The UPenn Express: J.D./M.B.A. in Just 3 Years
The University of Pennsylvania Law School announced they will begin offering a J.D./M.B.A. program that can be completed in three years.
In order to make it work, Penn will concede a painfully obvious point: one year of law school is really all anybody needs. According to their press release:
Students in the new program will spend the first year in the Law School and the following summer in four Law and Wharton courses designed specifically for the three-year J.D./M.B.A. The second and third years will include a combination of Law and Wharton courses, including capstone courses in the third year and work experience in law, business, finance, or the public sector in the summer between the second and third years.
Applicants will still need to apply to the two schools separately. So, you’ll have to be able to get into Wharton on the strength of that multi-million dollar business you’ve been running out of your treehouse since you were eight.
Penn is not exactly breaking new ground here; Northwestern has been offering a 3-year J.D./M.B.A program for a few years. But maybe Penn just doesn’t fear the purple:
Penn’s three-year J.D./M.B.A. is the country’s first fully integrated three-year program offered by elite law and business schools.
You hear that Kellogg? Penn is calling you out.
Expect U.S. News & World Report’s highly anticipated “Best 3-Year J.D./M.B.A Programs In the Lower 48 States” issue to be coming out soon to help college graduates make a decision.
Penn Law and Wharton Create 3-Year JD/MBA Degree [University of Pennsylvania Law School]




Comments
OH, man. This is awful, awful news.
Is that at the Carlisle or Happy Valley campus?
I hope it's at the Bratislava campus!
I can easily think of a few partners in Thelen that could have used a business class or two in learning how to manage a law firm.
-disgruntled associate with a cute ass
Penn State University = TTT
2: This is no longer amusing. The post clearly refers to the Philadelphia campus, which includes Whardon. Whardon is probably the best state business school in the country, so please take your trolling elsewhere.
This is perfect. After several years of working for the bankers, most biglaw attorneys have the desire to switch to the banking side fto work for less hours and double the pay.
LOL@"Whardon."
Um, 5, there's a clear difference between Penn State (a big 10 school) and the University of Pennsylvania (an IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL). Learn something before you go throwing around terms like TTT.
6
Whardon =/= Wharton
You, sir, are obviously the fine product of a TTT education.
This is perfect. After several years of working for the bankers, most biglaw attorneys have the desire to switch to the banking side fto work for less hours and double the pay.
That is, assuming that they can get a job in the financial sector at all. Lehman's in trouble, and the others are axing people. Yeah, good idea to be a MBA right now.
Moron.
10: Okay, Wharton, whatever. My point remains the same.
Oh, and I got into UPenn. I just didn't qualify for the in-state tuition.
#7-
Yeah, bankers really work fewer hours for double the pay! Most bankers work 90+ hrs/week, including weekends, AND they're in constant fear of being laid off for a year or more.
And banking is so much more fun than law. Instead of doing doc review or dd, you get to build excel models and draft ppt slides. That's SO much more exciting!
9,10: New here?
5 - Did you foget? It's not Whardon, it's Warden (as in game, prison, church). The school prepares people for caretaker positions in the service industry. This new program will be offered at all of the campuses, including Hazleton. Bravo PennState-Philly, out breaking new ground (or is it wind) again.
and, UPenn is private.
you people that are getting upset over upennstate references are obviously new to this site and the running joke concerning penn.
14: It's just not the same without the hilariously indignant PS/UP comments. Glad that I was convincing.
-9
is it warden or warton?
6 sorry for calling you 5. You're obviously not a law student or you wouldn't have known about Warden and if you use TTT you'd have to be a law student.
9 : Yeah, I totally agree. It sounds so stupid, it is almost as if they were making a joke about UPenn people being sensitive about confusing it with Penn State!
10, well done on catching 6's error. Indeed wharton does not equal whardon. But you also forgot to distinguish the warden school, which is located at a small little known private collegel located in downtown Philly. The warden school which, as you probably can guess trains future prison wardens, is a bit of an anachorism from pre civil war days. Rumor has it that the private school is trying to shed the warden school in an effort to join the ivy league.
The only thing UPenn has going for it is relative proximity to the Marathon Grill. The rest of Philly is a TTT.
Are you sure its not whoreton?
Philly is not TTT!
Let's Go Eagles!
#5 = MVP!!
4 -- prove it.
"bankers really work fewer hours for double the pay!"
You're talking about the teller at your local Wachovia, aren't you 13?
Widener is offering a combo JD/MBA/CPA program that only takes a year. Suck it, UPEN.
My roommate is an investment banker at Core States Bank in Philly. He makes double what the lawyers make and he's done by 3pm everyday.
This validates Northwestern's decision to offer their accelerated program many years ago.
Core States Bank = TTT hemorrhoid.
UPenn State is now offering a joint degree program in law and the vocational training of your choice. Auto-Repair, IT Professional, Typist. You get to choose.
