The Joint JD/MBA Degree Program is designed for students who contemplate a career in law or public service and wish to acquire the skills and background of a general business manager, and for those students who contemplate a career in business management and wish to acquire the skills and capacities of a lawyer. Joint JD/MBA degree students are offered the challenge of synthesizing the problem-solving techniques of a general manager with those of a lawyer.

The Joint JD/MBA Degree Program requires application to, and acceptance for admission by, both the Stanford Law School (SLS) and the Graduate School of Business (GSB). Typically, JD/MBA students apply to and gain acceptance for admission to both programs within the same year. However, it is possible for current JD (or MBA) students, who previously did not apply for the joint degree option, to apply for and pursue the Joint JD/MBA Degree Program. JD students in the third year and MBA students in the second year may not apply for the Joint JD/MBA Degree Program.

Generally, the first year is spent at the SLS followed by the second year at the GSB. Some JD/MBA students reverse that sequence, spending the first year at the GSB and second year at the SLS. During the final five or six quarters, those students take a combination of courses from the SLS and the GSB. Other JD/MBA students complete two years at the SLS followed by one year at the GSB and, during the final two or three quarters, take a combination of courses from the SLS and the GSB. Program requirements and policies applying to a first-year MBA student also apply to a JD/MBA student during the year when the student begins the Autumn Quarter Core Requirements.

Program Requirements

The Joint JD/MBA Degree Program requires a combined total of at least 164 unduplicated units, enabling completion of the program in eleven to twelve quarters. Students must fulfill the degree requirements for each school and should refer to the academic policies from both the SLS and the GSB for the year in which they begin the required curriculum for each program.

a. Of the 90 units required for the MBA, students must successfully complete 84 unduplicated units of instruction, 80 of which must be at the GSB, which includes successful completion of the Core Requirements and Distribution Requirements. Additionally, at least 70 GSB units for the MBA must be completed for a letter grade (not on a Pass/Fail basis). Rules concerning independent study, grade point average, the Global Experience Requirement, and so forth, will match those set for students in the regular MBA Program, as specified on the Policies and Standards tab on the MyGSB website in the year in which the student begins the Core Requirements. Note that students must complete five quarters of residency, i.e., full-tuition study, at the GSB. Residency at the GSB, as it pertains to the five-quarter graduation requirement, starts accruing when the student begins the Core Requirements.

b. Of the 111 units required for the JD, students must successfully complete 80 unduplicated units of instruction at the SLS. The remaining 31 units may be applied from non-LAW courses for JD/MBA students. Note, however, that, pursuant to ABA standards, the 31 non-LAW units will be reduced by externship, directed research, directed writing, senior thesis, research track, and moot court units taken at SLS.

Coursework Planning

• Students must be enrolled at full-time status in the SLS for the first year of law school and at full-time status in the GSB for the first year of business school. At some point during the joint degree program, students may be required to devote one or more quarters beyond the first year of the MBA curriculum largely or exclusively to studies in the GSB. At all other times, students may choose courses from either program while maintaining a combined quarterly unit load as is required by the GSB or SLS, whichever is higher.
• The Autumn Quarter Core Requirements must be completed in the first quarter of matriculation at the GSB, together with the student’s MBA “social” class. JD/MBA students are not permitted to take additional units in this quarter.
• Students are eligible to complete the Distribution Requirements only after completion of the Autumn Quarter Core Requirements. Distribution Requirements must be completed before the end of the first year at the GSB.
• Students must complete the Joint JD/MBA Degree Program in 11 or 12 consecutive quarters. A different timeline requires approval from the MBA Program and is unlikely to be granted except for students who have received approval for a leave of absence or a childbirth accommodation. Students who do not meet the requirements according to the timeline stated above and do not have approval from the MBA Program for a different timeline, are disqualified and subject to immediate dismissal. See the section on Consequences for Falling Out of Good Academic Standing and Academic Probation.
• Students desiring to complete the program in ten quarters must complete the first year of law school and the first year of business school in years one and two of the joint program. Additionally, students must submit a petition outlining their plans to meet the requirements and reasons for wanting to complete the program early. The petition should be in the form of a letter and submitted via email to the SLS Registrar and to the GSB Associate Director, Strategy & Curricular Support at the GSB. Petitions will be reviewed by the faculty deans from the respective schools to determine if such a shortening is consonant with academic standards and in the best interests of the student. Students who complete two years at the law school before starting at the business school are ineligible to petition for finishing the joint program in ten quarters.
• Leaves of absence are generally granted only for extraordinary circumstances and personal emergencies. However, in the particular case of a JD/MBA student who intends to sit for the bar examination given in February, a leave of absence may be granted during Winter Quarter of the last year of the program. This accommodation is intended for students who will return in Spring Quarter to complete the joint degree program, and all residency requirements apply. Students wishing to petition for a leave of absence in order to sit for the bar examination must inform the SLS Registrar and the Associate Director, Strategy & Curricular Support at the GSB as early as possible and submit a Leave of Absence form by the first day of the final Winter Quarter. Since a leave of absence may affect the tuition level, financial aid status, housing status, and/or visa status, it is important for students to also discuss any contemplated leave with the relevant Financial Aid offices, the Student Housing office, and/or the Bechtel International Center. JD/MBAs taking a leave of absence are not eligible to participate in any co-curricular opportunities or leadership positions for that respective quarter.

