Joint Masters in Business Administration and Juris Doctor Degree

Edward S. Ageno School of Business

GGU provides you the opportunity to earn a joint JD/MBA degree. This will allow you to simultaneously pursue a law degree and master's degree in business administration. Students interested in the program should first apply to the School of Law. After successfully completing the first semester of law school, students interested in the joint program can apply to the Ageno School of Business. The LSAT scores will be accepted in lieu of the GMAT and Writing Proficiency Requirement in order to gain admission to the MBA. All the other admission requirements of our traditional MBA program apply. The decision on admission to the MBA program will normally be made after receipt of the second semester law school grades.

The JD/MBA program is built on the curriculum of our traditional MBA program: students complete the same foundation program, and take the same core courses from the advanced program. The difference in this joint program is that JD/MBA students may apply 12 units of their second and third year Golden Gate University School of Law classes toward fulfilling a JD/MBA concentration while attending the School of Law. However, these twelve units will not be formally transferred to the MBA degree until the student has successfully completed the School of Law degree requirements. Additionally, twelve units from the MBA program are used to satisfy the elective requirement of your JD degree. In all, the program allows you to complete both the JD and MBA degrees in as little as 94 units, compared to 118 units if pursued separately. The total number of business units may be higher if you have not already completed the business subjects in the 18 unit MBA foundation program at an accredited undergraduate college or university (with a B- grade or better).

Graduates of the MBA program will be able to:

• Work effectively in teams
• Sell their ideas
• Apply theory to understand real practical situations
• Think "outside the box" and develop novel solutions
• Integrate the functional department issues into a coherent strategic whole
• Analyze and synthesize problems
• Manage the development of their own careers

And will be knowledgeable about:

• Current international and global issues
• Ethical and diversity issues
• Current technology and environmental issues
• Leading change in an organization
• Current management trends

Graduates of the JD program will demonstrate knowledge of:

• Legal rules, principles, and theories in the core substantive areas of law (i.e., criminal law and procedure, constitutional law, tort law, contracts law, civil procedure, property law, wills and trusts, business law, evidence and professional responsibility).

And be proficient in the following:

• Problem solving
• Legal analysis and reasoning
• Legal research
• Factual investigation
• Oral and written communication
• Counseling
• Negotiation
• Litigation and alternative dispute resolution procedures
• Organization and management of legal work
• Recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas

And demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the value of:

• Provision of competent representation
• Justice, fairness, and morality
• Improving the legal profession
• Engaging in professional self-development

If you have already completed your JD degree, you can use 12 units of course credit from your JD degree toward the completion of the MBA degree. Normally a sixteen-course program, the MBA program for our JD alumni can be completed in only twelve courses. Plus, if you have already completed the business subjects in the 18 unit foundation program at an accredited undergraduate college or university (with a B grade or better), you can transfer these courses to satisfy your foundation requirements, and reduce your course requirement to the six advanced program graduate core courses (18 units).