You do have to get into the vocational training program separately, though.
Of course once again Penn is behind the curve. Temple Law offered a 3 year dual program for years; more proof that Penn Law is no more than Temple's red-headed stepchild.
Wow, I checked the comments to see how long it took for a UPennState gag... not long at all. In fact it is most of the comments. ATTTL rules.
We dont get MBAs, we tease MBAs. Hope Winters.
I bet you could download a JD/PhD/MBA from UPhoenix online by bedtime.
I don't care what you have to say, #9, U Penn St. is *not* a good school!!!
9: I'm not picking up what you're putting down. U Penn St. is a TTT - I stand by my comment. You are an idiot!
Well played, UPenn State, well played.
Stop bashing the UPenn State system. Their overseas program in Bratislava is second to none.
25 - if you have to tell people that something is not TTT, it is.
So, law students come out of school knowing jack about law, and both law students and MBA's come out of school with a sense of entitlement a mile long. So these new grads will have even less knowledge of the law and even greater entitlement issues.
Though I commend them on trying to develop a specific curriculum for these students.
Crap, I should have waited to go to law school. I could've had a JD AND AN MBA for the same # of years, with less suffering. Of course, I would know no more or less, but other people would be impressed that I had both degrees, right?
- Getting Old
This is definitely not intended for Cravath material.
22: I think your comment might qualify as one of the all-time worst comments in the history of Above the Law. I bet you're a pleasure to hang with socially. A real hoot. Holy shit.
I just enrolled in the JD/Bank Teller program.
UPENN STATE OMG! LOL!!!! Joe Pa!!! OMG that is hilarious. I am LULZING right now!!! almost like Umichichigan state. Tom Izzo is the coach there!!
Still Lulzing. IALMAORN (i am lulzing my ass off right now).
long live autoadmit
free Ciolli
47,
It would stop being funny when douches stopped correcting it...
Does anyone know if the JD/MBA degree will be offered at the Altoona branch? Better yet, did UPenn finally take the plunge and open a law school at the Altoona branch?
Princeton Law pwns UPEN and they hate being reminded of it.
48: You forget that there are trolls on both sides, confusing UPenn/Penn State and correcting those original trolls. It's a giant ATL trolling clusterfuck!
One year of law; Two years of useful courses. The way it should be.
ClusterGULC.
Dude, if I got into Wharton why the f--- would I waste a year as a 1L?
since it's two degrees, is it twice the in-state tuition?
UPENN STATE!! BEST JOKE EVER!!!!!!
LULZ!!
AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT AUTO-AD-MIT
12,
UPenn is a private school. There is no in-state tuition, smart guy.
57 = 48
clever
Any sense for what the tuition is? If you know you're going to commit three-years to law school and know that you want to practice transactional law, why wouldn't you do it if it were the same price as a three-year JD? Law school is mostly litigation focused anyway. My guess is that they'll charge significantly more than they would for the three-year JD.
Is UPenn State the same school as Penn State-Philly? And what is an Auto Admit? Do you still have to take the LSAT?
HAHAHAHAHHAAHA
yeah 60-- youre with me. i knw you are. XOXO-HTH XOXO-HTH UPENN STATE LULZ LULZ LULZ
hey-- Im having my 23rd bday tomorrow night at one of the hottest clubs in NYC. lots of v5 firms do events there. maybe some UPENN STATE grads will be there. XO XO HTH!!! JOE PA JOE PA JOE PA
free ciolli
61 - what's ciolli? Does it taste like chicken?
CHICKEN!!! LULZING!!!!
Why would an MBA guy take law classes? It's a waste of time and money.
If you are a Law guy, the only reason you would take an MBA class is that you have a weak resume or going to a weak law school.
64: legal consulting. i'm dual, but in penn's 4 year program, and that's my reasoning.
or in-house counsel. may need to have knowledge of sec filings, etcetc.
Why go to graduate school when you can bill yourself out at $300 with just a high school degree?
http://www.bustedcoverage.com/?p=7075
66: People have done legal work for corporations for decades without an MBA. It looks like a scam to squeeze more money out of students. If law schools were truly interested in producing competent students, they would have electives that teach what is required to be competent in the business field. It's a three year education for goodness sake! Oh yeah... law school should get rid of all the crap courses like law and sexuality, whatever that is. It's too easy for people to get A's in those classes and make themselves appear intelligent when they are dumber than doorknobs. If they want to take "theory" courses, they should take a Ph.D program is social science.
HAHAHA!!!
LOL @ "first ELITE school"!!! Penn really views themselves in a league above NU, like YHS. That's cute.
"views itself" 69. You remember, singular noun-singular verb. And CNBC is the league above NU. YHS is two leagues up.
