The opportunities for graduate study beyond a law degree are particularly rich at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Law School offers dual and joint degree opportunities in conjunction with master’s degree and doctoral programs on the campus. The Law School has established relationships with the following programs:

• La Follette School of Public Affairs
• Wisconsin School of Business
• Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies
• Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
• Department of Philosophy
• Department of Political Science
• Department of Sociology
• School of Library and Information Studies
• Neuroscience and Public Policy
• School of Medicine and Public Health

In addition, the Law School sometimes allows students to create individual programs that combine law and related fields of study. Students wanting to combine a J.D. with a master’s degree not already approved in the Law School Rules (listed above) must receive permission for their programs from the faculty Petitions Committee -- students interested in preparing such a petition should contact the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. Students wanting to combine a J.D. with a doctoral degree not listed above can receive up to 15 credits toward completion of the J.D. if the student has been formally admitted to the doctoral program and if the student has already been admitted to the Law School. See Law School Rule 3.16.

Students earning dual and joint degrees and wanting Diploma Privilege upon graduation must satisfy the requirements for specific subjects (Evidence, Torts, etc.) and the 60-hour subject requirements in the same manner as all other J.D. candidates. (See Wisconsin Diploma Privilege Requirements.) Likewise, dual degree students must earn a total of 90 credits. However, dual degree students may count up to 15 credits from their other degree program toward the 90 credits for the J.D. degree (9 credits for the dual degree in Law and Library and Information Studies). The Law School will only accept any graduate credits from the outside program in which the student earned a B or better. The outside program, however, usually specifies in advance which law courses count toward the master’s or doctoral degree and will only “double count” those courses.

Note that all Law students, including those pursuing a dual degree, must satisfy the ABA requirement of taking no fewer than approximately 64 credits in Law courses that have regularly scheduled class sessions. (See Graduation Requirements for JD Students.)  This is especially relevant to dual degree students who might be planning on counting up to 15 non-Law credits toward the 90 required for the J.D. degree. In such an instance, for example, of the 75 Law credits, 64 credits must be in Law courses with regularly scheduled class sessions.

In most cases, completing the requirements for a master’s degree and a J.D. will add an additional year of study to the three years required to complete law school. However, students will save approximately one year of study compared to completing both programs separately, because some courses will count toward both degrees at the same time. A combination of a J.D. and Ph.D. will take considerably longer.

Due to differences between the grade reporting schedules of the Law School and other university departments, a student who completes credit requirements for both departments in the same semester may be sworn into practice in Wisconsin after the swearing-in of the rest of their class in some cases. Students who will complete both degrees in the same semester should contact the Law School Registrar (registrar@law.wisc.edu) for more information about the timing of admission to the Wisconsin Bar.

More information on the dual degree programs is available on the website for UWLS at Dual Degrees.

Important Note for Law students pursuing a Dual Degree:  In certain instances, a Law student engaged in a dual degree course of study might be formally assigned a non-Law status for a particular semester by the University Registrar.  In such a case, the student needs to be aware of the following:

1. All Law credits earned in that particular semester WILL count toward the 90 credits required for the JD degree; but
2. Any letter-grades earned in Law courses during that particular semester as a "non-Law" student are NOT factored into the student’s Law GPA. (This is because the student will, in these courses, not be assigned 4.3-scale Law letter grades in that term, nor be subject to Law School grade curve rules.  Rather, the student is assigned 4.0-scale University letter grades and is not subject to a grade curve.)

Example of hypothetical dual degree program: Note that this order is not required. Students may begin the "Other [non-Law] Program" before or after the first year in law school.

*= The dual degree student in the hypothetical case completes 75 law credits (including the specific subjects and 60 hour subject requirements) and adds 15 credits from the Other Program to meet the requirement for 90 credits for the J.D. degree. These 15 credits from the Other Program substitute for 15 elective law credits that otherwise would have been required.

Dual degree students receive the J.D. (and this transfer of credits) only when both programs are complete. A dual degree student who does not finish the other degree will only be able to count 6 outside graduate credits toward the J.D. degree.

Once the student is admitted to both programs, the student should pay a "blended rate" of tuition and fees for every semester as a dual degree student. The rate is between the rate for Law School and the Graduate School department or other school (the Other Program). The student pays this rate for all semesters, regardless of whether they are taking all Law classes, all classes in the Other Program, or a combination of both. For this reason, students admitted to a second department should notify the Academic Advisor for assistance in getting the correct tuition and fees assessed.  Students will need to speak with the Director of Scholarship Administration regarding any implications on a student's Law School scholarship.

Prior to being approved to graduate, a dual degree student must complete and return the "Notification of Dual Degree" form, available online at the Current Student Forms page and can be returned to the Law School Registrar.