Curriculum
Program Structure and Curriculum
Students spend the first year of the JD-MBA Program at the Law School’s Chicago Campus where they complete the standard first-year law curriculum.
Students must take a minimum of 3.0 Kellogg credits during their first summer, which can be achieved by taking part-time Kellogg classes through the Evening & Weekend Program at Kellogg's downtown campus or full-time Kellogg classes through the Full-Time Program at Kellogg's Evanston campus and may include Law School classes that are co-listed for Kellogg credits. They may also take Law School coursework to get ahead of their Law curriculum requirements, enroll in an experiential opportunity at the Law School, or do a business or law internship in addition to taking classes.
Students register in the full-time program at Kellogg’s Evanston campus and will complete the minimum 16 Kellogg credit MBA requirements, including the core classes, by the end of this year. JD-MBA students have a fully-immersive Kellogg experience in this year: experiential learning courses, course related travel, club leadership, social events, and more.
Students participate in a summer internship in law or business following their second year in the program. Students pursuing a law internship will go through recruiting with the Law School during their first year and through the summer term and have full access to the Northwestern Pritzker Law Career Center. Students pursuing a business internship will participate in the Kellogg recruiting activities in the winter quarter of their second year. Students have full access to the Kellogg Career Management Center starting in the summer after their first year.
Students return full time to the Law School and complete their remaining courses. Students may take a few Kellogg electives if there is space in their credit offerings for each quarter and provided they do not exceed the 20 Kellogg credit limit. Most JD-MBA students take one to four Kellogg courses during their third year.
Majors & Specializations (also know as Pathways)
As a JD-MBA student, you’ll participate in the same classes and coursework as your counterparts seeking only an MBA or law degree. Our strong MBA core curriculum creates a well-balanced academic foundation.
You may opt to choose from seven majors during your MBA studies: Accounting, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Strategy and Managing Organizations. A major generally requires that a student complete the core course for the major and a minimum of four credits of eligible electives. If you choose not to elect a major, "Management Science" will be noted on your transcript.
We believe that this approach gives our students the flexibility and guidance they need to carve out a unique intellectual experience that is relevant to their specific educational and career goals.
In addition to majors, Kellogg provides informal specializations (also known as "pathways") to our students who are interested in building expertise in emerging areas and evolving industries.
A specialization is an integrated, cross-functional selection of courses designed to address a particular skill set or industry for which there is active student and recruiter demand. You have the flexibility to pursue any number of pathways and go as deep as you’d like into each one.
Explore pathways for Analytics and AI, Asset Management, Sustainability: Climate, Environment & Energy, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Scaling, Healthcare at Kellogg, Real Estate, Sustainability: Social Impact and Responsible Leadership, Technology Management, and Private Equity & Venture Capital.