Purpose/Justification
The University of Houston Law Center and the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work offer a concurrent degree program that prepares students for professional practice in arenas where law and social work intersect and complement each other. Examples include public services, health and mental health care systems, services to children and families, and 2 the political arena. This program enables students to finish both degrees in a shorter time than if they were pursued separately.
Required Semester Credit Hours
The joint JD/MSW program will require a total of 114 semester credit hours, which can be completed in four years as a full-time student. Advanced standing students are required to complete 103 SCH for the revised dual program. The degree for AS students can be completed in three years.
Upon completion of all requirements for each degree, 12 credit hours from the law curriculum will be applied to the MSW for full program students. Six (6) credit hours from the law curriculum will be applied to the MSW for Advanced Standing students. Up to 15 semester credit hours from the MSW program will be applied to the JD for all students enrolled in the MSW/JD dual degree program.
Admission Requirements
All persons must be admitted separately to each of the degree programs and admission to one has no official bearing on admission to the other. Students must be admitted to both programs within a year. Once admitted to both programs, students must petition the JD/MSW coordinator or dean of student affairs (whichever is appropriate in the respective colleges) for admission to the joint program.
Academic Requirements
The MSW program in the Graduate College of Social Work requires that students complete 51 semester credit hours (SCH) of masters level courses. MSW students must complete a 15 SCH foundation curriculum and then enter one of two concentrations - (1) Clinical Practice or (2) Macro Practice. Students admitted to the concurrent MSW/JD degree track may select either MSW concentration.
The JD program requires a minimum of 90 SCHs for graduation. Curricular areas in the JD program with particular relevance to the MSW degree include Family Law, Health Law, Law and Society, Employment and Labor Law, and Constitutional and Criminal Law. Focus areas within the MSW program relevant to the JD program include the Macro concentration and the Political Social Work focused learning opportunity (FLO). However, students are not limited to these areas. Students may take any of the course offerings at the GCSW and receive credit toward their law degree.
For the dual degree program twelve (12) hours from the JD are applied toward 4 elective courses in the MSW Program; fifteen (15) hours from MSW are applied toward elective courses for the JD program. For the Advanced Standing dual degree program, six (6) hours from MBA are applied toward 2 elective courses in the MSW Program; fifteen (15) hours from MSW are applied toward elective courses for the JD program.
Although up to 15 hours taken in the Graduate College of Social Work may be counted toward the student’s JD degree, grades earned in those courses will not be considered in computing the overall grade point average, class rank, or eligibility for honors in the Law Center. The effect shall be as if the courses were taken on a pass/fail basis. Likewise, grades earned in law courses, when applied toward the MSW, will not be used in calculating the student’s GCSW cumulative grade point average, and the effect will be as if the courses were taken on a pass/fail basis.
Curriculum Model
The first year of the program must be in one college or the other. It is the student’s choice as to the college (i.e., Graduate College of Social Work or the Law Center) where they begin the joint program. Years 1 and 2 may be reversed depending on the student’s choice of program to begin first. However, there may be more benefit for the student to start with the Law Center, if able. Should the student not complete the requirements for the JD degree, the Graduate College of Social Work will accept a maximum of 6 semester hours from the law curriculum for MSW elective credit. Likewise, should the student not complete the requirements for the M.S.W. degree, the Law Center will accept a maximum of 6 semester hours from the social work curriculum.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate with the concurrent degree, students must meet all academic, curricular and graduation requirements of both colleges. Until all requirements have been met, no course credit from either college will be applied toward the degree in the other college. Students must file for graduation and pay all applicable filing fees to the University of Houston. When filing for graduation, students must state on their application that they are filing for both degrees in the same semester. Graduates from the MSW/JD program will receive two diplomas.