JD/PhD

This joint degree program offers students the opportunity to pursue academic, public policy, and private practice careers at the intersection of a variety of cutting edge debates in theory and policy, including: legal and normative First Amendment theories of speech and press; media and communications economy and policy issues; questions of the relationship between citizens and the state, especially regarding mass surveillance and big data; and cultural and normative questions about the implications of the shift to the digital realm. These and other questions are best informed by a blended education that draws on the methodological and substantive traditions of communication, coupled with the doctrinal foundation, legal writing skills, and policy plus clinical training uniquely available through a legal educations. This program embodies the belief that many of the most pressing questions in both communication law and policy can be best answered by the scholars who are able to draw on both traditions, and who would be situated to publish top scholarship, weigh in on policy debates, and potentially represent clients whose legal claims could benefit from the scholars’ expertise.

Course Requirements

Broad pieces of each curriculum are relevant to the other field. The Law School shall approve courses from the Communication program that may count toward the JD degree, and the Communication program shall approve courses from the Law School that may count toward the Ph.D. degree in Communication. In either case, approval may consist of a list applicable to all joint degree students or may be tailored to each individual student’s program.