Wake Forest University School of Divinity

Wake Forest University School of Divinity and the School of Law offer a dual, five-year degree program, the Master of Divinity and Juris Doctor (MDiv/JD). This degree promotes an interdisciplinary conversation between religion and law, provides a different vocational perspective not found in the single law or divinity concentration, and enriches the professional knowledge and experience of students who want to pursue careers in law or divinity.

The student will first complete two years of work in either the School of Divinity or The School of Law (60 credit hours).

Two additional years will be completed in either the School of Divinity or the School of Law (60 credit hours).

The final year (5th year) will include electives that are dual-degree appropriate, selected from a list of suggested courses determined by the School of Divinity and the School of Law (30 hours total (15 credit hours in Divinity and 15 credit hours in Law).

The Wake Forest University Strategic Plan challenges the schools within the University to develop synergistic programs across the University

With concern about the isolation of the Schools within the University and troubled with narrow professionalism, the University, as well as society, will be better served by cross-disciplinary studies. The School of Divinity and the School of Law are equipped with interested personnel, facilities, and administrative help to provide a dual degree program in Divinity and Law that will benefit students who are pursuing careers in professions of law and clergy.

Interdisciplinary inquiry within the context of a liberal arts perspective is a developing concept at the University.

The Schools of the Divinity and Law are in a unique position to model an interdisciplinary conversation for the larger University by providing a curriculum that not only respects the individual disciplines of law and religion but also works to develop explicit interconnections, bringing an integrative focus to the conversation as well as to the professions.

Intrinsic commonalities exist between law and religion providing a natural intellectual synergy that only needs to be shaped into explicit curricular format.

Conversations between law and religion are important. Religion seeks to understand how individuals should live and law seeks to provide the structures for an ordered society. Commonalities exist between the study of religion and law in the emphases on the primacy of texts, the importance of tradition, the role of authority, and the behavior of individuals and groups.

Application for admissions must be submitted to the School of Law and the School of Divinity. The Graduate Record Exam is required for application to the School of Divinity for admittance to this dual degree program.

A specific application must be made to enroll in the joint program. Even if a student is admitted separately to each school’s regular program, final approval for admittance to the accelerated, dual degree program will be determined by a joint admissions committee with representatives from both schools.

Tuition will be paid directly to each School during the time of the two-year program. During the fifth year, tuition fees for one semester will be paid to the School of Divinity and the other semester to the School of Law.

When a student has been admitted to the program, each school will assign the student a faculty advisor for the entire duration of the degree program. For optimum content and integration between the School of Divinity and the School of Law, the student will be required to meet with the advisors from both schools at least once during each semester of the five year program. The student must receive the advisors’ approval for his or her course selection each semester.

If a student has not enrolled in the joint degree program from the beginning of the five year period, he will be assigned faculty advisors as soon as he has applied and been accepted into the joint program.

During the fifth year, the student shall enroll and pay the tuition for the Law School during one semester and the School of Divinity during the other semester. During the law school semester, she shall take courses in the Law School, classes cross-listed in the School of Divinity, or classes offered elsewhere in the university and approved by the Law School. During the School of Divinity Semester, the student shall take courses in the School of Divinity, classes cross-listed in the Law School, or classes offered elsewhere in the university and approved by the School of Divinity.

All law students must maintain at least a 73 average at the end of each academic year in order to stay in law school. A student who has a 73 average or better but is in the bottom 20% of the class at the end of the first year will be strongly advised to take courses which cover subjects on the Bar Examination during his or her final three semesters in law school.

All divinity students must have an overall grade point average of 2.67 in order to graduate with the Master of Divinity degree. A student who falls below a 2.67 cumulative grade point average in a given term is placed on academic probation. Academic probation is lifted when the cumulative grade point average is raised to a 2.67 or higher. While on academic probation, students are required to earn at minimum a B average (3.00) in each semester or term until the minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.67 is reached. Students who fail to earn a B average in a semester of term while on academic probation will be asked to withdraw from the School of Divinity. Reapplication to the program may be made after one academic year.

Dual Degree in Master of Divinity and Juris Doctor