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The PhD/JD Concurrent Degree Program Southern Illinois University Carbondale

The PhD/JD concurrent degree program culminates in the award of two degrees, the PhD in political science and the Juris Doctor in Law. Ideally, students complete the program in five years. In practice, it may take more due to class schedules and the time an individual may need to write a dissertation.

Students may apply for admission to both the Department of Political Science and Law School simultaneously, but there is no need to do this as admission to political science can only be provisional until they have completed the entire first-year law curriculum with a minimum law grade point average of 2.5. In any case they must seek admission to the PhD program before entering the fourth semester of law school. Each program will maintain records and evaluate final degree requirements as if the student were enrolled in its own program.

Rationale

The program is designed to meet needs in both the political science and legal education communities:

Professional political scientists who specialize in the sub-field of public law can benefit from broader legal training than is currently available in most political science departments. These scholars often teach and do research in constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law, public international law, and jurisprudence – subjects which require familiarity with such private law areas as civil procedure, tort law, contract law, and property law.

Legal academicians who intend to become scholars and teachers can benefit from broader educational foundations than legal education provides. Study in political science enhances legal training by widening the theoretical perspectives and methodological skills of legal practitioners.

Organization of Studies

The first year is spent completing the required first-year law curriculum. In the second year, the student spends one half of the year completing the required portion of the law curriculum and the remaining half year taking graduate political science courses, including POLS 500a and POLS 500b. In the third year, the student spends one half of the year in the second-year law curriculum taking primarily elective courses and the remaining half of the year in graduate political science courses, including one methods course and the remaining core courses. In Year Four, the student spends one half of the year taking political science graduate courses, including any remaining topical courses needed to qualify in testing fields, submission of dissertation prospectus, and formal admission to candidacy, and the remaining half of the year completing the third-year law curriculum. Year Five is spent completing the dissertation.

The student’s program must be approved by an Advisory Committee chosen by the student (at least one member of which must be a faculty member from the School of Law), subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Political Science and the Associate Dean of School of Law.

Requirements

Concurrent study students must complete a minimum of 81 semester hours of School of Law credits which meet all law area requirements, as well as all Ph.D. area requirements, to receive the J.D. degree. Students will not be permitted to take course work outside the prescribed law curriculum during the first year of law class work. Students may enroll for both law and graduate course work during subsequent years provided a minimum of two courses of law and 12 semester hours total are taken in any term which has law course enrollment.

Concurrent study students must complete the entire first-year law curriculum with a law grade point average of 2.5 before being eligible to register for any political science graduate courses; and must complete a minimum of 60 semester hours which meet the distribution requirements of the Ph.D. program, as well as all law area requirements, to receive the Ph.D. degree. A maximum of 9 semester hours of School of Law credits of a political science nature for example administrative law, environmental law, labor law, natural resources law) may be applied to both J.D. and Ph.D. requirements if approved by the director of the Ph.D. program. All concurrent study students will complete a doctoral dissertation.