Juris Doctor and Master of Information Systems

The Program

The Dickinson School of Law (DSL) and the School of Business Administration at Penn State Harrisburg offer a cooperative program leading to the degrees of Juris Doctor (J.D.), to be granted by the Dickinson School of Law, and Master of Science in Information Systems (M.S.I.S.), to be granted by Penn State Harrisburg. This concurrent degree opportunity facilitates the completion of both a law degree and a professional degree in information systems.

Admission Requirements

The concurrent programs require that the student first be admitted to the Dickinson School of Law. Subsequently the student is recommended for and applies for admission to the Graduate School for the Penn State Harrisburg M.S.I.S. program.

The following are required for applicants:

The Dickinson School of Law: Completed law school application; Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) score; Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) report; one-page personal statement; employment record since high school; two letters of recommendation.

M.S.I.S. Program: completed online Graduate School application; Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT); letter of recommendation from the Associate Dean of The Dickinson School of Law; evidence of proficiency in analytic skills through college-level calculus and statistics demonstrated either by completion of courses or successful completion of a mathematics profi ciency examination approved by the program; evidence of profi ciency in microcomputer applications skills; profi ciency in writing evidenced by a score of "4" or higher on the analytical writing assessment portion of the GMAT; profi ciency in entry-level fi nancial accounting as demonstrated by completion of college-level coursework; completion of a set of pre-program business core requirements demonstrated by completion of a minimum of six credits of advanced undergraduate work in each core area. Each course must have been completed with a grade of B or higher within seven years prior to admission to the M.S.I.S. program. The School of Business Administration will review the applicant’s transcripts for acceptability of the courses.

No courses from the M.S.I.S. program may count toward the J.D. program until the student is matriculated at The Dickinson School of Law. However, graduate-level courses taken either in the Penn State Harrisburg M.S.I.S. program or at another graduate-level institution may be applied to the M.S.I.S. in accordance with the transfer policies of the Graduate School.

Transfer Credits

For those students meeting the entry and pre-program requirements of the M.S.I.S. programs 30 additional credits are required. Nine credits of course work at the Dickinson School of Law may be transferred toward the M.S.I.S. degree, subject to program approval. Students must obtain a grade satisfactory to the M.S.I.S. program in order for the credits to be transferable. Nine credits of M.S.I.S. courses may be transferred for credit toward the J.D. degree at the Dickinson School of Law, subject to the approval of the School of Law.

Advising of Students

All students in the concurrent program have two advisers, one in the School of Business Administration, and one from the faculty at the Dickinson School of Law. Because the concurrent program is designed to be taken in synchrony with the objective that both degrees will be earned simultaneously, students who do not demonstrate progress toward completion of both degrees may be denied continuation in the concurrent program. Such a decision will rest jointly with the faculties of the M.S.I.S. program and the J.D. program.

Tuition

The Dickinson School of Law and Penn State Harrisburg will each charge their own tuition to students in the J.D./M.S.I.S. program.

Additional Information

For more information and the latest updates on the concurrent programs, call the law school at 717-240-5207, 800-840-1122, or visit the Web site at: www.hbg.psu.edu.

For a list of courses, visit the web at http://www.psu.edu/bulletins/whitebook/$programs.htm

Please note: This page is not a part of the official Penn State Graduate Bulletin.