Master of Public Administration - Juris Doctor
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

David Pitts, Faculty Advisor

The College of Law and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies offer a joint Master of Public Administration/Juris Doctor degree. This joint program provides an opportunity to pursue studies in law and public affairs and public management concurrently. Students in the joint program use credit hours earned in one program to satisfy some or all of the elective course requirements for the other program, thus earning both degrees one to two terms earlier than would be required to earn each separately.

A joint M.P.A./J.D. enhances the employment opportunities for graduates of both programs by preparing students to meet the growing demands for lawyers with expertise in public management and for public administrators with legal expertise. Many recent law graduates are employed directly by government agencies, and others are employed by private and nonprofit sector organizations concerned with issues of public policy and public administration. Training in public administration is valuable to law graduates who seek this kind of employment. The field of public administration is also changing, with greater emphasis now on administrative law in M.P.A. curricula and greater attention to legal requirements in the training of public managers.

This joint degree is especially valuable to Georgia State University graduates, given the university's location in downtown Atlanta and proximity to numerous federal, state, and local government agencies and to other private and nonprofit organizations with broad public affairs interests. The credibility of the joint degree nationally is evident through the many elite institutions which currently offer comparable programs.

• Note: Applicants must be separately admitted to both the J.D. and M.P.A. programs and must request admission to the joint program. (See the Special Admission Procedures for M.P.A./J.D. and visit the College of Law's Admissions Information page.)
• Read more at the MPA-JD degree requirements page.
• Questions? Visit the MPA-JD Frequently Asked Questions page.

Photo above: The Master of Public Administration/Juris Doctor Academic Acheivement Award is presented annually at Honors Day to a graduate student who has the highest grade point average for the academic year in the joint MPA-JD program.