JD/PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior: 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 Ecology, Evolution & Behavior

The Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior program is administered by the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior (EEB) within the College of Biological Sciences, although its graduate faculty includes members from other departments and colleges. PhD students are required to have competence in quantitative methods, most students take statistics to satisfy this requirement. In addition, a course in the history and philosophy of science is required. Field or lab experience is required of all students and this is usually obtained as part of the student's dissertation research. Students are required to take one course each in ecology, evolution, and behavior. They also attend a Journal Club Seminar throughout their first 3 semesters. They further attend EEB seminars and receive ethics training during their course of study. PhD students must additionally take at least 12 course credits in a declared minor or supporting program, which may be Law. Research experience is encouraged early in the student's graduate training.

 

Though PhD students normally must teach for at least 2 semesters at half-time during their course of study, this requirement is waived for JD/PhD joint degree students.

PhD students present a pre-research seminar at the end of the second or start of the third year. They then typically write a research proposal in the form of a proposal to the National Science Foundation for a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, which constitutes the preliminary written examination. After passing that exam, students take the preliminary oral examination. After that, the student focuses on research and preparing the doctoral dissertation, taking 24 thesis credits. Once the dissertation is complete, the student offers a public presentation, then defends the dissertation in a final oral examination.

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.