JD/PhD in Conservation Biology: Curriculum

Law School Curriculum

Law School JD degree requirements for students entering Fall 2009 include satisfactory completion of 88 semester credits, and six semesters of full-time enrollment (defined as 12 semester credits or more). First-year students are required to take a core curriculum totaling 30 credits and comprised of the following courses: Beyond that, all courses are elective, except that a student must take a course in Professional Responsibility (3 credits) and Constitutional Law II (3 credits) before graduating. In addition, each student must satisfy a second-year writing requirement (typically by participating in a moot court or serving as a staff member on one of the Law School's law reviews), as well as a third-year writing requirement (typically satisfied by taking a course meeting this requirement, completing an independent research paper meeting this requirement, which may be an MS thesis, Plan B paper, PhD dissertation, or capstone project, or serving as an editor on one of the Law School's law reviews).

To see requirements for students entering in years other than 2009, visit www.law.umn.edu/current/degreerequirements.html.

In addition, all students in the Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences take a professional seminar. This 1-credit Proseminar is taught cooperatively by faculty involved in the Joint Degree Program, offered on a pass-fail basis, and required each Fall semester that a student is enrolled in the Joint Degree Program.

JD/PhD in Conservation Biology

The Conservation Biology Graduate Program is an interdisciplinary program within the Graduate School. Program administration is done by the unit in which the current Director of Graduate Studies holds his or her academic appointment (now the College of Natural Resources). Faculty hold primary academic appointments in more than 15 departments in the University (e.g., Anthropology, EEB, Fisheries and Wildlife, Forest Resources, Horticulture, Geography, Political Science, and the Humphrey Institute).

Courses in the PhD program are prescribed in accordance with an individual's needs and career direction. There is no specific number of credits needed for a PhD in Conservation Biology, but students are required to complete the following: 11 credits of core integrative courses, 3 courses in the biological dimensions of Conservation Biology, 2 courses in the human dimensions of Conservation Biology, and 24 thesis credits. A minimum of 12 credits is required for the minor or supporting program, which may be Law. Additional course work in methodology may be needed for research. Students with their advisory committee develop a program that emphasizes the ecological and social aspects of Conservation Biology. Students are required to take written and oral preliminary exams, to prepare a dissertation, and to present a final oral defense.

Combining Curricula

Students in the Joint Degree Program combine their Law and science/health curricula by cross-counting up to 12 Law credits in their science or health program and up to 12 non-law credits in their Law School program. For more details, click on "Cross-Counting Courses" above.

JD/MS or JD/PhD students are eligible for a minor in bioethics, bioinformatics, or human genetics.