<p>Are students with joint degrees (e.g. JD/PhD) considered weaker than those who focus on only one of the two?</p>
<p>Please elaborate.</p>
<p>A different question... is the workload/pressure needed to earn a joint degree worth it? Or would you think it would be better to first earn one degree and then the other?</p>
<p>I'm with WildFlower - please elaborate. What is the Ph.D. in, and what field are you pursuing? If you want patent law, the Ph.D. in the hard sciences + a J.D. is unbeatable. On the other hand, if your Ph.D. is in philosophy and then you went straight to law school, you might be viewed as a professional student. In short, if the Ph.D. is related to the type of law you want to practice, it would be a very strong asset; otherwise, WHY would you put yourself through that? Law school is grueling in ways you can't imagine until you go through it (for me, easier than engineering but far, far more stressful), and Ph.D.s are no walk in the park. Beyond that, when you are in law school or going for your Ph.D., your friends will be buying cars and condos while you are poor, have no money, and are going further into debt. Trust me, law school alone is not an easy road. Ph.D. programmes can't be much better - so I would strongly advise against doing either without having a very clear reason of why you are there.</p>
<p>On average, in the US, it currently takes about 7 years to earn a Ph.D. in the humanities or social sciences. So, while you may save some time if you get both degrees, you are looking at at least 8 years of school beyond college to get a Ph.D. and JD unless you are off the wall brilliant. And I really DO mean off the wall brilliant. </p>
<p>Some people have the mistaken idea that going the JD/Ph.D. route is like going the MD/Ph.D. route and that they will be able to get both degrees for free. It doesn't work that way --at any of the top schools anyway. You pay like everyone else for the JD, even if you get a free ride for the Ph.D. Some of my kid's friends have gotten Rhodes/Marhall scholarships and picked up a Ph.D. in the UK where, for various reasons, it's usually possible to get a Ph.D. in 4 years or even 3 and then have gone on to get an American J.D. So, if you are Rhodes Scholar-material, this is probably a viable option. </p>
<p>Otherwise, there are some Ph.D.s , particularly in philosophy or political science, who have become faculty at top universities and picked up JDs from the same schools after getting tenure. (They usually take a sabbatical for at least the first year of law school.) So, if you really are good enough to get a professorship in history, poli sci, philosophy, etc. at a school like Columbia or Harvard or NYU, then go ahead and pursue the Ph.D. later. </p>
<p>Otherwise, choose which path you want to follow when you finish college. </p>
<p>If this message sounds rude, please understand that it isn't meant to be. It's just that I don't think most kids realize that the people who pursue both a Ph.D. and JD tend to be really extraordinary students and that it will take at least 8 years to get both degrees...usually more. If you aren't in at least the top 10% of your class with a near perfect gpa in the subject in which you intend to pursue the Ph.D., it's not a feasible plan. Even then, I would advise you not to do this unless your LSAT is good enough with gpa to get you into at least one of the top 6 law schools in the US. Once there, remember that to get that Ph.D., you have to have mastered at least two foreign languages at at least the intermediate level to be able to get that Ph.D.</p>
<p>what about joint MA or MBA?</p>
<p>Anytime I heard joint degrees--especially JD/MD or JD/MBA---I think "uber-stressfull". How they ever have time to breathe and relax is beyond me.</p>
<p>Well, if you're swimming in parental money to begin with...</p>
<p>It's a PhD in Economics. </p>
<p>I agree that it's gonna take time and money, and some opportunities will be forgone. That one must have to be really smart is also true. Now let's assume that these factors don't matter for a moment. </p>
<p>Let's also assume that I will end up being an economist and that the reason why I want a JD is that I'm interested in law, or that it's for the sake of education or prestige, or whatever it may be. In short, let's assume there're some positive effect of getting a JD.</p>
<p>What I'm interested in knowing is whether there's some negative effect in regard to people's perception of how committed the JD/PhD candidate is to either one of his potential professions. For example, suppose you are the head of a department of economics, and two person are applying for the job. I have a joint degree while the other one only has a PhD in economics. Other factors being constant, would you prefer the other candidate to me because you think that he will be more committed to his job? </p>
<p>That is my original question. Now let's relax the previous assumptions and deal with the issue of whether it's worth it to get a JD/PhD? People have already mentioned the cons, so I'll just state the pros now.</p>
<p>Most obviously, a joint degree looks more impressive than a single degree, at least in the view of the laymen. That is not to say I am sympathetic with this view.</p>
<p>Looking at the matter in a more practical way, a joint degree JD/PhD indeed lends you some advantage over a single degree. Whichever profession you choose, a knowledge of the other profession will certainly augment your primary expertise. That complementariness can take effect in a thousand ways. Who knows? Different sets of knowledge are often interconnected. Just as one example, I don't know what those people in the the field of "law and economics" are up to but that field is obviously on its rise.</p>
<p>There are also some empirical evidence that some successful people do hold joint degrees. Some of you may have already heard of Richard Posner, the judge on the 7th circuit court who bases many of his decisions on economic thinking. To a lesser extent, knowing both law and economics may help Roger Ferguson as a FED governor. </p>
<p>That is not to say the causational direction is just one way. You can certainly say that those people are simply too smart that it wouldn't be a surprise if they are successful, and that if they weren't smart, they wouldn't pursue a joint degree in the first place. And indeed that seems to be the most persuasive argument to me. If you are smart enough, and if you like it, then why not give it a try? After all this is America, the more the better, don't you agree?</p>
<p>I know that some economics professors got other degrees because their works contribute to not just economics but other fields as well. Instances of people receiving honorary degrees are also common. But I have never heard of those who pursue a second degree after getting tenure. That is really unusual. I wonder if those tenured professors have to take classes with other students who may be 30 years their junior.</p>
<p>There are many fields/degrees that a law degree will complement.</p>
<p>There are very few degrees that complement a law degree.</p>
<p>If you are planning to go into the economics field, then a law degree may increase your ability to analyze certain aspects of human behavior within the context of economics.</p>
<p>If you are planning on being a lawyer, your econoimics degrees will look pretty on the wall.</p>