College of Law

Joint Degree in Law + Public Administration

Earn your law and public administration graduate degrees in an accelerated period of study, generally four years. This joint degree program is designed for law students who intend to work in government, political, or nonprofit sectors. You will gain an interdisciplinary understanding of the law and public administration, while exploring the social impact of policy development, implementation, and management.


Admissions

The program is jointly administered by the College of Law and College of Arts and Letters Department of Political Science and Public Administration. You must apply and be admitted separately to each college. Academic advising is provided by each college in collaboration with the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. The decision to admit or not to admit is based solely on each college’s selection criteria. The Department of Political Science and Public Administration will accept your GRE or LSAT score.


Tuition & Scholarships

If you enroll in both colleges in any semester, the highest tuition rate will apply to all credit hours taken. We encourage you to explore how a joint degree may impact your financial aid or scholarships. College of Law scholarship funds cannot be used to cover coursework outside of the law school.


Integrated Curriculum

Juris Doctor

The College of Law requires the successful completion of 89 credit hours to earn your J.D. degree. You may apply up to 12 credit hours completed in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration toward this requirement. For an M.P.A. course to qualify for credit toward your J.D. degree, you must earn a grade of B (3.0) or better. Under American Bar Association guidelines, Department of Political Science and Public Administration courses must be taken after enrollment in the College of Law to be eligible for credit toward your J.D. degree.

Master of Public Administration

You may apply up to 12 credit hours of approved, upper-level courses in the College of Law toward requirements for your M.P.A. degree. For a law course to qualify for credit toward your M.P.A. degree, you must earn a C (2.0) or better. Review credit requirements from the current UToledo graduate catalog for the M.P.A. program within the College of Arts and Letters Department of Political Science and Public Administration.


Awarding of Degrees

You will not receive a J.D. or M.P.A. degree until you complete all the work required for both degrees. If you withdraw from the joint degree program and remain in either the College of Law or the College of Arts and Letters, you shall only receive credit for work in the other college as the Dean authorizes under the rules of that college. Degrees must be awarded within time limits established by the participating colleges.


Contacts

Marilyn Preston
College of Law
Legal Writing Professor and J.D/M.P.A. Program Advisor
419.530.2863
Marilyn.Preston@utoledo.edu

Geoffrey Rapp
College of Law
Sr. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
419.530.4107
Geoffrey.Rapp@utoledo.edu

Daniel Boden
College of Arts and Letters
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Associate Professor
Daniel.Boden@utoledo.edu


NOTE: The College of Law recommends that you remain apprised of academic requirements for each degree you pursue. While we make every effort to maintain timely information relating to joint degree programs, because other colleges manage their curricula and requirements, it is possible that information on this site could be out of date. For additional information, please review the other college's website.

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Last Updated: 10/23/23