The goal of the law (JD) and social work (MSW) dual degree program will be to prepare students with combined skills in these fields for practice in areas where law and social work converge. The dual degree program is appropriate for law students who anticipate careers in the social services or social policy. Some areas where dual degree knowledge and skills are particularly useful include child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, social welfare policy, non-profit agency administration, family mediation and legal aid to the poor.

A full-time student can expect to complete the requirements for both degrees in four years (with part-time course work during 2 summers), rather than five years if taken separately. Twelve semester hours of required law school courses will be accepted by the School of Social Work as 15 quarter hours of graduate-level electives. Eighteen quarter hours of required graduate-level social work courses will be accepted as twelve semester hours of electives by the College of Law.

The program is unique in that both faculties have agreed to work jointly on a summer directed studies project with students and will be exploring social work practicum sites where students may also receive sufficient legal experiences to become legal or judicial interns. These efforts should result in a more integrated educational experience than available at most programs of this type. Applications and acceptances will be separate for each school; admission to one program does not necessarily mean admission to the other will be granted.