Look, I know I will catch all kinds of TTT s*&t for this, but Richmond has had this program for years. Really, you elitists should get over yourselves. I graduated from Richmond over twenty years ago, practiced great law and I AM RICH!!!! Go back to your cubicles, people.
Ok, so you are rich. But you graduated from Richmond. There are GULCers who would be embarrassed to have a degree from Richmond. It takes a goddamn awful amount of money to compensate for being a Richmond grad.
as someone who hires law student this does not make me happy - but i am sure penn (which is what those of us who, thank God, actually went to top law schools call it) did its diligence before announcing this abortion of a program
Warton sucks. I goto TUCK and that was my first choice. Employers know....TUCK rules. TUCK!! TUCK ! TUCK !
Didn't Dickinson College offer a JD/MBA before Penn bought its law school?
Didn't Tom Ridge and Rick Santorum graduate from Penn Law?
75, that's probably where Penn got the idea.
this sounds like a very valuable degree. non-science masters are joke anyway; this further dilution isn't going to help.
everyone wave as penn embarks on its few remaining spins down the crapper.
As I understand it, you don't actually learn anything in an MBA program, it's just an extended OCI. The JD curriculum is not particularly useful either. So what is the point, are corporate recruiters really going to be impressed with your extensive knowledge of your law seminar professor's last book? Are legal recruiters going to be impressed that after your MBA program you still have to beg them for the opportunity to do doc. review? If your going to get a dual degree, get it in something useful so that when the economy tanks both financial services and the legal industry you can still make rent as a dental hygienist.
I go to UPenn state law (long live autoadmit). got a mixture of As and Bs as a 1L. probably around top 30%. I got offers at 3 v5 firms last year. and about 10 others in the top 25 or so. im skipping it all and going to work as GC at a bank.
so.... apparently people practicing law and making hiring decisions view the upenn state law diploma in a different light than the people reading this blog-- who should really be studying harder for the LSAT so they can crack 170, and join me
HTH
I thought that you need to score only 157-160 on the LSAT to be admitted to UPenn State?
157-160!!! UPENN STATE!!! LULZ LULZ LULZ LULZ
I mean....
81, dont you realize that Upenn and Upenn state are two totally different schools?
see what I did there? clevvvvvver.
we are all so clever.
GO LAW!!!
33: Temple got rid of their 3 year JD/MBA program about 3 years ago....now it is a 4 year program
33: Temple got rid of their 3 year JD/MBA program about 3 years ago....now it is a 4 year program
I feel like I am about 16 years old when I read this blog
85-- same here. granted, 16 was only 4 years ago for me
UPENN STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE
70 -- Disagree. Penn's law school is certainly not in a "league" above NU's law school. It is debatable whether one is marginally more "prestigious" than the other, but they're definitely both in the same "league" by almost any objective definition. Same with Penn's b-school and NU's b-school. Both Kellogg and Wharton are extremely selective and prestigious, but fall short of Harvard.
Not sure what's so funny about a 157-160 LSAT score. I got a 153, and I know that I am a better lawyer, and earn more money, than the dolts on this blog.
Wardon...
Public in-state tuition...
TTT...
I graduated from a TTT law school. I work for a top 25 firm. I know that Wharton has an excellent MBA program. I guess T does not equal overall knowledge or the ability to know when you do not know enough to post!
87. not even close on wharton - kelllog comparison. closer on Penn law - NU. but Penn Law is still more highly regarded by anyone who knows what they are talking about,
87: Nope. Here are the prestige leagues:
HYS
CCN
MVP -- Michigan, Virginia, Penn
GNCD -- Georgetown, Northwestern
JD/MBA grad here. V5 biglaw in NYC. Former Ibanker. Bankers don't make twice what biglaw associates do -- until they make VP, and the average NYC biglaw partner does better than a large majority of the MDs at banks (unless you're talking Participating MDs at Goldman or something).
True in 2005/2006 Bankers owned Biglaw on pay - but biglaw has gone up and banking associate pay will be lucky to crack $200k this year.
Bankers work Wachtell hours all the time. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
WTF? Stanford has had a 3-yr JD/MBA program for awhile.
92: Thank you. I'm so glad that someone finally dispelled that idiotic "iBankers make twice what associates make on bonus alone" meme.
iBankers also have much less job security, and they're *totally* fungible in comparison to BigLaw associates. You could lay-off everyone on your trade floor and nobody would blink twice.
92: Why do bankers work Wachtell hours? The trading is open between 9:30 to 4. What could they possibly be doing before or after those times?
95, Sending out their resume.
95 - filling out law school applications.
92: 7 years to make partner at a law firm (if you get selected) vs. 2 years to make VP (probable to make VP since they are a dime a dozen).
JDs will never make more than MBA's because it's the MBA's that pay your salary.
JD/MBA degrees are a scam. It only proves that a law degree is useless. Heck... a paralegal can do your job.
95: Turning tricks to keep their banks solvent.