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Meeting in the Middle: A Review of Joint JD/PhD Programs

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Abstract

In recent years there has been a vigorous debate in the discipline of criminology and criminal justice, concerning the role of faculty members in Criminology and Criminal Justice departments who hold a Juris Doctorate (JD), but lack a PhD. Some argue that faculty members with a JD possess sufficient credentials to be tenure-track faculty members within a department; however, others believe that a tenure-track faculty member within a department should hold a PhD. Two primary arguments in the debate concern the discrepancies in the hour requirements for degree certification, as well as the dissertation requirement for completion of a PhD. Although it seems both sides are entrenched in their respective beliefs, one plausible method of attempting to bridge this gap is to encourage interested students to enroll in joint JD/PhD programs. These programs are designed to overlap degree requirements and allow students to concurrently earn both degrees in a shorter period of time than if both degrees were earned separately. To analyze JD/PhD programs, a survey of the 201 American Bar Association (ABA) accredited law schools with joint degree programs within criminology and criminal justice (as well as other academic disciplines) was conducted. Of specific interest was the process of program integration and combined curriculum requirements.

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Notes

  1. Gabriel (1990) noted that despite Harvard University being the first law school to require their students to have already earned a bachelor’s degree, the law school did not establish the title of JD for the first law degree earned until several years later.

  2. Akers and Hawkins (1975) noted in their text Law and Control in Society “this book is intended primarily for use in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in the sociology of law and related courses such as those on the criminal justice system” (p. xi). Thus, one could argue law and social control would not be a course typically required in a law school curriculum.

  3. The University of California-Irvine Law School was founded in 2009 and was only provisionally accredited by the ABA at the time of this writing.

  4. A full list of joint JD/PhD programs is available as an appendix.

  5. The University of Iowa had this stated policy; although the school still lists “the most popular joint degree objectives” and noted several departments current joint degree students are enrolled in.

  6. Hunter (2008) noted that criminology/criminal justice programs can work with law schools to construct specialized LLM programs as well.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminal Justice, The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive #5127, Hattiesburg, MS, 39406, USA

    O. Hayden Griffin III, Vanessa H. Woodward, Lisa S. Nored & W. Wesley Johnson

Authors
  1. O. Hayden Griffin III
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  2. Vanessa H. Woodward
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  3. Lisa S. Nored
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  4. W. Wesley Johnson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. Hayden Griffin III.

Appendix – List of Joint JD/PhD Programs

Appendix – List of Joint JD/PhD Programs

Schools with joint JD/PhD programs are listed below with the name of the department(s) granting a PhD. For programs that are administered at two different universities, the site of the law school is listed first and the PhD granting university is listed second. Many schools that allow for ad hoc joint programs also have listed departments that have created joint programs for students, therefore, both are listed.

  • University of Alabama

    • Economics

    • Political Science

  • University of Arizona

    • Economics

    • Philosophy

    • Psychology

  • Arizona State University

    • Justice Studies

    • Psychology

  • Boston College

    • Philosophy

  • University of Baltimore

    • Public Policy

  • University of California – Berkeley

    • Jurisprudence and Social Policy

  • University of California – Irvine

    • Ad Hoc

    • Anthropology

    • Biological Sciences

    • Criminology, Law and Society

    • Engineering

    • History

    • Literature

    • Management and Business

    • Performing Arts

    • Physical Sciences

    • Psychology and Social Behavior

  • University of California – Los Angeles

    • Philosophy

  • California Western School of Law

  • (With University of California – San Diego)

    • History

    • Political Science

  • University of Chicago

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Colorado

    • Environmental Studies

  • Columbia University

    • Biological Sciences

    • Economics

    • History

    • Philosophy

    • Political Science

    • Psychology

    • Sociology

  • Cornell University

    • Philosophy

  • Drexel University

    • Clinical Psychology

  • Duke University

    • Philosophy

    • Political Science

  • Emory University

    • Philosophy

  • University of Florida

    • Ad Hoc

    • Anthropology

    • Educational Leadership

    • Forest Resources & Conservation

    • Higher Education Administration

    • History

    • Mass Communication

    • Political Science

    • Psychology

  • Georgetown University

    • Government

    • Philosophy

  • Golden Gate University

  • (With Palo Alto University)

    • Clinical Psychology

  • Harvard University

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Hawai’i

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Houston

  • (With University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston)

    • Medical Humanities

  • University of Idaho

    • Water Resources

  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    • Philosophy

  • Indiana University – Bloomington

    • Law and Democracy

    • Philosophy

  • University of Iowa

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Maryland Baltimore County

    • Public Policy

  • University of Michigan

    • Ad Hoc

    • Economics

  • University of Minnesota

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Missouri – Columbia

    • Journalism

  • University of Nebraska – Lincoln

    • Educational Administration

    • Psychology

  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    • Educational Psychology

    • Higher Education Leadership

    • Special Education

  • University of New Mexico

    • Ad Hoc

  • New York University

    • Law and Society

  • Northeastern University

    • Law, Policy & Society

  • Northwestern University

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Notre Dame

    • Ad Hoc

  • NOVA Southeastern University

    • Conflict Analysis and Resolution

  • The Ohio State University

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Pennsylvania

    • American Legal History

    • Philosophy

  • Pennsylvania State University

    • Educational Theory and Policy

    • Educational Leadership

    • Forest Resources

    • Higher Education

    • Wildlife and Fisheries Science

  • Rutgers – Camden

    • Ad Hoc

  • Rutgers – Newark

    • Ad Hoc

  • Saint Louis University

    • Health Care Ethics

  • University of Southern California

    • Economics

  • Southern Illinois University

    • Political Science

  • Stanford University

    • Ad Hoc

    • Bioengineering

    • Economics

    • Environment and Resources

    • History

    • Management Science and Engineering

    • Philosophy

    • Political Science

    • Psychology

    • Sociology

  • State University of New York – Buffalo

    • Ad Hoc

  • Syracuse University

    • Economics

    • Library Information Science

    • History

    • Information Management

    • Public Diplomacy

    • Philosophy

    • Political Science

    • Social Work

  • Temple University

    • Ad Hoc

  • University of Texas at Austin

    • Government

    • Philosophy

  • Vanderbilt University

    • Ad Hoc

    • Economics

  • University of Wisconsin

    • Ad Hoc

    • Environmental Studies

    • Philosophy

    • Political Science

  • Yale University

    • Ad Hoc

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Griffin, O.H., Woodward, V.H., Nored, L.S. et al. Meeting in the Middle: A Review of Joint JD/PhD Programs. Am J Crim Just 38, 289–305 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-012-9174-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-012-9174-2

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