Dual JD/MA in History
Boston University offers qualified students the opportunity to combine the study of law with coursework in history. The dual degree program facilitates inquiry at the two fields’ intersection in legal history. Successful candidates receive both the Juris Doctor (JD) degree and a Master of Arts (MA) degree.
The dual degree program ordinarily can be completed in six semesters, rather than the eight semesters required to obtain each degree independently because some courses can be credited toward both degrees.
Academic Requirements
To earn the MA, students must complete eight graduate courses (normally 32 credits) in history. To earn the JD, students must earn at least 84 School of Law (LAW) credits, and must comply with additional school requirements. The dual degree program allows students to receive joint credit for some courses taken at BU Law and in the Department of History, subject to the limitations described below.
The Department of History requires that dual degree students complete at least four graduate-level courses in history, the same four courses that are required for every MA candidate: 1) HI 800 European Historiography; 2) HI 850 American Historiography; 3) HI 870 African Historiography; and 4) HI 801 The Historian’s Craft.
The above four history courses also may be applied to the JD, up to a maximum of 12 credits total. Students apply these history courses to the JD during their second and third years of law school (typically one course per semester).
(NOTE: The School of Law must adhere to American Bar Association accreditation requirements, which typically means that a 4-credit course offered by the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences [GRS] will yield 3 LAW credits. Please check with the Law Registrar’s Office to determine how many LAW credits may be granted for a GRS course.)
Students also must take at least two School of Law courses in legal history during their second and/or third years of law school from a list approved annually by legal history faculty at the School of Law.
To complete the eight courses required for the MA in History, students must take two additional courses chosen with the advisor’s approval from graduate courses in history, LAW courses in legal history (drawn from the approved course list), or other graduate courses approved by the student’s advisor. If the two additional courses are approved LAW courses, the student receives credit for those courses both at GRS and at the School of Law.
Major Research Paper Requirement
The core requirement of the joint JD/MA in History program is the major research paper. Students must write a research paper that is a work of original scholarship and research and that substantially engages both legal and historical subjects, methods, texts, and/or analysis. This paper must: 1) satisfy the School of Law’s Upperclass Writing Requirement; 2) be jointly supervised by a faculty member in the School of Law and one in the Department of History; and 3) be approved, in its final form, by a faculty member in the School of Law and one in the Department of History. (The research paper supervisor may also approve the paper on behalf of his or her school or department.)
The research paper project begins with a detailed proposal for study, submitted to a member of the Joint Advisory Board. Students are strongly encouraged to submit proposals before the final year of law study, or, at the latest, by the beginning of that year. No proposal may be submitted after the end of the second week of the student’s final semester. Ordinarily, the joint major research paper will be a minimum of 30 pages (excluding notes).
A student who writes the research paper in the context of a course or directed study in the Department of History may not also receive law school course credit for the paper. Similarly, a student who submits the paper in partial or full satisfaction of a law school course or independent study may not also receive GRS course credit for the paper.
Admissions
Students must apply and be admitted separately to the School of Law and to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. For School of Law application procedures, please consult the BU Law Admissions website. For GRS application procedures, please consult the GRS Department of History website.
GRS Application Requirements
To be admitted to the joint degree MA in History program, students should have a substantial background in history (e.g., undergraduate major or minor). Students also must submit a scholarly writing sample as part of their MA application.
Students follow the usual procedures for applying to the MA in History, including submitting official transcripts, with the following special provisions:
- Students ordinarily apply to GRS before or during their first year of law school to begin the MA program in their second year of law school. Students may apply to the two programs simultaneously or sequentially. A JD student must apply to GRS no later than his or her third semester in law school.
- If a student applies simultaneously to LAW and to GRS for consideration for the dual degree program, he or she should indicate this on the School of Law and GRS applications. The student may use the same personal statement and recommendations for both applications, provided that the recommendations and statement address the student’s interest in the JD/MA in History program.
- If a student applies to the MA in History after beginning law school, he/she must write a new personal statement and submit at least one new letter of recommendation, both of which should address the student’s scholarly skills and achievement in history, and interest in the JD/MA program. (The student also should submit his/her other law recommendations.)
- Students must submit either their LSAT score or a score on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE).
Tuition
Students pay a single tuition, applicable to both programs.
