Rules and Regulations

Students in the joint degree program must fulfill the requirements of both degrees. Students are expected to work with program directors or advisors in each school to ensure all requirements are completed. Approval by program directors or advisors in both schools is required for any overlap courses designated as meeting the requirements of both degree programs.

Registration

Students will be required to register in both schools and maintain concurrent continuous registration until all degree requirements have been completed.

Law School First Year Rule

Once a student has been admitted as a joint degree candidate, the first year of study must be devoted exclusively to the prescribed law curriculum.
J.D. Admissions Requirements
J.D. Academic Regulations

Language Proficiency

All Elliott School Master of Arts programs, with the exception of Security Policy Studies and International Science & Technology Policy, require that students achieve reading and speaking proficiency in a second modern language before the end of their program of study. The equivalent of two years of formal language study is therefore a prerequisite for admission into these programs. Students are given a diagnostic language examination during graduate student orientation at the beginning of their first term of study at the Elliott School. Students are required to pass a reading and speaking proficiency examination during their last 20 hours at the Elliott School. Failing the language proficiency examination three times results in irrevocable dismissal from the program.

Up to 6 credits of language course work may be included in the MA program, but none of these credits may be applied to the JD.Students for whom English is not their native language must take an analogous English language exam. (This is in addition to the TOEFL exam taken prior to admission.) Students are advised to fulfill this requirement within the first year of the program.

Overlap Credit Rules

After the first year of law studies, the Law School will allow 12 credit hours of course work completed in the master's program to count toward completion of the 84 credit hours required for the law degree. No credits from courses completed for the fulfillment of M.A. requirements prior to admission to the Law School and the joint degree program will be accepted toward the law degree.

The grade of CR (Credit) or NC (No Credit) will be recorded for such courses; a student must receive a grade of at least B- to receive a grade of Credit. Grades of Credit and No Credit resulting from courses taken in other GW schools will count toward the total of 17 hours allowed under the Credit/No Credit option.

Law students receive 1 credit hour for each 700 minutes of scheduled class time in a semester. Therefore, in most cases, only 2 credits will be accepted by the Law School for the 3-credit courses taken as part of a student's Elliott School curriculum. Neither language courses nor Elliott School one-credit courses taken for the M.A. degree may be counted toward the law degree. The Law School will also not count toward the law degree any undergraduate courses taken for graduate credit as part of the Masters degree.

The Elliott School accepts 12 credits from International Law courses taken for the J.D. program toward its Master of Arts degrees. International Law courses taken by students admitted to the joint degree program after completing their first year, or more, in the Law School may be counted toward the student's M.A. degree. There is no difference between the number of credits awarded by the Law School and the number of credits accepted by the Elliott School.

Transfer Credits

Students in the joint J.D.-M.A. program may not transfer courses taken at another University into their Master of Arts programs, except when taken through the Consortium.

Thesis Option

Students in the joint J.D./M.A. program within the Elliott School cannot pursue the thesis option in any of the M.A. programs.

Graduation

Students participating in the joint degree program receive both a Juris Doctor and a Master of Arts. Students must meet all the requirements for both degrees prior to receiving either diploma. Students must register for graduation with both schools simultaneously.

Withdrawal from the Joint Degree Program

Students may decide to withdraw from either degree program, and from the joint degree program, at any point. In that case the student may apply to receive one degree when the requirements for that degree are completed. If the student subsequently decides to seek readmission to the second degree program, none of the courses used in the completion of the first degree may be applied to the second.

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