Credit Requirements
The number of credits required for the MBA degree will depend on the student’s undergraduate major and whether any courses have been taken in the summer sessions or the winter intersession. The maximum number of credits in the joint program for the MBA degree is 31 credits, comprising the core competencies, advanced core and capstone. Students do not receive an MBA concentration in this joint program.
Students will begin the four-year program at the Law School. After completing the first year of full-time studies at the Law School, JD/MBA students take a combination of required and elective business and law classes. They must fulfill all graduation requirements for each school in years 2-4, but Constitutional Law II and Foundational Lawyering Skills must be taken in the fall of year 2.
JD/MBA students are eligible to participate in the Law School Journal Writing Competition as part of the selection process for the Law School journals in the May before their second year in the JD/MBA program, and if selected for a journal, will participate in that journal for years 2 and 3 only. JD/MBA students are also eligible to participate in the on-campus interview process through the Office of Career Services in August before their third year in the JD/MBA program.
In any semester in which a student will be registered for classes in both the Law School and the Zarb School, he or she is required to meet with the faculty advisor, Professor Scott Colesanti, and with Dr. Kaushik Sengupta, Associate Dean, Business Graduate Education. The maximum number of credits any law student may take in any such semester is 17.
Conferral of each degree is contingent on conferral of the other, and the JD and MBA 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 JD/MBA program within five years of matriculation.
Tuition
Students in the JD/MBA program pay full-time Law School tuition for the first year and then pay on a per-credit basis for the remaining three years of classes, at each school’s then-current per-credit rate. If the student has received a scholarship from the Law School, one-third of the total scholarship amount would apply in full for the first year of the program, and the remaining two-thirds of the scholarship amount will be applied proportionally to the remaining Law School credits taken. Any scholarship received from the Business School will apply proportionally to Business School credits taken.
The packaging of students’ financial aid will be handled by the Law School’s Office of Financial Aid.
Contact Us
Please direct any inquiries to Professor Scott Colesanti, JD/MBA Faculty Advisor, Maurice A. Deane School of Law or Dr. Kaushik Sengupta, Associate Dean, Business Graduate Education, Frank G. Zarb School of Business.