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Graduate Program Joint JD/MBA


Degree Details

  • Masters (M)
    Total Credits
    42
    Start Term
    Fall
    Delivery Method
    On campus

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School/College The School of Business

Joint JD/MBA Overview

Fuse business acumen with legal expertise to create extraordinary career opportunities

The JD/MBA joint degree program pairs Portland State University’s one-of-a-kind Portland MBA with a top-ranked law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School.

Both The Portland MBA and Lewis & Clark JD place a unique emphasis on innovation, sustainability, and community-focused business leadership. By opting for the JD/MBA joint degree, you can expand and enhance your career possibilities, with opportunities ranging from corporate law to government, nonprofit leadership, and entrepreneurship.

On the most diverse campus in Oregon, you’ll join a select cohort of individuals who enrich the learning experience with a wide array of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Our joint JD/MBA program lets you learn from and work with some of the region’s most influential community leaders. If you want to make a difference in your career, PSU’s joint JD/MBA degree is designed to equip you with the credentials, experience, and contacts to create meaningful change. 

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JD/MBA: Why PSU?

  • Career-building relationships. PSU has active partnerships throughout Portland’s dynamic business and civic communities, giving you broad access to professional mentors and potential employers, including visionary leaders with global reputations.
  • Emphasis on leadership. The JD/MBA joint degree gives you more than business and legal skills. You’ll also develop the hallmarks of leadership, including superior powers of communication and persuasion that stand out in virtually every professional setting, including the courtroom and the boardroom.
  • Focus on social impact. As two institutions whose values are aligned around sustainability, PSU and Lewis & Clark Law School both strive to educate conscientious citizens who can drive social change. Our joint JD/MBA empowers you to promote environmental sustainability, effective governance, and economic justice, among other community-oriented values.
  • Hands-on engagement. Our JD/MBA joint degree takes you beyond textbook theory into direct practice. You’ll interact with corporate, nonprofit, and government leaders inside the classroom and in the community. Real-world engagement in the JD/MBA program range from client-based assignments and case studies to an immersive four-month capstone project that showcases your ability.
  • Affordability. The synergy between the JD and MBA curriculums allow you to complete the joint degree in four years instead of five, reducing total tuition and fees by approximately $21,000, on average.

JD/MBA Highlights

  • Portland State’s MBA ranked #5 Best Green MBA (Princeton Review), #15 Affordable Conscious MBA (Conscious Company) and is a Top 100 Better World MBA (Corporate Knights)
  • Lewis & Clark ranked #1 environmental law program (U.S. News & World Report) with its law review ranked in the top five percent of the nation’s law journals (Washington & Lee)
  • PSU has been on U.S. News & World Report’s “Most Innovative Universities” list for four consecutive years
  • Active partnerships with leaders in regional business, government, and nonprofit sectors
  • PSU School of Business holds elite dual accreditation in accounting and business from AACSB
  • Lewis & Clark Law School is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools

What Can I Do With a JD/MBA Joint Degree?

Career flexibility is a major benefit of our JD/MBA degree. You can use it as a gateway to specialized niches in business or law, or as a broad foundation for high-level management and leadership jobs. 

The range of career specialties includes:

  • Environmental law
  • Social entrepreneurship
  • Investment advising
  • Negotiation
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Public policy
  • International business and development
  • Risk analysis
  • Nonprofit leadership

Contact

Portland State University: Tichelle Sorensen, MBA Academic Director, sorenset@pdx.edu, 503-725-9936

Lewis & Clark Law School: Mimi Huang, Assistant Dean of Admissions, mimi@lclark.edu, 503-768-6613

MORE INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE JD/MBA STUDENTS

  • The JD/MBA option is designed for eligible full-time students. Part-time students who are interested in the program should request an advising appointment to review their individual circumstances before applying to the program.
  • JD Students accepted to Lewis & Clark are eligible to have their GMAT requirement waived with an admissible LSAT score.
  • JD/MBA students will complete at least their first year of courses at Lewis & Clark Law School before beginning the MBA portion of the degree. You can apply for the JD/MBA immediately after acceptance to Lewis & Clark.
  • Because financial aid rules and budgets differ between the institutions, students are encouraged to reach out early for financial advising to determine the best course for financial planning.
  • Students must earn a minimum of B grades in at least 14 credits of Lewis & Clark Law School business law courses for transfer into the MBA program.
  • We encourage you to reach out to our advisors early on in the application process so we can help you plan for a successful entry into the JD/MBA program.

JOINT JD/MBA DEGREE CURRICULUM

The 42-credit MBA coursework in the joint degree is organized around three main content areas:

  • Foundations of Competitiveness: Stay on the cutting edge of business with coursework in innovation, creativity, ethics, sustainability and global awareness.
  • Value Chain of Business: Critical skills to run a modern business, including accounting, information systems, finance, management, marketing and operations.
  • Applied Skills and Leadership: Learn managerial best practices and apply them through immersive experiences and a capstone consulting project.

ACCREDITATION & RANKINGS

Portland State University is fully accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

One of fewer than 200 business schools worldwide — top 1% — to be accredited in both business and accounting by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). AACSB is the elite business school accreditation known internationally.

  • Best Part-Time MBA, U.S. News & World Report
  • #5 Green MBA, The Princeton Review
  • Best Business Schools, On-Campus MBA, The Princeton Review
  • # 1 Best Environmental Law Programs - Lewis & Clark Law School, U.S. News and World Report

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