2011-2012 Archived Catalog Information

JD/MSF
Education in both law and finance is an invaluable tool and affords an advantage to those seeking to succeed in today’s highly competitive job market. This combined JD/MSF degree program recognizes the strength of integrated disciplines, allowing joint degree recipients to be the beneficiaries of a specialized, competitive and highly applicable course of study. This joint degree program is available to full- and part-time students.

What Students Should Achieve

• A thorough grounding in the study of law and its interaction with the financial markets. 
• The ability to look at questions in new ways and construct lucid and comprehensive legal and financial analysis of the problems raised.
• The ability to express analysis orally and to participate in discussions where ideas are debated and evaluated.

Admission Requirements
Students must be admitted to the Law School and the Sawyer Business School. Candidates for the JD/MSF must satisfy the admission criteria set forth by both the Law School and the Sawyer Business School. The JD/MSF requires the LSAT and the GMAT, however, in most cases the LSAT may satisfy the GMAT requirement. The MSF program requires all candidates to take the GMAT within the last five years. The Law School requires candidates for admission to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and to have taken the LSAT by February of the year of application. Applications must be submitted to the Law School by March 1. Applicants may apply during the first two years of Law School or after the first year as an MSF student. For information on the JD/MSF program, contact the Office of Graduate Admission, Suffolk University, 8 Ashburton Place, Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2770, (617) 573-8302 or Suffolk University Law School Admissions Office, 120 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114-4280, (617) 573-8144. 

Accreditation
Suffolk University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The Sawyer Business School’s Master of Business Administration programs are nationally accredited by the AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the Law School is an accredited member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA).

Curriculum Requirements
The joint JD/MSF degree program requires 108– 117 total credit hours: 78 credit hours in the Law School and 30– 39 credit hours from the Sawyer Business School.

All summer credits applied to the final semester of the joint degree program have been determined based on the semester credits of each individual program so as not to permit students to enroll in fewer than two credits in the final semester.

All joint degree candidate are subject to II (G) of the Rules and Regulations limiting credit for ungraded activities to two credits per semester. Any student who is not in good academic standing is disqualified from the joint degree programs. Law School Regulation VII (E) states that a joint degree candidate, who is academically deficient (as defined in the Law School regulations) within the Law School curriculum, shall be disqualified from the joint degree program.

Programs of Study
The JD/MSF credit allocation is similar to the JD/MBA program, with one year at 30 credits (Law School) and the remaining three years at 29 credits per year with a range of 14– 15 each semester.

JD/MSF Curriculum

Track I

The following is a suggested track for a day student who must take all prerequisite requirements. Students may contact the Graduate Programs in Finance Office for information on additional tracks.

First Year
Fall Semester

(The following courses must be completed or waived prior to enrolling in MSF courses)

MBA 622 Operations and Data Analysis 
MBA 630 Economic Analysis for Managers
MBA 640 Corporate Financial Reporting and Control
MBA 650 Value-Based Financial Management

One elective (3 credits)
May be waived or taken in conjunction with MSF courses, select one:

MBA 610 Organizational Behavior
MBA 660 Marketing: The Challenge of Managing Value
MBA 670 Information Systems for Competitive Advantage
MBA 680 Managing in the Ethical and Legal Environment 

First Year
Third and Fourth Quarter Finance Courses

MSF 808 General Theory in Corporate Finance
MSF 810 Investment Analysis
MSF 812 Capital Budgeting
MSF 814 Options and Futures

Second Year (13– 15 Credits)
Fall Semester

Law School courses

Second Year (13– 15 Credits)
Spring Semester

Law School courses

Third Year
Fall Semester

Law School courses (2 credits)
Law School Electives (7 credits)

First Quarter Finance Courses

MSF 816  Financial Institutional Management
MSF 818  Econometrics

Third Year  
Spring Semester

Law School Electives (12 credits)

Third Quarter Finance Courses (3 credits)

MSF 820 Financial Policy

Fourth Quarter Finance Courses (3 credits)

1 MSF Elective

In addition to Fiduciary Relations which is taken in the first semester of the second year of Law School, 2140 AD Professional Responsibility may be taken at any time during the second or third year of Law School.

Fourth Year (14 Credits)
Fall Semester

Law School Electives

Fourth Year (14 Credits)
Spring Semester

Law School Electives

** Listed Below

Track II
Track II of the JD/MSF is primarily the same as Track I, except the first- and second-year curricula are reversed. This track is for those who enter the joint degree as first-year law students.

Track III
Track III is for those students who enter the joint degree program as second-year law students. During the third and fourth years, these students take both Law and MSF courses.