Joint MA/JD in Economics requirements

The joint master of arts and juris doctor program requires completion of 32 credits. The specific requirements of the program are:

• Economics 6000
• Any one of Economics 6100, 6120, or 7100 to meet a requirement of proficiency in statistics
• Two 7000-level Economics courses in one field (i.e., two consecutive graduate economics courses in any of the following: Health Economics, Industrial Organization, International Economics, Labor Economics)
• Either Economics 5250 (Economic Analysis of Law) or the Law and Economics Seminar (Lex 8246)

The foregoing requirements provide a total of 19 or 20 credits. The remaining 12 or 13 credits, required to reach the total of 32, may be completed either from (a) economics courses: those at the 5000-level or above (excluding 5000, 5050 and 5100), including Economics 5250; or from (b) law school courses: the Law and Economics Seminar (Lex 8246), if not taken previously, the Antitrust course (Lex 7026) or Seminar (Lex 8001), or International Law (Lex 7408).

The maximum number of law school credits allowed toward the degree would be 12.

There is an examination requirement: The student must pass the microeconomics M.A. exam and one economics field exam passed at the M.A. level.

Credits

A student will not obtain credit toward the MA/JD. for any economics course in which he or she receives less than a B; there is no credit for a B-. It should also be noted that a maximum of 12 credits in the Law School is allowed as credit toward the joint degree.

In order to enter the program, an applicant must have completed the courses required for the first year of law school at WSU (and to be awarded the degree must subsequently complete law school).

Tuition

With respect to tuition, each student is charged for each course at the rate generally applicable to the program for the school in which the course is offered, i.e., law school courses at the default law school rate, economics courses at the normal rate for graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts.

There are two coordinators for the J.D./M.A. program, one in the Law School (the assistant dean of students) and the other in the economics department. The functions of each coordinator are to explain the program to prospective students, and advise students in the program about the choice of courses.