Academics

Juris Doctor / Master of Divinity (JD/MDiv)

Degree Requirements

JD

When undertaken as part of the joint JD/MDiv program, the JD degree requires successful completion of 79 units and satisfaction of the other requirements imposed by the law school for graduation. Students must complete all of the law school's required courses.

First Year

First-year law students follow a rigorous course of study that covers the following subjects: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Introduction to Ethical Lawyering, Legal Research and Writing, Property, and Torts.

Upper Division Required

After the first year, students are required to complete 18-21 units of additional required courses (depending on the units offered for certain courses), including: Corporations, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Federal Income Taxation, Remedies, and Wills and Trusts.

Master of Divinity Degree

When undertaken as part of the joint JD/MDiv program, the MDiv degree requires the successful completion of 74 units and satisfaction of any requirements imposed by Seaver College or the Religion Division for graduation. The general MDiv language requirements (twelve units of Greek and twelve units of Hebrew) are waived for students in the joint program. Students must complete all other required and elective courses. However, the six unit field work requirement can be satisfied by completion of a law school externship approved by the chair of the Religion Division. The externship would count toward the 79 units required for the JD degree and would reduce the number of units required for the MDiv to 68. The coursework in the religion division includes the following areas of study:

Old Testament	8
The Old Testament Prophets	4
Old Testament course	4
New Testament. Choose two of the following:	8
New Testament Theology	4
Synoptic Gospels	4
Pauline Writings I	4
Ministry/Missions/Counseling	12
Theology of Ministry	4
Urban Ministry and Missions	4
Four additional units in Ministry/Missions/Counseling	4
History of Christianity	12
Christian Thought and Ethics	16
The Christian Faith	4
Twelve units in Christian Thought and Ethics	12
Electives*	12
Field Work**	6
Total Units	74

*With the approval of the Religion Division Chairperson, up to eight of these units may be taken within Seaver College outside the Religion Division.

**With the approval of the Religion Division Chairperson, the required six units of Field Work can be satisfied by an externship at the School of Law. In this case the externship counts as elective units toward the 79 units required for the JD degree, and the MDiv requirements are reduced from 74 to 68 units.