The Ohio State University

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The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, which imposes hefty corporate governance and disclosure burdens on publicly traded companies, their executives and their professional advisors, has intensified the need for graduates with training in both business management and law.

Students enrolled in the JD/MBA program can earn both degrees in four academic years plus one summer session. If earned independently, these degrees would require five years of study.

Admission
Applicants to the J.D./MBA Program must complete the application requirements of both Fisher College of Business and Moritz College of Law separately, applying independently to each school. Students may apply, be admitted to and begin one of the programs independently and then apply to the second program during their first year.

This rigorous program seeks applicants who are outstanding with respect to the admissions criteria of both the business school and the law school. In addition to meeting general admission requirements and competing with the overall applicant pool, emphasis is placed on the applicant's reason for wanting the joint degree relating to his or her goals and interests.

Both colleges operate on a rolling admission basis, have small starting classes-- approximately 225 (law school) and 150 (business school)-- and start in the fall of each calendar year. First admissions decisions are usually made in the December or January preceding the August of desired enrollment. Applications are recommended to be filed between September 1st and March 15th.

J.D. Admissions - at a glance requirements:

  • A completed application form
  • Updated resume with extracurricular activities and prior work experience (if any)
  • Caliber of the undergraduate institution attended
  • Undergraduate grades (overall and trends)
  • Law School Admissions Test score(LSAT)
  • Two letters of recommendation from faculty members who have had the you in class
  • Admission essays
  • English language proficiency test (TOEFL)

MBA Admissions - at a glance requirements:

  • A completed application form
  • Application fee
  • Updated resume with extracurricular activities
  • Official university transcripts
  • Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Admission essays
  • English language proficiency (TOEFL)

To be admitted to the combined degree program, students must further develop and gain approval of a curricular plan which need to be submitted on an already designed form sheet.

Curriculum
Students admitted to the dual degree program may pursue the J.D./MBA according to this schedule:

  College of Law MBA Program
First Year 100% -
Second Year - 100%
Third Year 50% 50%
Fourth Year 50% 50%

Alternatively, the first year could be spent in the College of Business and the second year in the College of Law.

To complete a J.D. degree, you need to take 88 credit hours (semesters). For the MBA degree, you are expected to earn 98 credit hours (quarters). In a joint degree scenario, you will be able to leverage part of your law electives (12 semester credit hours or 18 quarter credit hours) toward your MBA degree.

In addition, a second - or third - year course relevant to business law can be substituted for the MBA core course, Legal and Regulatory Environment. Thus, a student participating in the J.D./MBA program can potentially receive credit for 22 quarter credit hours of work accomplished as part of the college of law requirements. You may wish to review a list of law courses typically acceptable to the MBA Program.

Likewise, 12 semester credit hours or 18 quarter credit hours of MBA courses, with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the College of Law, will be accepted toward the J.D. degree. The College of Law will accept any MBA-level course towards fulfillment of the J.D./MBA degree.

Career Placement
The placement facilities of both the College of Business and the College of Law are available to our J.D./MBA graduates. In addition to the more than 300 companies that recruit from the business school placement office more than 100 law firms, corporations, government agencies, and other potential employers will use the law school placement office facilities during the same period.; ;

Companies that have hired our joint degree graduates in the past include:
Deloitte Consulting
Ernst & Young
Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue
Kellogg’s
Kirkland & Ellis Ltd.
Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP
United States Court of Appeal

Contact Information
To learn more and to apply to the J.D. program contact:
The Ohio State University
Moritz College of Law
Office of Admissions
Drinko Hall
55 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210, USA
+1 (614).292.8810
lawadmit@osu.edu
www.moritzlaw.osu.edu

To learn more and to apply to the MBA program contact:
The Ohio State University
Fisher College of Business
MBA Admissions
100 Gerlach Hall
2108 Neil Avenue Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210, USA
+1 (614).292.8511
mba@fisher.osu.edu
www.fisher.osu.edu/ftmba 

 

Our students have the opportunity to sign up for Washington campus, a week-long course in Washington, DC, which teaches the "ins and outs" of the U.S. government and its law and policy making. [more]

"Being both an MBA as well as a law school student has given me tremendous insights - plus I also see that ethical and fiscal dilemmas companies battle with nowadays do carry a legal aspect to them and need trained specialists who can tackle a problem both from a business as well as legal perspective. The fact that I could get both degrees in four years instead of five was another reason to make this investment into my future."