Recognizing that legal and business studies complement each other and that real-world problems often require solutions from both legal and business perspectives, Washburn University has developed a dual degree program to encourage students to obtain J.D. and MBA degrees during their course of study at Washburn.

Admission

Students must apply separately to and be accepted by both schools. Students will indicate to each school, at the time of application that they are applying to the dual degree program. Students will pay tuition for law school courses at the normal rate for that school and will pay tuition for business school courses at the normal rate for that school.

Note: The reduced dual degree 8 course/24 credit hour core MBA program is still available to students who have finished or will soon finish most or all of the J.D. curriculum already. Additionally, those who have already graduated with their J.D. are eligible to retroactively take advantage of the reduced credit hour dual degree MBA program.

Degree Requirements

On its own, the J.D. program at the Washburn University School of Law requires 90 credit hours; the MBA program at the Washburn University School of Business requires 30 credit hours of upper-level courses. The upper-level MBA program consists of 8 courses/24 credit hours for dual degree students.¹ Thus, pursued separately, the two degrees would require 120 credit hours. Under the dual degree program, certain courses are accepted for credit by both schools: six credit hours of business-related law school courses may count toward the MBA, and six credit hours of business school courses may count toward the J.D. Therefore, students can obtain both degrees with a total of 108 credit hours.

Law school courses that transfer to the business school are those that are business-related (as determined by the business school); business school courses that transfer to the law school are upper-level required courses in which the student earns at least a “B.” (Grades will not transfer between schools; for the transferee school, the courses will be treated as credit/no-credit.) No credits for business school courses will transfer to the law school until the student has obtained 12 credits of upper-level MBA (600 series) business school courses.

Students may choose to begin either their legal studies or their business studies first. Whenever they start the law school program first, students must take the full first-year curriculum, all of which consists of required courses, without interruption. Students will not be permitted to take business school courses during the first year of law school. After completing the first year of the law school curriculum, if students simultaneously take courses in both programs, the total number of credits enrolled in at one time must stay within the parameters required by the American Bar Association’s standards governing accredited law schools. Students are also required to participate in the various orientation and assessment activities of both programs. Completion of the MBA program is not required to coincide with completion of the J.D. requirements. All MBA coursework must be completed within six calendar years from the point the first MBA course is taken.

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Depending on individual circumstance, applicants without a prior undergraduate business degree (BBA) or related business coursework, could be required to take up to 3 additional classes/9 credit hours of foundational-level MBA coursework in addition to upper-level program requirements. This requirement is met either through the completion of undergraduate courses or by taking up to three-500 level foundational courses offered by the School of Business. Each applicant is evaluated on an individual basis to determine any foundational course needs. MA 116 College Algebra or equivalent is a prerequisite of the MBA program required prior to entry for all applicants.