Home > Academics > Academic Catalogs > 2011/2012 Graduate Catalog > Joint Degree Programs > College of Arts and Sciences, Sawyer Business School, and Suffolk Law School Joint Degrees > JD/ MBA

2011-2012 Archived Catalog Information

  • JD/ MBA

JD/MBA
Designed to fill the growing demand for business-trained lawyers and law-trained executives, the JD/MBA program serves persons interested in long-term careers in business law or management. The JD/MBA program is offered through the Sawyer Business School and the Suffolk University Law School.

Admission
The JD/MBA program is open to full-time and part-time students. Candidates must meet the admission requirements established by the Suffolk University Law School and the Sawyer Business School. The LSAT is required by the University Law School. The Sawyer Business School accepts the LSAT in lieu of the GMAT for JD/MBA students only. Applicants may apply to the program during their first or second year of enrollment in the Law School or as a first-year MBA student. 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. For further information, 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.

  • Admission to the JD/MBA program is available to full-time and evening (part-time) students in the Suffolk Law School and the Sawyer Business School.
  • Students must complete the JD/MBA degree in four years full-time or five years part-time study.

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
Curriculum requirements of the JD/MBA degree are determined by the respective schools. Currently, 110– 115 credits are required to complete the joint degree: 40– 43 credits from the MBA Program and 72 credits (up to 12 credits are transferred from the MBA degree and applied towards the JD degree) from the Law 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 candidates 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.

Program of Study
The Program of Study is approved by the Associate Deans of the respective schools. Specific information on the JD/MBA programs including current practices and procedures, are provided during the admissions process. Curriculum requirements are arranged according to the following schedule:

JD/MBA Curriculum

Track I

First Year

Fall Semester

MBA 600 Effective Career Planning

MBA 610 Organizational Behavior

MBA 622 Operations and Data Analysis 

MBA 630 Economic Analysis for Managers

MBA 640 Corporate Financial Reporting and Control

Spring Semester

MBA 650 Value-Based Financial Management

MBA 660 Marketing: The Challenge of Managing Value

MBA 670 Information Systems for Competitive Advantage

MBA 680 Managing in the Ethical and Legal Environment

One MBA Elective* 

Summer Session

MBA 780 Managing in the Global Environment

One MBA Elective*

Second Year

Law School courses

Third Year

Law School courses

Fourth Year

Fall/Spring Semesters

MBA 800 Strategic Management

Law School courses

Two MBA Electives*

*A JD/MBA is automatically considered to have a business law concentration; therefore, no more than two MBA electives may be in any one functional area.

Track II
Track II of the JD/MBA is substantially the same as Track I except that the first- and second-year curricula are reversed. This track is for those entering the joint degree program as first-year law students. Students who have completed one or two years of law school prior to MBA coursework may substitute a 3-credit MBA elective for MBA 730.

Track III
This track is for those entering the joint degree program as second-year law students. During the third and fourth year, these students take both law and MBA courses. Students who have completed one or two years of law school prior to MBA coursework may substitute a 3-credit MBA elective for MBA 730.

Accelerated MBA for Attorneys
Students in their last year of study at an accredited (ABA) law school are eligible for the accelerated MBA program and are admitted upon completion of the JD. The GMAT is waived with documentation of the LSAT. See the MBA Section for the description of the Accelerated MBA for Attorneys.