J.D./M.B.A. Program

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The J.D./M.B.A. program is a four-year joint degree program of the Hofstra Law School and the Hofstra Frank G. Zarb School of Business. Applications are accepted until January of the second year of law school if the applicant is a full-time student or until January 15 of the third year if the applicant is a parttime student. Students in good standing at the end of the first or second year of law school are eligible for admission if they have satisfied certain course prerequisites and otherwise meet the admissions standards of the Zarb School of Business. Students in their third year of law school are not eligible to apply. Information concerning these prerequisites may be obtained from the Zarb School of Business.

Law students must complete the usual M.B.A. application and submit the required undergraduate and graduate transcripts to the Graduate Admissions Office. The GMAT examination is required of all J.D./M.B.A. students. A program coordinator may waive the regular application fee.

The J.D./M.B.A. program provides students with:

knowledge of the administrative process necessary for attorneys pursuing careers in business and notfor- profit institutions;
specialized proficiency in fields auxiliary to law, such as accounting, banking, finance, investment, marketing, real estate and taxation; and
knowledge of the economic implications of legal processes.

Program Requirements

Program Requirements Due to the core competency courses in the Zarb School of Business, students who have obtained undergraduate business degrees will have different plans of study than students who have not done so. Thus, students who must complete certain core competency courses in the Zarb School of Business incur additional tuition charges.

The program requirements for fulfillment of the business section of the curriculum are broken down into five different components:

Component I Residency Requirements No credit
Component II Core Competencies 2-6 credits
Component III Advanced Core 24 credits
Component IV The Major Concentrations 15 credits
Component V Capstone Integrative Course 3 credits (Nine credits from the Law School will be transferred under advisement.)

The program requirements for fulfillment of the law section of the curriculum are as follows:

Completion of required first year law courses, 29 credits
Completion of required second year law courses, 8 credits
Completion of required Legal Ethics course, 2 or 3 credits
Completion of business section credits, 9 credits
Completion of additional law credits to total a minimum of 87 credits, 39 or 38 credits
Completion of Writing Requirements I and II, completed as part of course requirement
Completion of residency requirement, completed as part of semester credit requirements

The Capstone Research Integration Course

In order to better address the myriad of experiences and professional objectives of students enrolled in the J.D./M.B.A. program, the Capstone Research Integration Course offers students a variety of options through which to integrate material presented in other components of study. All of these options stress the importance of analytical and research skills; decision making across functional lines; demonstrated thorough understanding of the global environment, markets, technology and operations of an organization or issue within an organization; and effectively communicating and substantiating decisions that have the potential to profoundly affect an enterprise.

The five different options that are available to complete the fifth component of the program are:

Scheduling and Tuition

The following schedule is prescribed by the New York State Court of Appeals requirements relating to fulltime student status in law school. During the second and fourth year, J.D./M.B.A. students register for course work in the School of Law. The number of credits registered for in the Business School during the second, third and fourth year will depend on the student’s undergraduate major and whether any courses have been taken in summer or the January X –Session. These students pay the yearly law school tuition in effect at that time.

Schedule

Year    Credits School of Law    Credits Zarb School of Business
  1              29                            0
  2              26                            6
  3               6                         varies
  4              26                        varies

Total            87*                          41**

* The School of Law will accept nine credits (three courses under advisement) of approved course work from the M.B.A. program toward the J.D. degree. Students may receive academic credit toward the J.D. degree only for Zarb School of Business courses approved by the faculty of the School of Law. The Law School Registrar maintains a list of such approved courses.

**41 credits are required for the program. The Zarb School of Business will accept nine credits under advisement form the J.D. Program toward the M.B.A. degree.

In the third year, or whenever J.D./M.B.A. students are enrolled full time in the School of Business, they pay the prevailing graduate business school tuition and no law school tuition, unless additional law school credits are undertaken, in which case per credit law school tuition applies.

In addition to this schedule, the full-time J.D./M.B.A. student may choose to take the M.B.A. courses during the second and third year of the J.D. program, graduating with the J.D. degree in three years and completing the M.B.A. degree in the fourth year. The part-time J.D./M.B.A. student may choose to take the M.B.A. courses during the third and fourth year of the J.D. program, graduating with the J.D. degree in four years and completing the M.B.A. degree in the fifth year. A student who chooses this scheduling of the J.D./M.B.A. program should consult with the Assistant Dean for Academic Records.

J.D./M.B.A. students seeking additional course work in the Zarb School of Business beyond that described above must pay the prevailing tuition rate. J.D./M.B.A. students are eligible for both School of Law and Zarb School of Business scholarship assistance and financial aid.

In order for School of business credits to be accepted by the Law School, the student must have been accepted to the M.B.A. program by the School of Business, the student must receive a grade of “C” or better, and the course must be one of those specifically approved by the Law School for credit. No grades received in School of Business courses will be counted in the student’s Law School GPA.; if a “C” is earned in an approved course, it will be counted as a “Pass” toward the Law School GPA. Credits earned at the School of Business during Summer Sessions or during the X Session in January will not be applied toward the requirements for the J.D. degree.