Northeastern University
Law, Policy & Society

Graduate Degrees



PHD PROGRAM

Students complete their own plans of study, working with a faculty member. All students take the core courses (those with a J.D. waive law courses), two law courses, and four courses in their area of concentration. Students with a J.D. or master’s are required to take a minimum of 30 credits; students with a bachelor’s degree are required to take a minimum of 40 credits.

Once students have completed coursework they will take the comprehensive exams.

Upon passing the comps students will take two semesters of the LPS Research Workshop. (You can find the complete descriptions of the necessary steps in the document "Six Steps to the PhD in LPS" on the Scholarships/Guidelines/Forms page of this website.)

Ph.D Core Courses


View syllabi for the core courses, available as PDFs:





JD/MS DUAL DEGREE

This interdisciplinary graduate program is designed for students who want a solid background in public policy as well as law. The Law, Policy and Society program is based in Northeastern University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and has affiliated faculty from departments throughout the university. Faculty specialize in several policy areas, including health, education, urban policy, social welfare, and environmental policy.

HOW IT WORKS

Students first complete the law degree, taking the specific courses indicated. Upon recommendation of the faculty, the degree of Juris Doctor (JD) is conferred on students who successfully complete the three-year program consisting of 103 quarter hours of academic credit, four quarters of cooperative work under the supervision of an attorney, and fulfillment of the public interest graduation requirement. Students then take one year of courses in LPS, ending with a capstone course that integrates the law and public policy. Upon completion of the required and elective courses, students are granted a master of science in Law, Policy, and Society.

PREREQUISITES

Students must have had a minimum 3.0 GPA in their undergraduate degree and be accepted in the NU School of Law. Applicants with no undergraduate course work in economics may be admitted to the program, but will be required to make up deficiencies before taking the core economics course. The GRE or LSAT is required.

HOW TO APPLY

Students interested in applying to the dual JD/MS apply separately to both programs. LPS will accept letters of recommendation, transcripts, and standardized test scores from the law school application. Applicants should complete the law school application and note on it that they are applying to LPS and submit the LPS application form to LPS, noting that they are applying to the School of Law. Applicants must be accepted to both the Law School and CAS.

THE FOLLOWING COURSES ARE TAKEN IN THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES (3 semester hours each)

MS Core Courses

ECN 268
Economics of Law and Regulation

POL 204
Policy Seminar

LPS 305
Research Methods

Advanced Methods Elective (Students choose based on research interests)/p>

CAS elective in policy focus area (Requirement)

CAS elective in policy focus area (Requirement)

LPS 312
Capstone in Law and Policy

THE FOLLOWING COURSES ARE TAKEN IN THE LAW SCHOOL AND DOUBLE COUNTS TOWARD BOTH DEGREES (3 quarter hours each)

MLW G482/LAW 2482
Introduction to Law, Policy and Society (LPS)

LPS311/LAW
Strategizing Public Policy: An Interbranch Perspective

LPS 496/LAW
Appellate Advocacy

LAW ELECTIVE IN FOCUS AREA

Total 12 QH/21SH



MASTER'S DEGREE

The MS program offers students the opportunity to learn about applied social science,examining the nature of the American legal and policymaking systems, orcomparing American systems with those in other countries.

Students may attend either part-time or full-time; master�s candidates follow similar course requirements as PhD candidates and also take the comprehensive examination.

Master's candidates are required to successfully complete 32 semester hours of graduate coursework. One elective must be taken in the Law School. Credits cannot be double counted toward a law degree.

Core Courses

View syllabi for the core courses, available as PDFs:

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