About

Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Philosophy Joint Degree

Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University and McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Duquesne is one of the few universities in the country to offer a Juris Doctor and Master of Arts in Philosophy joint degree. Students in the program gain the benefits of a rigorous study of philosophy and law and create new opportunities to further academic or legal careers.

Candidates may begin in either the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University or McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts.
Candidates apply to each school, and the schools retain independence regarding admissions.
Upon completion of the requisite conditions for graduation, students receive a degree from each school.

Credit Requirements

Students are required to complete credit hours for the J.D./M.A. in Philosophy joint program according to requirements for each degree. Students remain responsible for satisfying additional graduation requirements, as dictated by program guidelines.

A 15-credit limitation, per semester, is placed on all students enrolled in the program, except for students engaging in their first year of legal study. Students are not permitted to take any graduate philosophy courses during the first year (day or evening) of law course work.

For completion of the J.D. degree, students must obtain 88 credit hours, 12 of which can derive from graduate philosophy courses. Based on the uniform allocation of credits for graduate philosophy courses, all classes being worth 3 credit hours, a student may only apply 4 courses towards the J.D. credit requirement. These credits shall be considered non-classroom credits and count toward the Law School's 18-credit cap for such credits. A student who chooses to count the maximum of 12 credits of philosophy graduate work toward the J.D. degree will be able to count only 6 credits of non-classroom J.D. credits toward the J.D. degree.

For completion of the M.A. in Philosophy credit requirements, students must complete 30 credit hours, 24 of which must be derived from courses offered by the Graduate Philosophy Department. Based on courses being worth 3 credits, students are required to take 8 graduate philosophy courses. Concerning the 6 additional credits needed to reach the 30 credit hours requirement for the degree, students may use up to 6 credits obtained by the completion of qualifying courses offered via the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. Due to the fact that courses offered by the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University vary in regards to credit hours, usually 2 and 3, participating students have flexibility concerning the manner in which the 6 credits are obtained.

Applications

Application instructions for the J.D. degree are available on the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University's application process page.

Application instructions for the M.A. in Philosophy are available on the McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts' M.A. application page.

Disciplines

Thomas R. Kline School of Law

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Complete Your Application

All prospective graduate students will be required to submit official transcripts from all colleges attended. Most programs require letters of recommendation and a personal statement. GMAT and LSAT scores are required for the schools of Business and Law, respectively. GRE scores are required for most doctoral programs and some master's programs. Other requirements could include a writing sample, resume, audition or interview.

International Students

If your undergraduate and/or graduate degrees are from an institution located outside of the United States, you must use a transcript credential evaluation service to obtain a course-by-course report. The official reports must be sent directly to Duquesne University from the organization you order through and will qualify as official transcripts. Please review our Transcript Credential Evaluation Instructions.

Application Deadlines

Application deadlines vary by program. Many programs allow students to apply for the fall or spring semester. Some programs also allow for a summer start term.

Credit transfers

Generally, an academic department may accept credits from a regionally-accredited university that correspond to the Duquesne curriculum and in which you have earned at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
The program director of the program or department offering the course establishes the final determination of the acceptance or denial of transfer credits.

English Requirements

IELTSMin 6.5
TOEFLMin 80

Fee Information

How to Apply

Each graduate and professional program manages their own admissions process, but the application for most programs is the Graduate Application.