Optional Concentrations

Concentration in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution

The faculty of the College of Law has approved an optional concentration in Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. Building on the College's long-standing clinical programs, strong basic curriculum in trial and appellate advocacy, and successful moot court programs, this course of study allows interested students to focus their second- and third-year experience toward preparation for a career in advocacy and dispute resolution. Skills emphasized include litigation, or trial skills, and also the skills required for effective negotiation, mediation, and other techniques for resolving disputes without trials. Central to the development of this curriculum is the extensive use of advanced teaching technology that will be available in the new College of Law building, ranging from conventional and interactive video to computer-assisted instruction.


Concentration in Business Transactions

Much of the future growth in legal jobs, both in Tennessee and across the nation, appears likely to occur in the representation of small and intermediate-sized businesses. The Business Transactions curriculum allows second- and third-year students to concentrate their studies on the legal aspects of the conduct of public, private and non-profit enterprises, emphasizing the needs of business concerns both large and small in scope. Following this course of study helps students develop competence in the kinds of transactional matters lawyers handle daily, such as working with clients in planning and carrying out business, drafting and negotiating documents, and counseling clients about compliance with laws and regulations.


Dual J.D.-MBA Degree

The College of Business Administration and the College of Law offer a coordinated dual program leading to the conferral of both the Doctor of Jurisprudence and the Master of Business Administration. The dual program saves the student approximately 15 hours (one semester) over the time that would be required to earn both degrees independently.

The establishment of the dual program recognizes the increasingly complex body of knowledge necessary to the creative conduct of business and business-related law practice, the complementary nature of many aspects of the graduate programs of the College of Law and the College of Business Administration, and the intellectual benefits inherent in the concurrent study of both business and business-related law. The program is designed to accommodate the interests of students who (a) contemplate a career in public service and want to acquire the skills and perspective of the lawyer and the business-oriented manager, (b) contemplate a career in business management and want to acquire the skills and perspective of a lawyer, or (c) contemplate a career as a lawyer specializing in business-related law and want to acquire the skills and perspective of the business-oriented manager.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the J.D.-MBA program must submit separate application to, and be competitively and independently accepted by, the College of Law for the J.D., The Graduate School and College of Business Administration for the MBA degree, and by the Dual Program Committee.

Students who have been accepted by both colleges may apply for approval to pursue the dual program anytime prior to, or after, matriculation in either or both colleges. Such approval will be granted, provided that dual program studies are started prior to entry into the last 28 semester hours of J.D. coursework and prior to the third semester of the MBA program. Students interested in entering the dual degree program should submit a letter of application to the Dual Program Committee. Upon receipt of the application, the Dual Program Committee will determine eligibility and assign students to advisors who will be responsible for course approval and supervision of the student's progress through the dual program.

Curriculum

A dual program candidate must satisfy the graduation requirements of each college. Students withdrawing from the dual program before completion of both degrees will not receive credit toward graduation from either college for courses in the other college, except as such courses qualify for credit without regard to the dual program.

The College of Law will award up to 9 semester hours of credit toward the J.D. for acceptable performance in approved graduate-level courses offered by the College of Business Administration. The College of Business Administration will award up to 6 semester hours of credit toward the MBA for acceptable performance in approved courses offered in the College of Law. The approval of courses is the responsibility of the Dual Program Committee and the student's assigned advisor.

Students may begin their studies in either the J.D. or the MBA program, but may not enroll in MBA coursework while completing the first year of the law curriculum and may not enroll in J.D. coursework while completing the first year of the business curriculum. During the first year in the J.D. program, students register through the College of Law. During the first year in the MBA program, students register as graduate students. After the first two years, any term in which students take law courses or a mixture of law and graduate courses, they are classified and registered as law students. If taking only graduate courses, they are classified and registered as graduate students.

Approved Dual Credit

MBA courses in which the student has earned a B grade or higher and are to be counted toward the J.D. program must include 9 semester hours approved by the College of Law. The 6 hours of law courses in which the student has earned a 2.3 or C+ grade or higher and are to be counted toward the MBA must be selected from those approved by the Asst. Dean of the MBA Program.

Dual JD-MPA Degree

The College of Law and the Department of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts offer a coordinated Dual Degree Program leading to the conferral of both the Doctor of Jurisprudence and Master of Public Administration degrees. In this Dual Degree Program, a student may earn the M.P.A. and J.D. degrees in about four years rather than the five years that otherwise would be required for the two degrees. Students pursuing the Dual Degree Program should plan to be enrolled in course work or an internship for one summer term in addition to taking normal course loads for four academic years. 

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the J.D./M.P.A. Dual Degree Program must make separate application to and be independently accepted by the College of Law for the J.D. degree and the Department of Political Science and the Graduate School for the M.P.A. degree. 

Applicants for the Dual Degree Program must also be accepted by the Dual Degree Committee. All applicants must submit a Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score. An applicant's LSAT score may be substituted for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score, which is normally required for admission to the M.P.A. program. Application may be made prior to or after matriculation in either the J.D. or the M.P.A. program, but application to the Dual Degree Program must be made prior to entry into the last 29 semester hours required for the J.D. degree and prior to entry into the last 15 hours required for the M.P.A. degree. 

Curriculum

A dual degree candidate must satisfy the requirements for both the J.D. and the M.P.A. degrees together with the requirements listed here for the Dual Degree Program. The College of Law will award a maximum of nine semester hours of credit toward the J.D. degree for successful completion of approved graduate level courses (500 or 600 level) offered in the Department of Political Science. The M.P.A. Program will award a maximum of nine semester hours of credit toward the J.D. degree for successful completion of approved courses offered in the College of Law. All courses for which such cross-credit is awarded must be approved by the J.D./M.P.A. coordinators in the College of Law and the Department of Political Science. All candidates for the dual degree must successfully complete Administrative Law (Law 821). An internship is strongly recommended for students in the Dual Degree Program, as it is for all M.P.A. candidates, but an internship is not required. 

During the first two years in the Dual Degree Program, students will spend one academic year completing the required first year of the College of Law curriculum and one academic year taking courses solely in the M.P.A. Program. During those first two years, a student may not take M.P.A. courses in the year in which he or she is concentrating in law, nor law courses in the year in which he or she is concentrating in the M.P.A. program, without the approval of J.D./M.P.A. coordinators in both the College of Law and the Department of Political Science. In the third and fourth years, students are strongly encouraged to take both law and political science courses each semester. 

Dual degree students who withdraw from the Dual Degree Program before completion of the requirements for both degrees will not receive credit toward either the J.D. or the M.P.A. degree for courses taken in the other program, except as such courses qualify for credit toward those degrees independently of the Dual Degree Program. 

Awarding of Grades

For grade recording purposes in the College of Law and the Department of Political Science, grades awarded in courses in the other unit will be converted to either Satisfactory or No Credit and will not be computed in determining a student's grade point average or class standing. The College of Law will award a grade of Satisfactory for an approved M.P.A. course in which the student earns a grade of B or higher and a grade of No Credit for any lower grade. The Political Science Department will award a grade of Satisfactory for an approved law course in which the student earns a grade of 2.3 or higher and a grade of No Credit for any lower grade.