Oct 31, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

Public Policy/Juris Doctor, M.P.P./J.D


Return to: 2130 Department of Public Management and Policy  

The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and the College of Law offer dual Master of Public Policy and Juris Doctor degrees. This dual degree program provides an opportunity to pursue studies in law and public policy concurrently. Students in the dual degree program use credit hours earned in one program to satisfy some or all of the elective course requirements for the other program, thus earning both degrees one to two terms earlier than would be required to earn each separately.

Graduates with both M.P.P. and J.D. degrees have enhanced employment opportunities. The dual degree program prepares students to meet the growing demands for lawyers with expertise in public policy, policy analysis, and legal analytics. Graduates with dual M.P.P. and J.D. degrees may be employed directly by government agencies. Others may be employed by private and nonprofit sector organizations concerned with issues of public policy and policy analysis, including consulting firms and community development nonprofit organizations. Training in public policy and policy analysis is valuable to law graduates who seek this kind of employment. Decision-makers often lack the knowledge and skills needed to interpret the full social, political, economic, and technical dimensions of the policy issues they face. In response, state and local governments, businesses, and federal agencies have turned to trained lawyers with public policy and policy analysis skills in assessing policy options and in evaluating public programs.  The same is true for nonprofit agencies, such as hospitals, schools, and regional planning organizations.

These dual degrees are especially valuable to Georgia State University graduates, given the university’s location in downtown Atlanta and proximity to numerous federal, state, and local government agencies and other private and nonprofit organizations with broad public policy and policy analysis interests. The credibility of these dual degrees nationally is evident through the many elite institutions that currently offer comparable programs.

Applicants must be separately admitted to both the J.D. and M.P.P. programs and must request admission to the dual degree program. Students may not have completed either the J.D. or the M.P.P. prior to applying to the dual degree program. Typically, students complete the first year of law courses and begin M.P.P. courses as electives in the second year of law courses and/or summer sessions. The College of Law accepts up to 14 semester hours of approved 8000-level M.P.P. coursework with grades of “B” or better towards the Juris Doctor degree. Students who start in the M.P.P. program and gain admission to the Juris Doctor degree program typically complete the first year of law courses before continuing coursework in the M.P.P. degree. The M.P.P. accepts up to 15 semester hours of approved law coursework with grades of “C” or better.

For information about applying to the dual M.P.P. /J.D. program, see section 2020.40 Application Procedures within this graduate catalog. To apply to the College of Law, go to law.gsu.edu/admissions/.

Degree Requirements


The M.P.P./J.D. program will allow students to use credit hours earned in one program to satisfy some of the elective course requirements of the other program.

The College of Law requires all J.D. candidates to earn 90 credit hours, 43 of which are satisfied by completing required classes and 47 of which are filled by taking elective courses.

The M.P.P. curriculum for M.P.P /J.D. students consists of 18 hours of required core courses, 3 credit hours of analytical or financial methods electives, 3 credit hours via Internship or Capstone, and 15 credit hours of electives. Courses are three credit hours unless otherwise indicated.

Internship or Capstone (3 Credit Hours)


Students satisfy this 3 credit hour requirement via PMAP 8941 PMAP 8941 - Internship  or PMAP 8900 - Capstone: Advanced Projects for Public and Nonprofit Organizations .  This requirement is designed to provide the student with an opportunity to apply concepts and skills associated with their M.P.P. /J.D. curriculum. Students can fulfill this requirement through internships in legal affairs and administrative law offices, law firms, public agencies, or other approved settings. Students who choose the internship should discuss their plans in advance with a M.P.P. /J.D. faculty coordinator and the M.P.P. faculty internship coordinator.

Concentration Requirements (15 Credit Hours)


Students satisfy this 15 credit hour requirement with credit hours earned towards the Juris Doctor degree.