Senate Bill No. 0304-19
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by: Graduate Academic Council
Date: April 19, 2004
PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A JOINTLY REGISTERED DUAL DEGREE
PROGRAM
M.A. (PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND POLICY) UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY /
J.D. (LAW) ALBANY LAW SCHOOL
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
1. That the University Senate approve the attached proposal for Dual Degree Program,
Master of Arts in Public Affairs & Policy and Juris Doctor, to be offered with the Albany
Law School, as approved by the Graduate Academic Council.
2. That this proposal be forwarded to the President for approval.
University at Albany, State University of New York and Albany Law School
Proposed Dual Degree Program
Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy (MPP) and Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Proposed Program Title: Dual Degree Program in Public Policy and Law
Titles and Program Code Numbers of Currently Registered Programs which are to be
combined:
Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy 03040.
Juris Doctor (J.D.) (Albany Law School)
Proposed Degrees: Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy/Juris Doctor
HEGIS Classification and Number: MA Public Affairs and Policy 2102 and Law 1401
(Albany Law School)
Academic Units That Will Offer the Program: Nelson A. Rockefeller College of
Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York and Albany
Law School of Union University.
Proposed Beginning Date: September 1, 2004.
Summary of Program: The Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy,
University at Albany offers an approved Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy. The
Albany Law School offers an approved Juris Doctor degree. This proposal is to offer a
dual degree program in Public Policy and Law. The proposed dual degree program is 111
credits: 36 credits (of 44 minimum) of Master of Public Affairs and Policy courses and 75
credits (of 87 minimum) of Juris Doctor courses. Students will take all of the courses
required for the Public Affairs and Policy degree because courses in the Juris Doctor
program will satisfy the degree’s requirements for an elected public policy field.
Similarly, courses in the Public Affairs and Policy program will serve as electives for the
Juris Doctor program. The dual program will take 4 academic years if completed full-
time. The first year of study will be taken at the Albany Law School. We anticipate
admitting two students to four students a year.
The curriculum for the proposed dual degree program is displayed in Tables 1 and 2.
Rationale for the program: The proposed dual degree will give students a strong
foundation in the law and in the skills for designing and evaluating public policy.
Because the law both constrains and facilitates the design and implementation of public
policies, while the design and evaluation of public policy help shape the law, the two
programs are complementary. The curriculum of the dual degree program will teach the
student to reason according to these multiple perspectives.
The Masters of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy (henceforth referred to as the MPP)
prepares students for careers as policy analysts and leaders in public service. It provides
students with strong statistical and analytic skills and background in economics and
public finance, as well as an understanding of the politics of public policy formation and
the challenges of public policy implementation. The MPP also requires specialization in a
choice of public policy fields, such as education, environment, health, analytic methods
or, with the approval of the Director of the Public Policy Program, a field of study
designed by the student.
The J.D. degree prepares students for the practice of law and for positions in other
diverse settings, including state government offices, not-for-profit agencies, education,
and community development. It prepares them for many settings where knowledge of the
law and the ability to interpret state and federal laws and apply them to agency practices
is valued. Beyond the courses taken in the first year of law school, all of which are
required, the student largely designs his or her own curriculum.
In the proposed dual degree, students will take the courses required by each program. In
the MPP, the students will take the standard program, using courses in the law school to
satisfy the program’s requirement for an elected public policy field. In the J.D., students
will take Public Policy courses as the electives permitted by the J.D. curriculum. In other
words, both degrees will count courses in the other program as meeting requirements for
elective courses.
Potential Demand: We expect two to four students a year.
The MPP program enrolls about 30 students a year. Enrollment in the J.D. program at the
Albany Law School is 250 students a year.
General requirements for program completion of each separate program:
The Juris Doctor offered by the Albany Law School requires 87 credits, including 12
courses and a research paper that are required, and 52 credits of elective courses. These
requirements are listed in Table 3.
The Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy (MPP) offered by the Rockefeller College
includes nine core courses, three courses in a public policy field chosen by the student,
and a master’s essay on a topic in the student’s elected policy field. The public policy
fields draw on courses offered by other departments on campus. The required courses are
listed in Table 4. In addition, students must complete a non-credit internship of at least
one semester.
Specific requirements for the dual Master's program:
a. Listing of all required courses.
The required courses for the proposed Dual Degree Program in Public Policy and Law
are listed in Table 1. The 111 credit degree program includes 75 credits at the Albany
Law School, 9 required Public Affairs and Policy courses (courses listed as PUB), and a
master’s essay. The requirement for a public policy field in the MPP program will be
satisfied by elective courses taken at the Albany Law School.
b. Courses and credits that will be used to satisfy requirements for both degrees.
Table 2 indicates how credits will be allocated toward each degree. The courses that meet
requirements of both degrees are in the center column of Table 2. The three required
Public Policy courses in the center column will serve as electives in the J.D. program.
The appropriateness of these Public Policy courses as electives for the J.D. program is
demonstrated by the broadly similar courses offered by the Albany Law School [shown in
brackets]. Twelve credits of Albany Law School courses will serve as the elected Public
Policy field in the MPP program.
Toward the MPP degree, students take all 9 required core courses and will write a
master’s essay. Students will complete an internship in a public or non-profit agency
(unless waived because the student has approved employment experience in the public or
nonprofit sector). The requirement for 9 to 12 credits in an elected Public Policy field will
be satisfied by 12 credits of Albany Law School electives. No required content is lost.
