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 credits of Law Center courses and 30 credits of M.A.S.S.P. work, with 6 credits of J.D. coursework counted toward the M.A.S.S.P. degree and 6 credits of M.A.S.S.P. coursework counted toward the J.D.). The M.A.S.S.P. Director of Graduate Studies will determine whether any J.D. credits will fulfill M.A. requirements on an individual basis. The joint degree program also requires: (1) completion of the graduation requirements for both programs; and (2) maintenance of a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00/4.00 in the 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 Georgetown Law Student Handbook of Academic Policies).

Curriculum Outline

The required 109 J.D./M.A.S.S.P. academic credits are distributed as follows:

• 18-24 credits of M.A.S.S.P. coursework taken in the first or second year of the joint program including completion of all core courses for the program including the following:
  • SEST-5000, Theory and Practice of Security and SEST-5001, Strategy, Policy and Military Operations, taken simultaneously in the first semester in the Security Studies Program;
  • Selection and completion of a concentration in Intelligence, International Security, Military Operations, Technology and Security, Terrorism and Substate Violence, or U.S. National Security Policy (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;
• 30 credits of the required first-year law program (taken in the first or second year of the joint program);
• 33 credits in further law courses, including:
  • A course in professional responsibility;
  • The upperclass writing requirement; .
  • 6 credits of experiential coursework; and
  • For students matriculating in Fall 2022 or later:  a course that teaches students to think critically about the law’s claim to neutrality and the law’s differential effects on subordinated groups, including those identified by race, gender, indigeneity, and class;
• 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);
• 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 last semester of M.A.S.S.P. enrollment. The comprehensive exam is offered every Spring and every Fall semester.

Typical Credit Distribution

A typical distribution of the 109 academic credits in the J.D./M.A.S.S.P. Program:

• First Year: 18-24 M.A.S.S.P. credits
• Second Year: 30-31 J.D. credits
• Third Year: 21-22 J.D. credits, 3-6 M.A.S.S.P. credits (depends on Law Center schedule)
• Fourth Year: 27 J.D. credits, 0-6 M.A.S.S.P. credits (depends on third year M.A.S.S.P. registration)

Please execute the Security Studies Program Course of Study Plan with the assistance of your SSP academic advisor.