Other Course Policies

During the years of exclusive study at the SLS and the GSB, the same unit maximums per quarter apply to JD/MBA students as apply to all other JD or MBA students. After students have completed the years of exclusive study, maximum unit loads per quarter apply. Unit maximums for remaining quarters are calculated on a quarterly basis and based on the balance of coursework between the two schools. Whereas the GSB limits students to no more than 20 units per quarter, the SLS must limit units taken in order to comply with ABA standards. The following table provides detail:

Table 1 – Other Course Policies

If the number of law units taken is:	Total number of units allowed is:
0-2	20
3-4	19
5-14	18
15-17	15-17 (no non-law units allowed)

• Any other course policies set forth on the Policies and Standards tab on the MyGSB website apply.

Course Registration

Once JD/MBA students begin the second degree component, i.e., Law or Business, of the program, they will have two open programs (called “careers” in Axess) under which they may register for courses: the GSB career and the Law career. It is imperative that students pay close attention and register for courses under the correct career.

At the GSB, JD/MBA students will be eligible to participate in the Super Round elective registration process for one year. Contact the SLS Registrar’s Office or GSB Associate Director of Strategy & Curricular Support with any questions related to registration and degree progress.

Tuition and Financial Aid

For the first two years of the Joint JD/MBA Degree Program, students will pay the full tuition rate of the school in which they are enrolled. They will also apply for aid through the relevant school. For the remaining quarters, students will submit a Tuition Agreement for Students with Multiple Programs (TAGM) eForm via Axess in order to pay the combined JD/MBA tuition rate as published that year on the Stanford University Office of the University Registrar’s website. Students may apply for aid at both schools and the aid offer will be coordinated through the SLS Financial Aid Office. Students who complete two years at the SLS before matriculating at the GSB, will pay Law School tuition for the first two years, GSB tuition for the third year, and the combined JD/MBA tuition rate for the fourth year.

Specific Policies for Students Who Begin the Joint JD/MBA Degree Program at the SLS

A student in the Joint JD/MBA Degree Program who has matriculated and begun studies at the SLS but has not yet begun studies at the GSB will be considered an MBA student with a plus (i.e., “MBA+”). Once JD/MBA students begin Autumn Quarter Core Requirements, they will be considered regular MBA students and subject to the applicable policies.

Courses and Registration:

• Fulfillment of the Core and Distribution Requirements will begin upon matriculation at the GSB in the second (or third) year. MBA+ students may not take Core and Distribution Requirements courses (including Advanced Core and Distribution Requirements courses that may be offered as electives) prior to matriculation at the GSB.
• MBA+ students may earn units toward the allowed non-GSB units prior to beginning the Autumn Quarter Core Requirements. For example, students may apply the units earned in the first year at the SLS.
• MBA+ students may register for GSB elective courses in Autumn, Winter or Spring quarters via the Non-GSB Registration Site on a first-come, first- served basis. These courses will count toward no more than 12 of the required GSB units, and not toward fulfillment of the Core and Distribution Requirements. Note that the Law School does not permit first year law students to take any non-LAW classes.
• Enrollment in the non-GSB sections of cross-listed courses will count toward the allowed non-GSB units. Units completed in the non-GSB sections of these courses will not count toward the 80 required GSB units.

Career Resources:

• MBA+ students can utilize one CMC advising appointment per year. All other CMC resources will become available when they matriculate into the MBA program.
• In communicating with potential employers, MBA+ students will be required to identify themselves as joint degree students who have not yet started the first- year MBA curriculum.
• Once JD/MBA students matriculate to the GSB, CMC access will be governed by the same policy that applies to regular MBA students, regardless of previous access, i.e., in the first year at the GSB, timing of access to CMC resources will continue to be restricted from the beginning of Autumn Quarter until the end of the Autumn Quarter AAP.

Programs and Activities:

• MBA+ students will be permitted to join GSB clubs after the Autumn Quarter AAP of their first year as a matriculated student at the SLS.
• Once JD/MBA students matriculate to the GSB, participation in GSB clubs will be governed by the policy that applies to regular MBA students, regardless of previous access.
• JD/MBA students will be eligible for any leadership positions at the GSB only after beginning the Autumn Quarter Core Requirements at the GSB.
• JD/MBA students will be eligible to participate in Global Experiences Programs and fulfill the Global Experience Requirement (GER) after beginning the Autumn Quarter Core Requirements at the GSB.

Students with any questions should contact Jennifer Mason, the GSB Associate Director, Strategy & Curricular Support, or the Director of Academic Success at SLS, Sarah Brim.