Toward the J.D. degree, students take all 12 required courses. Of the 52 required elective
credits, 12 will come from three of the required courses for the MPP degree. No required
content is lost.
c. Number of semesters required for dual program completion. The model program is
laid out in Table 1. The degree will normally take four academic years to complete.
d. Other program requirements. There are no additional requirements. Students must
satisfactorily complete all courses, an internship requirement (unless waived because the
student has approved experience in the public or nonprofit sector), and a master’s essay.
e. Assuring program quality: The Juris Doctor program is accredited by the American
Bar Association, which reviews the program periodically according to rigorous standards.
The Rockefeller College has elected not to pursue accreditation for the MA in Public
Affairs and Policy degree. However, the program was reviewed and assessed in 2003 by
the program’s faculty and a team of external site visitors as part of a review of all campus
programs required by the State University of New York central administration. Overall
program supervision will be the responsibility of the Registrar at Albany Law School and
the Chair of the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University at
Albany.
f. Admissions: Students must be eligible to matriculate in both programs and must be
accepted through the admissions process of each program. Students will complete their
first year of study at the Albany Law School.
g. Advisement: Students enrolled in the MPP/JD program will have a faculty advisor at
the University at Albany to assist them in planning their program.
Table 1
Proposed Dual Degree
Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy and Juris Doctor
Curriculum and Model Program (111 credits)
Time
Frame Juris Doctor
Master of Public Affairs
and Policy
Year 1
Fall
Legal Methods (1 credit)Contracts I
(3 credits) Property I (3
credits)Introduction to Lawyering
(2 credits) Introduction to Civil
Procedure (4 credits)Torts (4
credits)
Spring
Contracts II (3 credits) Property II
(3 credits)Criminal Law (3 credits)
Introduction to Lawyering (2
credits) Constitutional Law (4
credits)
Year 2
Fall
PUB 503 Economics &
Finance (4 credits)
PUB 504 Data, Models &
Decisions I (4 credits)
PUB 522 Politics and
Policy (4 credits)
PUB 507 Professional
Applications (2 credits)
Spring
PUB 505 Data, Models &
Decisions II (4 credits)
PUB 506 Implementation
and Impact (4 credits)
PUB 514 Economic
Analysis for Public Affairs
II (4 credits)
PUB 508 Current
Research Topics in Public
Policy (2 credits)
Year 3
Fall
The Legal Profession (3
credits)ALS Electives (4 credits)
PUB 502 Philosophical &
Ethical Issues in Public
Policy (4 credits)
OR
PUB 529 Law and Policy
(4 credits)
Public Policy Internship
(non-credit)
Spring ALS Electives (12 credits)
PUB 698 Masters Essay (4
credits)
Year 4
Fall
ALS Electives (12 credits)
Spring
ALS Electives (12 credits)
Total
credits 75
36
Table 2
Proposed Dual Degree
Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Policy and Juris Doctor
Allocation of Credits to the Degree Programs
Credits counting toward Juris
Doctor only
Credits counting
toward both
degrees
Credits counting
toward Master of
Public Affairs and
Policy only
Legal Methods (1
credit)Contracts I (3 credits)
Property I (3
credits)Introduction to
Lawyering (2
credits)Introduction to Civil
Procedure (4 credits) Torts (4
credits) Contracts II (3 credits)
Property II (3 credits) Criminal
Law (3 credits) Introduction to
Lawyering (2 credits)
Constitutional Law (4 credits)
The Legal Profession (3 credits)
Albany Law School Electives
(28 credits)
PUB 503
Economics and
Finance (4 credits)
[Similar to ALS
Law and
Economics (3
credits)]
PUB 502
Philosophical and
Ethical Issues in
Public Policy (4
credits) [Similar
to ALS
Government
Ethics (3 credits)]
OR
PUB 529 Law and
Policy (4 credits)
[Similar to ALS
Jurisprudence (3
credits)]
PUB 522 Politics
and Policy (4
credits) [Similar
to ALS Current
Legal Issues in
Government (3
credits)]
Albany Law
School Electives
(12 credits)[Serve
as the Public
Policy field
PUB 504 Data,
Models &
Decisions I (4
credits) PUB 505
Data, Models &
Decisions II (4
credits)
PUB 506
Implementation and
Impact (4
credits)PUB 507
Professional
Applications I (2
credits)
PUB 508 Current
Research Topics in
Public Policy (2
credits)
PUB 514 Economic
Analysis for Public
Affairs II (4
credits)
PUB 698 Master's
Essay (4 credits)
Public Policy
Internship (non-
credit)
courses]
63 credits
24 credits
24 credits
Table 3
Albany Law School
J.D. Curriculum
First Year
first semester
Legal Methods
Contracts I
Property I
Introduction to Lawyering
Introduction to Civil Procedure
Torts
second semester
Contracts II
Property II
Criminal Law
Introduction to Lawyering
Constitutional Law
Second Year
The Legal Profession
Electives
Third Year
Electives
Total credits
credits
1
3
3
2
4
4
3
3
3
2
4
3
24
28
87
Table 4
Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
University at Albany-State University of New York
Master of Public Affairs and Policy
Curriculum
Core Courses
PUB 503 Economics and Finance I
PUB 514 Economic Analysis for Public Affairs II
PUB 504 Data, Models and Decisions I
PUB 505 Data, Models and Decisions II
PUB 506 Implementation and Impact
PUB 507 Professional Applications
PUB 508 Current Topics in Public Policy
PUB 522 Politics and Policy
PUB 502 Philosophical and Ethical Issues
in Public Policy OR PUB 529 Law and Policy
Policy Field Courses
Policy Field course
Policy Field course
Policy Field course
Master's Essay
PUB 698 Master's Essay
Internship
Public Policy Internship (non-credit)
Total credits
credits
4
4
4
4
4
2
2
4
4
3 or 4
3 or 4
3 or 4
4
0
45-48
