Joint Doctor of Laws and Master of Public Administration

Advisor: Dr. Robert Peters
Room 220E
Walwood Hall

The joint J.D./M.P.A. degree program provides advanced practitioner-oriented education in legal, administrative, and policy processes that are essential to the effective management of legal practices as well as health care, nonprofit, and public organizations. The combination of skills and theory is also ideal for pre-career and in-career students who aspire to careers in court administration, criminal justice, regulation, drafting legislation, lobbying, senior management, and politics. Law courses are offered at the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. M.P.A. courses are offered on the main campus in Kalamazoo and the University’s regional location in Lansing.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must meet the minimum requirements for each program. The Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School J.D. program and the Western Michigan University M.P.A. program maintain independent admission requirements, processes, and committees. Consequently, admission to one degree program does not guarantee admission to the second program.

Students are urged to consult an advisor before pursuing the joint J.D./M.P.A. degree.

Program Requirements

Joint degree students must fulfill the requirements of both degrees. Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School students may transfer a maximum of six credit hours and waive three credit hours of PADM 6110 (Administrative Law and Governmental Regulation) applied to one of the four M.P.A. concentrations (health care administration, human resources administration, nonprofit leadership and administration, and public management) with an advisor’s approval. The combination of transfers and waiver may reduce the M.P.A. program requirement for in-career students from 39 to 30 credit hours.

M.P.A. students may transfer to the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School J.D. program a maximum of six credit hours of M.P.A. courses and three credit hours of PADM 6000: Historical and Legal Foundation of American Public Administration or other appropriate M.P.A. core course.