Dual M.A./J.D. with KU Law

You’ll need to meet the separate admission requirements of KU Law and the Indigenous Studies master’s program. Admission into one doesn’t guarantee admission into the other. You must request to proceed in the joint program once you’ve been admitted to both programs.

You can apply to both degree programs simultaneously, but aren’t required to do so. If you’re admitted to KU Law first, you should seek admission into the master's program as soon as possible. You must be admitted into ISP no later than the end of the spring semester of your second year of law study.

If you’re admitted to the master's program first, seek admission to KU Law as soon as possible. You must be admitted into the law school no later than the end of your second semester of graduate study.

Per American Bar Association policy, credit for the J.D. degree will only be given for course work taken after you’ve started in the law school. The law school won’t grant credit toward the J.D. degree for work taken in a pre-admission program. For this reason, you should start the law program first.

KU Law requires 90 credit hours to complete the J.D.

• The law school accepts 9 credit hours earned from approved ISP courses toward the J.D.
• Once you’re admitted to both programs, you must complete the first 29 credits of required courses in the J.D. program. After completing these hours, you can enroll in courses in either program or both concurrently.

The ISP master’s degree requires 30 graduate credit hours.

• ISP accepts 12 credit hours earned from approved courses in the law school toward the master’s degree.
  • 6 law credits count toward your area of specialization.
  • 6 law credits count toward your electives.
• The only required Indigenous Studies course is ISP 800 Indigenous Issues in the United States. 
• You’ll complete 18 total credit hours in your area of specialization.
• List of approved ISP graduate courses
• To graduate, you'll either write a thesis or present a portfolio of your work.
  • If you select the thesis, you’ll take 6 elective hours and 3 hours of ISP 899 Thesis Hours.
  • If you choose the portfolio, you’ll take 9 elective hours.

Note about grading: The School of Law requires a 2.0 GPA in J.D. course work to remain in good standing and graduate. Graduate Studies requires a 3.0 GPA for all courses counting toward the Indigenous Studies M.A. portion of the degree.