Urban Planning/Law Joint Degree

This program leads to the Master of Urban Planning and the J.D. degree of the School of Law. A total of 115 credit hours is required, comprising 39 hours in urban planning and 76 hours in law. Applicants must meet admission requirements of both the School of Law and the Graduate Program in Urban Planning. The former includes the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). A student in this program must take all 21 credit hours of required Urban Planning courses plus nine hours in an area of concentration plus six hours of Urban Planning electives. Nine hours of Law courses may be cross-counted towards the 48 hours needed for the M.U.P. degree. The student must take 76 hours of Law courses; 14 hours of Urban Planning courses may be cross-counted towards the 90 hours needed for the J.D. degree. The program can be completed in four years. See also Law.

JOINT DEGREE WITH LAW LEADING TO THE
JURIS DOCTORATE and MASTER OF URBAN PLANNING

The joint degree program in law and urban planning is designed for students intending to practice law who might become concerned with the problems of housing, land use, transportation, urban design, or urban and regional development. The course of study provides a method to develop professionals capable of dealing with both the legal and planning aspects of urban problems. Graduates with these two degrees will be able to apply their skills in both the public and private sectors.

The program combines into four years the normal three-year J.D. program offered by the School of Law and the two-year M.U.P. program offered by the Graduate Program in Urban Planning in the School of Architecture and Urban Design. Students in the program must complete seventy-six credit hours in law and thirty-nine credit hours in urban planning. Near the end of the course of study each candidate must successfully pass a written comprehensive examination administered by the Graduate Program in Urban Planning or write a thesis approved by the Student's Thesis Committee in Urban Planning.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The joint J.D./M.U.P. program is open to those who have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and whose undergraduate record indicates that the applicant has the capacity to complete the law and urban planning programs. Applicants for the J.D./M.U.P. program must meet the admission requirements of the School of Law, the Graduate Program in Urban Planning and the Graduate School. Applicants must apply and be admitted to each school separately prior to entrance into the first year of the program. The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are required. A student who decides to enter the program while enrolled in the first year of the J.D. or M.U.P curriculum must consult and obtain approval from the School of Law and Graduate Program in Urban Planning as soon as possible. No student may enter the joint degree program after completing more than three full semesters in the Law School or in the Graduate Program in Urban Planning.

TYPICAL ENROLLMENT PATTERN

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Law Courses Required of All Students

First Year Courses:

Upper Class Courses:

Required Elective Courses for all Joint Degree Candidates:

Additional Elective Courses for all Joint Degree Candidates.

At least 5 credits from the following list:

+ only if advisor in the Planning Program approves for an elective assuming that the course contains planning related subject.

Urban Planning Courses Required of all Students

Core Curriculum:

Major:

At least 12 credits in one of the following specialty areas: Housing and Development Planning, Land Use and Environmental Planning, Transportation Planning, or Urban Design. One course in the area of concentration must be an implementation seminar. No minor is required.

Electives:

At least 6 credits from Urban Planning courses.

Summary of Degree Requirements

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information, please review the material in regard to the regular programs contained in the Bulletin of the School of Law and in the Prospectus of the Graduate Program in Urban Planning or contact the Associate Dean, School of Law, Green Hall, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, (785) 864-4550 or the Chairperson of the Graduate Program in Urban Planning, 317 Marvin Hall, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66045, (785) 864-4184.
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a Required Second Year Course: Professional Responsibility
b This list is subject to change by agreement of the two programs.
c May be selected from the list of Additional Electives.

The University of Kansas Graduate School Catalog states specifically that all course work counted toward a master's degree requires a B average for the award of the degree. The School of Law Catalog states specifically that all candidates for the J.D. degree must attain a grade point average of 2.0 in all course work taken to fulfill degree requirements. All joint degree aspirants must fulfill the writing requirements of the School of Law. Please see the current School of Law catalog.