WMU/Cooley Joint MPA/JD Degree Program

If you see yourself in a role of leadership, from serving the public through policy-making to running a health care or nonprofit organization, the clear track to success is through a joint degree in public administration and the law in Lansing, Michigan. It's possible to get both a Master of Public Administration and a Juris Doctor degree through a partnership between the Thomas M. Cooley Law School and Western Michigan University's School of Public Affairs and Administration. WMU and Cooley have offered a joint degree program that permits students to acquire the knowledge of both degrees and expedite completion of the requirements for both the MPA degree and the JD degree by eliminating duplicative course work.

The Western Michigan University Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration at WMU is administered by the School of Public Affairs and Administration. The program provides a practitioner-oriented education to both in-career professionals and pre-career students who aspire to positions of administrative leadership in health care, and public and nonprofit organizations. The MPA seeks to enhance the capacity of its graduates to be responsible public leaders who pursue democratic values, foster ethical behavior, and integrate theory and action into effective administrative practice.

Thomas M. Cooley Law School's J.D. degree is available in Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Auburn Hills. The MPA program is available in Lansing, Battle Creek, and Kalamazoo.

The Thomas M. Cooley Law School Juris Doctor

The Cooley program prepares students for entry into the legal profession through a program of practical legal scholarship. The law school strives to provide students with the substantive knowledge and legal skills to pass a bar examination and enter directly into practice or advanced legal studies. Additionally, students will be guided by an ethical framework that will help them throughout their professional careers.
Both WMU and Cooley stress practical education and offer evening and weekend classes three terms a year, permitting the flexibility to work and attend graduate programs.

How the Joint MPA/JD Degree Saves You Time

Put simply, the joint program allows participating students to transfer six semester hours of credit from one degree program to the other, resulting in a total course reduction of twelve semester hours if both degrees are completed.

Students need not complete the two degrees concurrently. All students are encouraged to complete one year of one program before beginning studies in the second program.

Cooley Law School may not grant credit for eligible courses taken at Western Michigan University prior to a student’s matriculation at the Law School.
Additional information about Cooley can be found at www.cooley.edu. You can get more information about Western Michigan University by visiting the Web site at www.wmich.edu/spaa. Contact the following individuals if you have any questions regarding the joint degree program:

Gus Breymann
Director of International and Extended Programs
Cooley Law School
(517) 371-5140, ext. 2005

Dr. Matthew S. Mingus
Director, School of Public Affairs and Administration
Western Michigan University
(269) 387-8938

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This Page was last updated on: 11/16/2004