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Joint J.D./PhD
Law-Psychology Program
The Earle Mack School of Law and the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences have established a joint and integrated J.D./PhD Program in Law and Psychology. The program melds two already ongoing successful endeavors, the JD degree in the school of law and the PhD in clinical psychology in the department of psychology.
Students in the program complete the 130 credits required for graduation from the law school and the 91 credits required to complete the doctorate. The program allows those students who wish to pursue professional degrees in both law and psychology a more efficient plan of study. The program is designed to be completed in seven (7) years, including required psychology practica, a year’s internship in an American Psychological Association accredited predoctoral mental health/forensic setting, a masters thesis, a doctoral dissertation, 20 hours per week of cooperative training and 50 hours of pro bono service in law.
Visit the Department
of Psychology web site for more information. Students who are accepted
into the J.D./PhD program will receive full tuition remission for all
psychology coursework, plus a guaranteed annual stipend that is currently at least
$9,000 per year for all six years they are at the university prior to
completing the clinical internship. Students with outstanding LSAT scores may be eligible for full tuition remission from the Earle Mack School of Law.
Curriculum
Law and psychology are
related in many significant ways, yet few people are trained and skilled
to strengthen this relationship. Many institutions permit students to
pursue both degrees in an informal, uncoordinated manner. By
contrast, Drexel
University offers a carefully developed, integrated,
conceptually unified program so that they acquire a mature understanding
of the interaction between the two disciplines.
At the conclusion of the program,
students are eligible for admission to the bar and, after completing
the postdoctoral requirement for supervised experience in a given state,
licensure as a psychologist.
The curriculum consists of six
elements:
- Core
programs in law and psychology
- Interdisciplinary
courses such as Introduction to Law and Psychology, Social Science
Applications to Law, Law and Mental Health, Research in Law and Psychology,
and Forensic Assessment
- Legal clinics and
psychology practica and internships that combine knowledge from both
fields in a practical setting
- Electives in both
fields, such as Health Law, Medical Malpractice, Privacy, Behavior
Therapy, and Clinical Decision Making
- The option for employment one summer in a legal setting, such as a public-interest
law firm, governmental agency, or private law firm.
- Research in law and psychology under the supervision of the student's primary mentor.
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