• Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies

J.D. /M.A.A.S. degree candidates must satisfactorily complete course requirements for both the J.D. and M.A.A.S. degrees. In addition to the J.D. and M.A.A.S. degrees, a Joint Program Certificate will be awarded upon satisfactory completion of the program. Students undertake a four-year course of study comprising a minimum of 109* credit hours (79* credits of Law Center courses and 30 credits of MAAS work, with 6 credits from the Law Center counted toward the MAAS degree and 6 credits of MAAS coursework counted toward the JD). Candidates for this joint degree must meet the graduation requirements of both programs, including the Law Center Residency Requirement, and satisfy the academic standards of the two programs: maintain a minimum B (3.00/4.00) average, demonstrate advanced language ability through successful completion of the MAAS Arabic language oral and written proficiency examinations, and successfully complete the oral comprehensive examination of the MAAS Program (or the thesis option).

Students may pursue the joint program toward the MA in Arab Studies/Juris Doctor from a number of different MAAS concentrations:

• MAAS concentration in Women/Gender (with law focus on Family Law or International/Comparative Law - Human Rights)
• MAAS concentration in Politics (with law focus on International/Comparative Law - Human Rights, or on International/National Security Law)
• MAAS concentration in Culture/Society - especially Islam/Islamic societies (with law focus on International/Comparative Law, Family Law, or Law and Other Disciplines)

• 24 credits of MAAS coursework, or 18 credits plus intensive Arabic if necessary, taken during the first or second¹ year of the joint program;
• 31* credits of the required first year law curriculum taken during the first or second¹ year of the joint program;
• 29 credits in further law courses including Professional Responsibility and the legal writing requirement. These courses are distributed among the third and fourth years;
• 19 credits in international law courses including: 3 credits in the required course International Law I: Introduction to International Law; 4 credits in further international law courses; and 12 other credits in international law or international law-related courses which complement the student's area of concentration. These courses are taken in the third and fourth years.   Students should focus their electives on their MAAS divisional concentration, integrating their interests in law and the Arab world; and
• 6-12 credits (depending on how many were completed in the first or second year) of MAAS coursework, taken in the second, third, and/or fourth years or during summer sessions.

¹Language Requirement

The MA in Arab Studies program is distinct from the other SFS Master's programs in that it builds intensive study of Arabic language (for those who need it) into its curriculum. Thus, the Arabic language requirement will have some bearing on the proposed joint MAAS/JD program.

The first year may be pursued at either Law Center or Main Campus, primarily depending on student's Arabic status. In most cases, the first year will be at the Law Center; in those cases in which the student has just completed a course of intensive Arabic language study prior to matriculation, such that a disruption in study of the language would be counterproductive, the student should start at the Main Campus in the appropriate level of Arabic. In all cases, before starting main campus course work, student should be at least at an intermediate level of Arabic (i.e. have completed 1 year or a summer program in intensive beginning Arabic totaling 12 credits).

*NOTE: 1 fewer credit is required for students who completed the first year law curriculum prior to 2007-2008.

Revised October 14, 2010 (MC)