Joint and Dual Degree Programs
The J.D./M.A. dual-degree program is open to students who have received a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and demonstrated a satisfactory performance on the Law School Admission Test and Graduate Record Examination as administered by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, N.J.
The dual-degree program is designed to equip the student for a career in law and to help the student think about the law with a depth and facility that otherwise might not be developed.
The study of philosophy provides logical and analytical tools important for the study and the practice of law. In fact, a number of prominent judges and law scholars enjoyed the benefit of legal and philosophical training at The Catholic University of America.
The program requires a student to apply and be accepted by both the Columbus School of Law and the School of Philosophy. Upon admission to the program, the student, with the approval of the dean of the School of Law and the dean of the School of Philosophy, designs an elective curriculum that qualifies the candidate for both J.D. and M.A. degrees. Certain courses in law are recognized as fulfilling requirements in the School of Philosophy, and certain courses in philosophy are accepted as fulfilling requirements in the Columbus school of Law. Sometimes, a student can complete both degrees in a three-year period rather than the four-year period that would be required if the degrees were pursued separately.
Typical courses that satisfy the program's cross-disciplinary requirements are Constitutional Law; Comparative Law; Law and Public Policy; Jurisprudence; Law, Science and Medicine; History of Early American Law; History of Modern American Law; Plato's Statesman; Aristotle's Posterior Analytics; the Politics of Aristotle; Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics; Foundations of Political Philosophy; Philosophy of Law.
The M.D./M.A. dual-degree program enables the Georgetown University medical student to take the third year off from medical studies to pursue a degree in philosophy either at Georgetown University or at The Catholic University of America.
The M.A. degree requirements can be completed in a calendar year. The student enrolled in either university can take, through the consortium, classes at the other.
A separate application for admission to either of the philosophy programs is required. It is also possible to continue for the Ph.D. All those admitted to degree programs at Catholic University in philosophy are considered for all relevant University scholarships and fellowships.
Last Revised 04-Aug-08 10:18 AM.
