<p>What are the pros and cons of doing a joint law degree? I was looking at some programs at Georgetown, Harvard, Yale, Penn, GWU, and BU. All the joint JD/MA degrees seem really intriguing. I'm leaning towards the joint degrees with International Relations/Affairs.</p>
<p>Would that be too overwhelming? 4 years for 2 degrees seems like a lot. I'm not too interested in actually practicing law in the courtroom, but I figured a law degree would open doors in politics and foreign affairs agencies that just a Masters or PhD would not. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I'm just starting college this fall, so I know this is pretty hypothetical, but I have absolutely no idea how to get to the careers I want. (My dream is to work in the Dept. of State, UN, Foreign Service, embassies, or something of the sort)</p>
<p>If you wish to practice law, a JD/MA is not likely to be of much value. On the other hand, if you wish to work in a job needing a MA, having a JD can be of great value. If you are planning on working for a goverment agency (and may have some management duties), please also consider a Masters in Public Administration.</p>
<p>i recently got to talk to a guy in the dept. of state...and he said you dont really need any graduate work at all...a lot of people just start straight out of college, or even high school. you need to take the civil service exam (might be called the foreign service exam).</p>
<p>I also have my doubts about how valuable these degrees actually are. If you are interested in private international law (i.e. with a law firm), I really don't see any point at all. I'm skeptical about how useful the extra degree would be in the public sector. I can't think of any job can only be obtained with BOTH degrees. Would the MA help? Sure. But so would a year of work experience, and that would come perhaps $100,000 cheaper (counting foregone wages).</p>
<p>Jasonx,
The State Department hires people under the regular civil service system with the GS scale, and specifically for the Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers are selected using both a 'Foreign Service Exam' and a 'merit-based review.' Anyone can take the test, but the majority of people who actually are selected have advanced degrees. The State Department does have entry-level positions for people coming out of undergrad, but they are relatively uncommon and (I would assume) ultra-competitive. For either side, the surest way into the State Department is to work for a couple of years, and then get an MA in International Affairs. I'm guessing that the OP is interested in legal positions, however, which is an entirely different bag.</p>
<p>Also, if you want to work for the State Dept. you'd do well to focus on learning foreign languages--my understanding is that once you pass the written and oral foreign service exams (not an easy task) you are ranked on a variety of factors, including languages spoken, advanced degrees, etc.</p>
<p>I know a non-traditional student who is about 35 and he went back to school to get a M.A. because the career path he took was so competitive. This guy spoke like 4 languages and had worked for the government for years. It may depend on the type of job you want, but it is a competitive world so you may want to be aware of other people's credentials. Just because you don't have to have a college degree or any graduate degrees for certain jobs does not mean you won't be overlooked because of people that do.</p>
<p>With that said, you may want to research these jobs as much as possible.</p>
<p>I have a friend who passed the foreign service exam, and was offered a job with the State Department during her third year of law school; they wouldn't defer the offer until graduation, so she turned it down.</p>
<p>Columbia also has a joint degree program in law and International Affairs. It seems very appealing to me, but yeah, cost doesn't seem to outweigh benefit.</p>
<p>i am seeing here that the consensus is that taking extra years to get a masters is not necessary...</p>
<p>but what if the masters will not take any extra time seeing that it would be earned through a 4 year joing bachelors/masters program? </p>
<p>if i were to do this and then go to law school in what woudl end up being less time than doing bachelors then jd joint ma or bachelors then jd then ma, woudl that end up being well worth it</p>
<p>no it is not an extra year considering i would be in undergraduate for four years if it was only a bachelor's and it is only 4 years to complete the bachelor's/master's, GENIUS</p>