Mastering Dual Disciplines

In today’s interconnected and interdependent world, legal professionals don’t work in silos. An increasingly complex global economy has generated a demand for individuals who possess a breadth and depth of skills. Lawyers find themselves working not as independent specialists, but as members of multidisciplinary business teams who need to possess both the legal and business expertise to represent, guide and lead their organizations to success.

Since 1989, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law has recognized this trend and offered a dual degree program in collaboration with the nationally recognized Villanova School of Business. The Villanova JD/MBA program equips students for success by preparing them to consider the legal intricacies of business and the business aspects of the law. In just three years, JD/MBA students graduate with both a JD and MBA degree, and a broad knowledge base that uniquely positions them to capitalize on expanding career opportunities in and beyond the law.

“The JD/MBA program was great because it allowed me to transfer several credits from the JD course programming into the MBA,” said Anna Boyd ’19, Docket Attorney at the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel in Washington D.C. “That way I was able to get two degrees in the normal three years that it takes to attain a JD. It could be difficult to time manage during busy seasons, but I am so glad I was able to get a foundation in business and still graduate with my legal colleagues. I started a full-time job in financial products tax law just over a year ago, and the MBA gave me a basic understanding of accounting/GAAP rules, as well as some exposure to typical business transactions. I use my MBA education every single day as an attorney.”

Abigail Wilson, class of 2020 and Associate Attorney at Wade Clark Mulcahy LLP in Philadelphia credits her JD/MBA degree with expanding her career opportunities. “Applying to the JD/MBA program was, hands down, the best decision I made in my career. As someone with a business background, it was an amazing way to meld my interests in both business and the law, and it has opened up many doors for me in externships and my professional life.”

Wilson added, “The JD/MBA degree is a wonderful way to utilize your education in unique ways and expand your horizons regarding the roles of law and business in unusual circumstances.”

To learn more about Villanova Law degree programs, visit our Academic offerings web page.