Applicants must be admitted to Cumberland School of Law prior to applying to a joint degree program.

Students will apply to the secondary institution housing the selected joint degree in the spring semester of the first year of law school. To be admitted to a joint degree program, students must have completed their first year of law school, earned a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, and satisfied the particular secondary program’s admission requirements. Students must also complete the joint degree form and meet with Cumberland School of Law's registrar.

Each institution offering a joint degree has advisers to help you schedule your course work so that you can complete your secondary degree in the same three years as you would a traditional Juris Doctor, with the exception of the two programs offered in conjunction with Beeson Divinity School.

Joint degrees are awarded when the student has completed both degree programs.

Juris Doctor/Master of Laws

The Juris Doctor/Master of Laws (JD/LLM) program, offered with Cumberland's School of Law online graduate programs, offers four concentrations including financial services regulatory compliance, higher education law and compliance, health law and compliance, and legal operations. The program prepares you for a future in compliance or legal operations and is also beneficial to those interested in pursuing a career in health law, higher education or the financial industry. For each concentration, 19 credit hours of master’s-level courses are required. Nine hours of master’s credit can be applied to your JD requirements so that your total credit hours for both degrees will be 100, regardless of your chosen concentration.

JD/LLM Application

Juris Doctor/Master of Laws (LLM)
Quick Fact Answer
Location Samford, online
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour $957
Entrance Exam for secondary degree No, 1L Cumberland GPA
Prerequisites No
Credits in Addition to JD 18-21
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) 1L Summer
Ability to finish in Three Years Yes

More Information About the LLM

Kerry McInerney, Director of Graduate Programs
kpmciner@samford.edu205-726-2545

Juris Doctor/Master of Accountancy

The Juris Doctor/Master of Accountancy (JD/MAcc) program, offered in conjunction with Samford’s Brock School of Business, prepares you for a career in an accounting firm, a general practice law firm with certain legal specializations, or a law firm as a managing partner or an in-house counsel. As a second- or third-year law student in the program, it is typical to take 18 credit hours in fall and spring, and between three to eight credit hours in the summer.

JD/Master of Accountancy (MAcc)
Quick Fact Answer
Location Samford, evening
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour $966
Entrance Exam for secondary degree GMAT/GRE or 3.0 1L Cumberland GPA
Prerequisites Yes, degree in accounting
Credits in Addition to JD 24
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) 1L Summer
Ability to finish in Three Years Yes

More Information About the MAcc

Heather Averett, Administrative Director of Academic Programs
heaveret@samford.edu205-726-2040

Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration

The Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA) program, offered in conjunction with Samford’s Brock School of Business, prepares you for a career in corporate law, which may include the role of a managing partner or in-house counsel. Prerequisites for the program include certain accounting, economics, statistics and finance courses that can be taken as part of the MBA program (ACCT 511, ECON 512, and FINC 514). Exemption from those three courses may be awarded with an earned C- or better in an approved undergraduate accounting, economics, statistics or finance course at an accredited institution. As a second- or third-year law student in the program, it is typical to take 18 credit hours in fall and spring, and between three to eight credit hours in the summer.

JD/Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Quick Fact Answer
Location Samford, online/evening
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour $966
Entrance Exam for secondary degree GMAT/GRE or 3.0 1L Cumberland GPA
Prerequisites Yes
Credits in Addition to JD 27-36
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) 1L Summer
Ability to finish in three years Yes

More Information About the MBA

Heather Averett, Administrative Director of Academic Programs
heaveret@samford.edu205-726-2040

Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity

Graduates from the Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity (JD/MDiv) program, offered in conjunction with Samford's Beeson Divinity School, tend to work in nonprofit/ministry work upon graduation or simply integrate their theological training into their legal profession, depending upon their goals in obtaining the joint degree. Beeson will grant 12 semester hours of elective credits for law school courses, and Cumberland will grant 15 semester hours of elective credits for divinity courses. This effectively reduces the total number of hours for the two degrees by 27. Pursued separately, the JD (90 hours) and the MDiv (87 hours) would require a total of 177 semester hours. Pursued together, the total number of required semester hours is 150.

