The combined Juris Doctor / Master of Social Work program is offered in association with Eastern Washington University. The program is four years, or three years for students with “Advanced Standing” in social work (Determined by EWU).
Admission to the JD/MSW Program
Admission to the program is highly selective and is limited to four students per year.
Applicants must meet the admissions criteria established by each school, including qualifying scores on standardized tests. Applicants must apply and be admitted to both the GU School of Law and EWU’s School of Social Work, and will be considered for acceptance only after having been admitted to both programs.
What to Expect
Dual-degree students must meet the academic requirements of each program:
Provided the student earns a grade of C or better, GU Law will accept the equivalent of 10 semester credit hours from a student’s EWU course work.
The EWU School of Social Work will accept 12 semester hours of Gonzaga Law School credits toward its requirements for the MSW.
During the third and fourth years of study, students will enroll in a colloquium that focuses on the intersection of the law and social work.
Also required during years three and four is practicum experience in legal and social work settings.
Basics of the JD / MSW Program
Applying to the Program
Before being considered for admission to the JD/MSW program, candidates must apply and be admitted to both Gonzaga School of Law and the Eastern Washington University School of Social Work. Candidates must meet all of the admissions criteria for each school individually and apply via each school’s normal admissions process.
It is conceivable that a candidate for the dual-degree program will be admitted to either the Law School or the School of Social Work, but not both, or will be admitted separately to both schools, but not to the dual-degree program. In that case, the student must decide whether to attend the Law School, the School of Social Work, or both, but will not be able to complete both degrees under the auspices of the dual-degree program.
Candidates for admission to the dual-degree program must indicate on their applications to the respective schools that they are applying for admission to the dual-degree program.
Application Deadlines
Candidates for the JD/MSW Dual Degree must comply with the admissions deadlines of the respective schools. Candidates who have been admitted to both Gonzaga School of Law and the Eastern Washington University School of Social Work will be notified of their acceptance into the dual-degree program on or before May 1st.
Who to Contact
For information about admission to the dual-degree program, candidates should simultaneously contact the admissions offices of both Gonzaga Law School and Eastern Washington University School of Social Work and go through the standard admissions process for each school. At Gonzaga Law School, candidates should also contact admissions.
Tuition
Students will pay tuition at the normal rate charged by Gonzaga Law School for law school classes, and at the normal rate charged by Eastern Washington University for classes at the School of Social Work. Financial aid for dual-degree program students will be administered by Gonzaga University.
Dual-School Attendance Schedules
Typically, students in the dual-degree program will spend their first year of study entirely at the law school or the School of Social Work. Students must take and complete the entire first year of the law school curriculum as an intact unit; therefore, students who spend their first year of study at the School of Social Work will then spend their entire second year at the Law School. Students will split their time between the law school and the School of Social Work during their third and fourth years of the program.
Professors
The curriculum will be taught by faculty members of the School of Social Work and the Law School. Practicum experiences that take place outside the confines of the Law School and School of Social Work will be supervised by faculty members from the respective schools.
Credit Transfers
Gonzaga Law School will accept the equivalent of 10 semester credits from the School of Social Work, provided the student receives a grade of “C” or higher in the classes. The School of Social Work will accept 12 semester credits from the Law School. The Law School transcript will not contain the grades or names of courses taken at the School of Social Work, and the transcript from the School of Social Work will not contain the grades or names of courses taken at the Law School. Each transcript will merely reflect that credit was given for classes taken at the other institution.
Job Placement Assistance
Students and alumni of the dual-degree program will have the same career services resources available to them that are available to students and alumni of the Law School and the School of Social Work.