McGill's Faculty of Law offers two joint programs in collaboration with the Desautels Faculty of Management and the School of Social Work: the MBA with integrated BCL/JD and the MSW with integrated BCL/JD.
Candidates interested in pursuing either joint degree program must apply to, and be admitted by, both faculties. A negative response from one of the two programs does not mean an automatic refusal from the other faculty. Admission to the Faculty of Law is based on the same criteria used for applicants applying only to the BCL/JD Program.
Master of Business Administration (MBA) with integrated Bachelor of Civil Law/Juris Doctor (BCL/JD)
A joint Master of Business Administration (MBA) with integrated Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and Bachelor of common Law (JD or Juris Doctor) program is offered by theÌýDesautels Faculty of ManagementÌýand the Faculty of Law. This joint program provides students the opportunity to pursue legal and administrative aspects of business. Successful candidates graduate with MBA, BCL, and JD degrees, a trio that prepares them for careers in private and public enterprise, as well as government service.
Students complete 51 credits for the MBA degree and 93 credits for the integrated BCL and JD degrees for a total of 144 credits.Ìý
Students in the Law/MSW or LAW/MBA program cannot take courses outside the Faculty of law, beyond the MSW/MBA courses listed in the joint Programs.
Prerequisites for joint MBA/Law degree programs
Candidates are required to have previously completed an undergraduate degree in order to be eligible for admission to joint degree programs. Furthermore, students who wish to apply for the MBA/Law program also need a minimum of one year's employment experience following graduation in order to be admissible.
Finally, candidates should also indicate in their personal statementÌýtheir reasons for wanting to pursue a joint degree.
Admission
Interested applicants can seek admission to the joint program concurrently, or once they have begun either theÌýBCL/JD or MBA programs.
Applicants making concurrent admissions must make separate applications to the Faculty of Law and the Desautels Faculty of Management. Admission to the Faculty of Law is made on the same criteria as though the applicant were applying only to the BCL/JD program. Admission to the Desautels Faculty of Management depends upon among other things, the student's performance on the GMAT.
For more information for the MBA with integrated BCL/JD program, see theÌýProgram RequirementsÌýon the McGill Programs, Courses and University Regulations website.
Program sequence
With concurrent admissions, students will undertake a first year of MBA courses only, followed by the BCL/JD first-year program. In their third year, such students will complete their required second-year BCL/JD courses in combination with electives from law and MBA Remaining required and elective credits in both programs will be completed in subsequent semesters. Students already in the MBA program can apply to the joint program during their first year in which case their program will follow the same pattern as previously described. Students already in the BCL/JD program may apply to the joint program in their first or second year; in either case, they will have to complete their first two years of required BCL/JD courses in consecutive years. Students should expect to complete the joint program in four to five years.
Students in the joint program must fulfill the following requirements:Ìý51 MBA credits & 93 Law credits = Total 144 credits
Students should consult theÌýMcGill e-calendar for the list of courses required to complete the joint MBA/Law Program.
Contact
For more information from the Faculty of Law, contact the joint MBA/Law program liaison:Ìýrichard.janda [at] mcgill.ca (Professor Richard Janda).
To contact the Desautels Faculty of Management, seeÌýwww.mcgill.ca/desautels/programs/mbalaw.
Master of Social Work (MSW) with integrated Bachelor of Civil Law/Bachelor of Laws (BCL/JD)
The School of Social Work and the Faculty of Law offer a Master of Social Work (MSW) with integrated Bachelor of Civil Law/Bachelor of Laws (BCL/JD) designed to transcend academic boundaries in social justice issues. Lawyers and social workers often operate in the same fields, whether in public policy, child protection, family law, poverty law, or domestic violence situations, yet each profession has been constrained by internal limitations. This joint program is animated by the conviction that studying in these two professions simultaneously will offer students an enriched perspective. Joint degree students graduate with a valuable blend of theoretical understanding, legal training, and interpersonal skills that will prepare them for, among other career options, practice or policy work.
Concretely, taking the joint program allows students to obtain three degrees with a reduced overall number of credits. The joint MSW (non-thesis option)/Law program requires students to complete 132 credits (45 credits in MSW, 87 credits in Law). Students should expect to complete the joint program in fourÌýto five years. The joint program leads to conferral of the BCL/JD law degrees and the master's degree in social work.ÌýStudents in the Law/MSW or LAW/MBA program cannot take courses outside the Faculty of law, beyond the MSW/MBA courses listed in the joint Programs.
Admission to the joint MSW/Law degree programs
Students intending to undertake this joint program proceed by submitting separate applications to the School of Social Work and to the Faculty of Law. It is necessary to fulfill the respective admissions requirements for the MSW and the integrated BCL/JD. For example, students must have the requisite academic background in social work for the MSW and they must be passively bilingual as required by the law program. A negative response from one program does not mean an automatic refusal from the other. For the MSW program admissions information, please refer to the School of Social Work’s website.
In their personal statements, candidates should indicate their reasons for wanting to pursue this joint program.
Eligibility
Students who have a BSW, or who are currently enrolled in a BSW program. Students should apply to the MSW and the BCL/JD programs during the academic year immediately preceding their intended start date in the joint program or in their 1st or 2nd year in their BCL/JD program.
Program Sequence
Students enrolled in the joint program begin by completing the obligatory first year of the law program. In subsequent academic terms, they take a combination of law and social work credits.
Students in the joint program fulfill the following requirements:
Required Courses:Ìý78 credits (30 credits Social Work + 50* credits Law). * See a detailedÌýdescription of the BCL/JD requirements.
Complementary Courses:Ìý27 credits (12 credits from the Faculty of Law and 15 credits in Social Work)
Electives:Ìý25 credits chosen from Faculty of Law courses
Note: Students in the joint program fulfill the 45-credit MSW Program with the following requirements:
Required Courses: Social Work (30 credits)
ÌýJoint MSW/Law Independent Study Project Guidelines (SWRK691 - 12 credits)
*SWRK 691 fulfills the minimum writing requirement for the BCL/JD.
Complementary Courses: Social Work (15 credits)
15 credits of SWRK 500 or 600 level courses. Up to 6 graduate-level credits in total may be taken outside of the School of Social Work with academic advisor approval.
In order to best prepare for field placements, students are strongly encouraged to complete the complementary courses in the second year of the joint program, followed by the field placements subsequent years.
TOTAL MSW Credits: 45
For more information regarding admission to the MSW or other social work aspects of the joint program, contact the joint program liaison in the School of Social Work, cindy.blackstock [at] mcgill.ca (Professor Cindy Blackstock).
For more information regarding admission to the Faculty of Law or other law aspects of the joint program, contact the joint program liaison in the Faculty of Law, ProfessorÌýNoah Weisbord.