JD/Master of Divinity (MDiv)
Quick Fact Answer
Location Samford, day
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour $832 ($8,743 when full time at Beeson; eligible for scholarship)
Entrance Exam for secondary degree 2.5 1L Cumberland GPA
Prerequisites No
Credits in Addition to JD 60
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) Likely 1L Summer
Average length of joint degree Approximately six years

More Information About the MDiv

Caleb Craft, Director of Graduate Academic Student Services
ccraft@samford.edu

Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Theological Studies

Graduates from the Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Theological Studies (JD/MATS) program, offered in conjunction with with Samford's Beeson Divinity School, tend to work in nonprofit/ministry work upon graduation or simply integrate their theological training into their legal profession, depending upon their goals in obtaining the joint degree. Beeson will grant six semester hours of elective credits for law school courses, and Cumberland will grant 12 semester hours of elective credits for divinity courses. This effectively reduces the total number of hours for the two degrees by 18. Pursued separately, the JD (90 hours) and the MATS (48 hours) would require a total of 138 semester hours. Pursued together, the total number of required semester hours is 120.

JD/Master of Arts in Theological Studies (MATS)
Quick Fact Answer
Location Samford, day
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour $832 ($8,743 when full time at Beeson; eligible for scholarship)
Entrance Exam for secondary degree 2.5 1L Cumberland GPA
Prerequisites No
Credits in Addition to JD 19
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) Likely 1L Summer
Average length of joint degree Approximately five years

More Information About the MATS

Caleb Craft, Director of Graduate Academic Student Services
ccraft@samford.edu

Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Environmental Management

The Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Environmental Management (JD/MSEM) program, offered with Samford’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences, prepares students to work as an environmental attorney; for government organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, EPA, ADEM, FERC, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; in companies such as Alabama Power and Southern Company; in banks, consulting companies and major manufacturing plants; in educational institutions such as large high schools and universities; or in nonprofit organizations such as Ducks Unlimited, and various zoos and river keeper organizations. It is suggested to complete the core courses first, then begin adding electives. A new calendar offers A and B sections in the fall and spring, with one session each summer. Students who take a three-hour course in both fall and spring A and B sessions have more than ample time to complete the online program in three years.

JD/Master of Science in Environmental Management (MSEM)
Quick Fact Answer
Location Samford, online
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour $957
Entrance Exam for secondary degree No
Prerequisites No
Credits in Addition to JD 24
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) 1L Summer or 2L Fall
Ability to finish in three years Yes

More Information About the MSEM

David Frings, Associate Director
dmfrings@samford.edu205-726-4537

Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration

Options for students enrolled in the Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration program (JD/MPA), offered in conjunction with the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), include a multitude of public service jobs in the military; federal, state and local government; politics; nonprofits; management/human resources; public policy; and particular types of law such as environmental, criminal and social justice. Students are required to complete a total of 120 semester hours for the coordinated degree (includes three hours of internship). This includes 30 hours in the MPA program, and 90 hours in the JD program. Full-time students should be able to complete all degree requirements within three years.

JD/Master of Public Administration (MPA)
Quick Fact Answer
Location UAB (evening), some online
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour

$480 (in-state)

$1,176 (out-of-state)

Entrance Exam for secondary degree No, LSAT used to evaluate
Prerequisites No
Credits in Addition to JD 30
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) 1L Summer or 2L Fall
Ability to finish in Three Years Yes

More Information About the MPA

Carin Mayo, Graduate Programs Manager
ccmayo@uab.edu205-975-3413

Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health

The Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health (JD/MPH), offered in conjunction with the University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB) School of Public Health, prepares students to work for public health departments, private nongovernment organizations, and communities to develop policies and/or draft legislation and regulations for domestic or global public health matters. Graduates may perhaps work as a general counsel in a public or private hospital, as a lawyer or legal adviser for a state or federal public health agency, or in a similar capacity. The total credit hours for the MPH is 43, which includes 13 shared credit hours from Cumberland School of Law.

JD/Master of Public Health (MPH)
Quick Fact Answer
Location UAB, online
Cost (2024-25) Per Credit Hour $588
Entrance Exam for secondary degree No, LSAT used to evaluate
Prerequisites No, but requires Cumberland permission
Credits in Addition to JD 30
Start Date (meet with coordinator to plan) 1L Summer or 2L Fall
Ability to finish in Three Years Yes

More Information About the MPH

Meghan Walker, Program Manager
mewalker@uab.edu205-934-2684