The Joint JD/MA Degree
This program, in association with the College of Law at the University of Florida, culminates in the Masters of Arts in Criminology, Law and Society and Juris Doctor degrees. The joint program enables students to earn both the J.D. and the M.A. in less time than would be required to earn both degrees consecutively. Full time students who make satisfactory progress can usually earn both degrees in four years.
Procedures for the Joint JD/MA Degree
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Admission. Candidates for the program must meet the entrance requirements for and be accepted by both the Department of Criminology, Law and Society [hereafter Department] and the College of Law. Both the Department and the College of Law must be informed by the student at the time of application to the second program, that s/he intends to pursue the joint degree as soon as possible. A Change of Degree program form is submitted to the Graduate School. The joint degree program is not open to students who have already earned one degree.
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Timing. Admission to the second program is required no later than the end of the fourth consecutive semester after beginning one degree of the joint degree program. A summer term is counted as a single semester. An exception to this requirement will be made for three semesters for the students in residence at the time the joint degree program is initiated.
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Requirements. A student must satisfy the curriculum requirements for each degree before either degree is awarded. The graduate program of the Department will allow 12 credits of appropriate professional courses to be credited toward both the graduate and professional degrees. The credits selected from the professional curriculum must be approved by the Department upon the recommendation of the student's graduate supervisory committee.
Reciprocally, professional students may receive toward the satisfaction of the J.D. degree, not more than 12 semester credits for courses taken in the graduate curriculum of the Department. Two of these courses, not more than a total of 6 semester credits, will be treated as the two graduate courses ordinarily allowed to be taken outside of the College of Law for credit toward Law School graduation.
Enrollment classification: A student enrolled in the joint degree program may spend the first year in either the College of Law or the Department. Students admitted to one college but electing to spend the first academic year in the other college under the joint degree program may enter the second college thereafter without once again qualifying for admission so long as they have notified the second college before the end of the first week of the first semester in the joint degree program and are in good academic standing when the studies commence in the second college. Students must carry the minimum number of credits required by either college.
Any student who participates in the joint degree program beginning in the Fall Semester must register for a course or courses in the second college no later than the beginning of his/her fourth semester, including the summer term as a semester. Any student who participates in the joint degree program beginning professional studies in the Spring Semester must commence study in the Department no later than the fourth semester, including summer term.
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Eligible Grades. Department courses which are to be credited toward the J .D. degree must carry a grade of "B" or higher and will not be counted in the College of Law grade point average. College of Law courses which are to be credited toward the M.A. degree must carry a grade of "C" or higher and will not be counted in the grade point average in the Department.
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Degree Award. A student enrolled in the joint degree program will not receive either degree until s/he has satisfied all of the requirements for both degrees, or until s/he has satisfied the requirements of one of the degrees as if s/he had not been a joint degree candidate.
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Withdrawal. Students who enroll in the joint degree program but do not complete the program may receive credit toward the graduate degree or the professional degree in accordance with the regular (non-joint degree) requirements of each degree program.
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Funding. Students in the joint degree program are eligible for graduate assistantships and fellowships in the Department with lower priority for such assistance during the time the student is enrolled in the first-year law college sequence.
Satisfactory Progress
It is important for graduate students to maintain satisfactory progress while in the CLS program. Progress is considered satisfactory if the student has:
- no more than two incompletes for longer than one semester;
- a supervisory committee at the end of the term in which s/he had accumulated 12 credit hours or by the end of the second semester in the graduate program;
- a grade point average of 3.0 or higher;
- a plan of study by the end of the first academic year, updated annually thereafter; and
- met all graduate school requirements.
While satisfactory progress is not a guarantee for funding, unsatisfactory progress may be grounds for termination from the program and/or removal of funding.
Department contact person: Prof. Paul J. Magnarella, 392-4453, magnarel@ufl.edu
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