Dual Degree in Law and Public Accountancy, M.P.A./J.D.

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Galen Sevcik, MPA Program Director, 404-413-7231, gsevcik@gsu.edu

The College of Law and the J. Mack Robinson College of Business offer a dual degree program leading to the juris doctor (J.D.) and master of public accountancy (M.P.A.) degrees.

The J.D./M.P.A. is a course of study which allows selected previously-approved course work earned in one degree program to satisfy some of the elective course requirements of the other degree program. This enables a student to complete the requirements for both degrees in a shorter time than required to complete both degrees separately. Students who have already earned a J.D. degree or an M.P.A. degree at Georgia State University or another institution are not eligible for the dual program.

The following regulations apply to students accepted to both the J.D. and M.P.A. programs and are enrolled in the dual degree program as opposed to being enrolled in each degree program separately.

7196.10 Admissions

Applicants to the J.D./M.P.A. dual degree program must meet the entrance requirements and follow the application procedures of both the College of Law and Robinson College of Business. Applicants must be accepted by both colleges. Admission into one program does not presume admission to the other. To be in the J.D./M.P.A dual degree program, students must be admitted to both programs before completing either program.

Applicants must take the LSAT to apply to the College of Law.

Students who are accepted to both the J.D. and M.P.A. programs and wish to be enrolled in the dual degree program are responsible for providing written notification of their intentions to each college.

An accepted applicant, who at the time of admission to the M.P.A. program, has not completed the foundation and prerequisite courses must complete these requirements in a manner approved by the faculty adviser and the director of master’s admissions.

Degree Requirements

7196.20 Requirements

Students must satisfy the curriculum requirements for both the J.D. and M.P.A. degrees.

J.D. Degree Requirements

The requirements for the J.D. degree are described in the Georgia State College of Law Bulletin. The College of Law requires all J.D. candidates to complete 90 credit hours of law courses (43 of which are required courses and 47 of which are elective courses). The College of Law will allow 12 credit hours of 8000-level M.P.A. courses in which students earn a grade of B or higher to be credited toward the requirements of the J.D. program.

M.P.A. Degree Requirements

The requirements for the M.P.A. are described in section 7190 of the Robinson College of Business catalog.

For students enrolled in the dual degree program, the Robinson College of Business will accept 24 credit hours of law courses toward the required 24 credit hours of general business coursework. In addition, the J. Mack Robinson College of Business will allow 12 semester hours of law courses to be credited toward the 30 credit hours of 8000 level M.P.A. courses, as follows: nine credit hours of law courses applied toward the nine credit hours of elective M.P.A. courses and a three credit hour tax law course applied toward the required course ACCT 8120 .

Enrollment Sequencing and Time Limits

The College of Law does not permit enrollment in the dual degree program after a student has completed more than 21 semester hours of 8000-level M.P.A. coursework.

After students have been admitted to both the J.D. and M.P.A. programs and have declared intent to be enrolled in the dual degree program, they must, at the first opportunity, complete 30 semester hours of required courses in the J.D. program. After completion of these 30 hours, enrollment in the courses of either college or enrollment in both colleges concurrently is permitted.

The School of Accountancy requires strict adherence to the prerequisites listed for each of its courses (see the Course Descriptions chapter of this catalog). Students enrolled in accounting or taxation courses without having completed the stated prerequisites with minimum grades of C will be required to withdraw from the course. Students should contact the School of Accountancy before registration if there are questions about course prerequisites.

Grading and Scholastic Discipline

Students enrolled the dual degree program must meet the academic regulations of each college, including those related to the minimum GPA and scholastic discipline. The computation of the GPA in each college is based only on courses taken in that college.

Graduation

Prior to graduation, students completing the dual degree program are responsible for confirming with both colleges that the degree requirements for each program have been satisfied. Students must complete the graduate application for each degree.

No credit hours of J.D. course work will be applied toward the M.P.A. degree requirements until the completion of J.D. degree requirements. No M.P.A. credit toward the J.D. degree is awarded until the M.P.A. degree program has been completed. A simultaneous awarding of degrees will satisfy this requirement.

The requirements for the M.P.A. degree must be completed within eight years of the initial semester of enrollment in the M.P.A. program. The J.D. degree must be completed within six years of the initial semester of enrollment in the J.D. program.

The College of Law requires all J.D. candidates to complete 90 credit hours of law courses (43 of which are required courses and 47 of which are elective courses). The College of Law will allow 12 credit hours of 8000-level M.P.A. courses in which students earn a grade of B or higher to be credited toward the requirements of the J.D. program.