Full-time JD students may apply to the JD/MBA program offered by the Shidler College of Business and the William S. Richardson School of Law. Graduates of the program will have the tools necessary to address the various legal and business issues that they will face in their roles within legal practice, consulting, public policy, entrepreneurship, venture capital, and many other careers.
Admissions
Current full-time JD students typically apply to the Shidler College of Business during their first year. If accepted, they start their MBA classes in the fall of their second year.
To apply to the JD/MBA program, current full-time JD students must complete the MBA application, pay the application fee, and submit the required essays and résumé. The Shidler College of Business may require additional application materials before finalizing an admissions decision.
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Full-time JD students may substitute the successful completion of the first-year law school curriculum for the two-year, full-time, post baccalaureate work requirement.
- Full-time JD students may submit an LSAT and/or GRE score in lieu of a GMAT score taken within the last 5 years.
- Current law students should submit the Information Request Form to request that their law school application materials (LSAT score report, letters of recommendation, and transcripts) be sent to the College of Business.
Tuition
There is no additional cost to full-time law students who take part-time MBA courses during the semesters when they are enrolled in 12 or more law credits. However, after they complete their JDs, they must pay for any additional business credits to complete the MBA coursework. See http://shidler.hawaii.edu/mba/tuition.
MBA Curriculum
Most full-time JD students will earn both degrees in four (4) years. JD students take their core courses in the evening with the part-time MBA students. After graduating from the Law School, students also may elect to take their remaining MBA courses on a full-time basis.
Students in the JD/MBA program are encouraged to keep in close contact with their academic advisors at both schools to ensure that they carefully plan out their courses each semester. See the Recommended Study Path. For description of the required business courses visit Shidler College of Business website.
The MBA program consists of 48 credits designed to help students become effective leaders and managers. Students may move through the program at their own pace by enrolling in 3 or more credits per semester.
- Students must earn 24 MBA credits of core courses designed to give them experience in the various functional areas of a global business environment.
- 21 MBA credits of electives are also included in the program, allowing students to customize their MBA program to help them meet their personal and professional career goals. Nine JD elective credits may be counted toward the MBA degree; and ten MBA elective credits may be counted toward the JD degree.
- The final course in the MBA program is the MBA Consulting Practicum. Here students work together in small teams and pull together everything they’ve learned throughout their studies to perform a consulting project for a local business.
Shidler College of Business
The Shidler College of Business has the only AACSB International graduate business program in Hawaiʻi, so students are guaranteed that their degree will satisfy the expectations of a wide range of quality standards relating to strategic management of resources, interactions of faculty and students in the educational process, and achievement of learning goals in degree programs. AACSB accreditation is highly prestigious and the Shidler College of Business is proud to offer:
- A nationally ranked program in international business
- A strategic focus on the Asia-Pacific region
- Convenient evening and day-time scheduling options
- An Annual Business Plan Competition with thousands of dollars in cash prizes
- A variety of internship opportunities
- Entrepreneurship-focused workshops and bootcamp hosted by the Shidler’s Pacific Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE)
- A multicultural student body and a diverse population
