J.D./M.A.S.S.P.
Juris Doctor/Master of the Arts in Security Studies
Security Studies Program (SSP) policy requires applicants interested in admission to the joint Georgetown SSP M.A./J.D. program to apply to both the M.A. and the J.D. programs simultaneously. Students must apply independently to both the Law Center and the SSP and be admitted to both in order to be considered joint degree program students. Applicants who have already begun their studies at the Law Center or at the SSP will not be considered for admission to the joint degree program. For questions about this policy, please contact the SSP Admissions department at sspinfo@georgetown.edu or 202-687-5679.
J.D./M.A.S.S.P. degree candidates must satisfactorily complete course requirements for both the J.D. and M.A.S.S.P. degrees. In addition to the J.D. and M.A.S.S.P. degrees, a Joint Program Certificate will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the program. Students in the joint degree program undertake a four-year course of study comprising a minimum of 109 academic credits (79 Law Center credits and 30 credits of M.A.S.S.P. courses). Six credits of J.D. course work will count toward the M.A.S.S.P. and 6 credits of M.A.S.S.P. course work will count toward the J.D. The M.A.S.S.P. Director of Graduate Studies will determine which M.A. requirements the J.D. credits will fulfill on an individual basis. Candidates for this joint degree must meet the graduation requirements of both programs, including the Law Center Residency Requirement (see the Juris Doctor Program chapter of the Bulletin), and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00/4.00 in their M.A.S.S.P. program and the required minimum cumulative grade point average for the J.D. program (see the Juris Doctor Program chapter of the Bulletin).
Curriculum Outline
• 24 credits of M.A.S.S.P. course work taken on Main Campus in the first or second years of the joint program including completion of all core courses for the program including the following: SEST-500, Theory and Practice of Security; and SEST-501, Grand Strategy and Military Operations;
• Selection and completion of a concentration in Intelligence, International Security, Military Operations, Science and Technology, Terrorism and Substate Violence, Unconventional Weapons and Non-Proliferation, or U.S. National Security. Each concentration includes: a core class for the concentration and three electives within the chosen concentration;
• Completion of distribution requirements in each of the following areas: Area Security Studies, Economics and Security, and Technology and Security;
• 31 credits of the required first-year law program (taken in the first or second years of the joint program);
• 32 credits in further law courses including Professional Responsibility and successful completion of the legal writing requirement. These courses are distributed among the third and fourth years;
• 16 credits in international law courses, including 3 credits in International Law I and 13 credits in further international law courses, at least 3 of which need to be in international/national security law;
• Completion of SEST-710: Research Seminar taken in the third or fourth year;
• Dependent on which M.A.S.S.P. degree requirements the 6 credits of J.D. courses are approved to fulfill, 3-6 credits of additional M.A.S.S.P. free elective credits taken in the third, and/or fourth years or during Summer sessions; and
• Passage of a four-hour comprehensive exam to be taken in the same semester of M.A.S.S.P. enrollment as the SEST-710 course.
