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The connection between law and politics has been well established. The
idea that lawyers should be trained in the methods of social science
research goes back at least to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Furthermore, no
less a judge than Benjamin N. Cardozo recognized the importance of social
science to legal development. The dual-degree program enables students to
analyze both legal doctrine and principles and their theoretical and
empirical bases and consequences.
The School of Law at Case Western Reserve University prepares J.D.
students to practice law in the fields of international law and public law,
among others. The M.A. in Political Science program, operated by the
Political Science Department and the School of Graduate Studies, prepares
students to conduct research in the traditional subfields of political
science, which include international relations, comparative politics, public
policy, and public law. The dual-degree program will prepare students to
participate in the fields of international law and public policy-making as
well as give students an opportunity to develop expertise in areas of
substantive interest.
Program Structure The School of Law requires 88 credits of
coursework, including 33 hours of required courses and an upper-class
writing requirement, for the J.D. degree. J.D. students may choose to
concentrate in a particular area of law by taking 15 credit hours of
coursework in that area. In addition, J.D. students are allowed to take up
to 9 credit hours of graduate-level electives outside the law school for
credit toward the law degree. This limit is extended to 12 hours for
students accepted into the dual-degree program with Political Science.
Complete J.D. curriculum requirements are available through the CWRU Law
School.
Students in the Political Science M.A. program must complete 30 hours of
graduate credit, 9 of which may be taken in another CWRU department or
school. M.A. students must take at least 3 credit hours in each of the
following Political Science subfields: American politics, comparative
politics, international relations, and research methods. Upon completion of
Political Science coursework, the M.A. degree requires passing a
comprehensive examination in these subfields. Complete M.A. curriculum and
testing requirements are available through the Department of Political
Science.
The dual-degree program, therefore, allows students to count 12 hours of
graduate-level Political Science courses toward the J.D. and allows 9 hours
of Law School courses to count toward the M.A. Instead of the 118 hours
needed to pursue each degree separately (88 in Law and 30 in Political
Science), the credit-hour requirements for the dual-degree program break
down as follows:
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Total hours in the School of Law |
76 |
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Total hours in the Political Science Department |
21 |
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Total hours in the Dual-Degree Program |
97 |
Political Science courses to be taken toward the J.D. must be approved, in
advance of enrollment, by the Law School’s Associate Dean for Academic
Affairs. Likewise, Law courses to count toward the M.A. in Political Science
must be approved, in advance of enrollment, by the Political Science
Graduate Program Coordinator.
Dual Degree Admission
Students wishing to participate in the dual-degree program must be
admitted separately by each unit. The Political Science Department will
waive the GRE requirement for admission to the M.A. program and instead will
use the LSAT for the admissions process. Once admitted, students will
consult with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Law
and the Political Science Graduate Program Coordinator to determine their
appropriate course of study.
The Law curriculum requires a fairly standard “core” of courses to be
taken in the first year. Therefore, dual-degree students generally will
begin study in the law school and defer matriculation in the M.A. program
until their second year.
Recommended LAWS Courses for Political Science M.A. Students*
International Law
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Comparative Judicial Systems |
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European Union Law |
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International Criminal Law |
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International Environmental Law |
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International Human Rights |
Public Law
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Administrative Law |
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Civil Rights Litigation |
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Constitutional Law II (First Amendment) |
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Current Controversies in Environmental Law |
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Death Penalty Law and Process |
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Federal Courts |
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Federalism Seminar |
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Mass Media Law and Policy |
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Regulation of the Political Process |
*This list is not restrictive. Other LAWS courses may be proposed to the
Political Science Graduate Program Coordinator as acceptable for the M.A. in
Political Science.
Recommended POSC Courses for J.D. Students
A wide variety of POSC courses is available and should be discussed with
the Political Science Graduate Program Coordinator before proposal to the
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the School of Law.
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