JD/MA
Knowledge of the law is imperative to crafting educational policy and school reform strategies. Educational policymakers, administrators, and practitioners increasingly turn to lawyers as they negotiate an ever-more complex policy environment, in which state and federal agencies are involved in local decision making in unprecedented ways. In turn, lawyers must understand how schools function as complex organizations and must master the basic tools policy analysts use when tackling social problems. Stanford's JD/MA in Educational Policy, offered by the schools of education and law, prepares leaders and scholars to address these challenges.
Beginning with its first-rate schools of law and education, Stanford provides unparalleled opportunities for those interested in pursuing a joint degree in law and education. Legal and educational faculty, respected for their research, are routinely involved with policymakers and others who seek to reform education in the United States.
Students who pursue a JD/MA in Educational Policy may go on to work as attorneys for state and federal agencies, school districts, and educational/civil rights organizations. They also may pursue careers as analysts for state and federal agencies, think tanks, educational advocacy organizations, and policymakers, or may become educational entrepreneurs, lead charter school organizations, or direct other educational service providers.
Stanford offers opportunities to be involved in a wealth of interdisciplinary programs and workshops that are tackling different aspects of educational policy, school reform, and advocacy on behalf of children and their communities. Programs and resources include:
As many as 30 semester (45 quarter) hours of approved courses may be counted toward both degrees. No more than 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of approved courses that originate outside the law school may count toward the law degree.
The maximum number of law school credits that may be counted toward the MA in the Program in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies (POLS) is the greater of: (i) 6 semester (9 quarter) hours; or (ii) the maximum number of hours from courses outside the POLS program that candidates are permitted to count toward the MA under general School of Education guidelines or in the case of a particular student's individual program.