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Beginning in 2005, the University of Cincinnati will offer a joint degree program in Political Science and Law that enables students to complete an MA/JD in four years and a PhD/JD in six years. Jointly administered by the College of Arts & Sciences Department of Political Science and the College of Law, students may spend their first year in either program, their second year in the other college, and their subsequent years completing a combination of seminars and writing projects that satisfy requirements in both colleges. In their final law school year, students may also opt for an externship that will earn credit accepted for the political science degree.
Both programs allow all students, whether or not enrolled for joint degrees, to count eight credit hours of cognate elective courses from the other department or college. All law students also have the option of pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Public Opinion and Survey Research offered by the political science department.
Applications for admission to the Law School and the political science department must be filed separately. Law school applicants and first year law students may submit LSAT scores to the Political Science Department in lieu of GRE scores. Each school's decision to admit or not to admit is based solely on that school's selection criteria. Applicants may apply simultaneously to both schools; if admitted to both, a deferment must be requested at one of the two schools. Alternatively, an applicant may apply only to one school, and then apply to the other school at a later date. Students currently enrolled in either the political science or J.D. program may apply to the other program for admission in fall 2005 for a joint degree. Based on ABA guidelines, non-law credits counted toward the JD must be taken after completing the first year of law school. Tuition will be charged at the college rate where the student is enrolled for that year.
Students in the Joint Program are eligible for financial aid from both the Law School and the Political Science Department. However, in both cases, tuition scholarships may be used only for coursework in the unit in which they are awarded. In awarding research assistantships, the Political Science Department normally grants preference to students who will be completing mostly political science courses during the period they will hold the assistantship.
PhD comprehensive examination, MA thesis and dissertation committees will have both law and political science faculty members. Students will have one principal faculty adviser in each college who serve on exam and thesis/dissertation committees. PhD candidates will focus on either American Politics—Elections, Public Opinion and Survey Research Technology, or International Relations—security studies, political economy, international organization and law.
The fourth year of the joint MA/JD program provides College of Law-funded opportunities for students to do externships—to work in at such agencies as the Cincinnati Public Defender, international human rights agencies, and on the Ohio Innocence Project—in order to supplement academic work with practical legal experience. In addition, joint degree students have the option to work with the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights in the College of Law that provides international experience and editing opportunities through its Human Rights Quarterly, with the Rosenthal Institute for Justice and Ohio Innocence Project, and with the Freedom Center Journal. Joint degree students also have the same access as MA/PhD students to the opportunities, financial aid, and resources provided by the Political Science Department including the option of the option of a Graduate Certificate in Public Opinion and Survey Research.
Students in the PhD-track are not required to write an MA thesis, but will earn the MA degree through satisfactory completion of PhD comprehensive exams. Students who do not successfully pass PhD exams, may or may not be awarded an MA based on the level of their exam performance.
The Political Science Department offers a terminal MA-track to students who may only require that credential in their chosen career field, or who have or are seeking other graduate degrees (such as a JD) that they want to supplement with a political science credential. Students seeking an MA may complete the degree either through a written thesis or completion of a publishable journal article length research project, also satisfied by the journal article writing requirement of the law school. Public policy specialists, public opinion survey experts, political campaigners, practicing attorneys and others might all find a terminal MA in political science of value. Some might decide after completing those degree requirements to undertake further work toward a political Science PhD. The joint degree program will be especially valuable to students interested in public-interest law and legal advocacy in international human rights.