Master’s of Public Administration Dual Degree
SULC also offers its student the option to obtain a dual degree with the Southern University A&M Nelson Mandela College of Government and Social Sciences. The J.D./M.P.A. dual degree requires 120 hours of academic credit and can be completed in four years. A minimum of 84 credit hours of law coursework and 36 hours of public administration coursework are required for graduation. The J.D./M.P.A. provides students with the knowledge, skills, and background necessary to function in law and the public policy areas. Graduates with J.D. and M.P.A. degrees can expect to be sought out as advisers to public policy makers and government agencies that develop and administer local, state, and federal policies.
Before any SULC students can begin the process of applying to the Nelson Mandela College of Government and Social Sciences, each interested J.D. student will need to have completed all foundation courses listed below before entering the M.P.A. program:
Advanced Writing Curriculum
Foundations of Economic or Finance
SULC students interested in obtaining a dual degree in the M.P.A. program may submit a letter of interest and a separate application to the SU Graduate School in the spring semester of their first year of legal education, but no later than the final date to apply for graduate admission for the next academic term. However, all graduate admission decisions are made independently and will be announced by the graduate school within 60 days from the date the application for admission is filed.
Students who are admitted into the J.D./M.P.A. curriculum may begin taking graduate-level courses in the summer semester before their second year of law school. Graduate admission test requirements may be provisionally waived by the Graduate Admissions Department depending on either the student’s LSAT score or their grade point average following their first semester of legal studies. SULC will monitor the graduate-level courses that our students are enrolled in during each semester of the J.D. student’s matriculation.
SULC has designed the J.D./M.P.A. curriculum so that each enrolled law student can successfully complete the requirements of both the J.D. and M.P.A. graduate programs within 4 ½ or 5 years depending on whether the J.D. student is registered with SULC as either a full-time or part-time student. The matriculation period for obtaining the dual degree may also be extended if the J.D. student is later enrolled in any one of SULC’s intervention courses while in law school.
SULC has implemented the following course schedule listed below for both its full-time and part-time law students who enter the Dual Degree curriculum for the Master of Public Administration degree.
More information on this process can be found in the Southern University-Baton Rouge Catalog, or you may contact the SU Graduate School at (225) 771-5390, or the Dean of the Mandela College of Government & Social Sciences at (225) 771-3092.