JD/MFA Program

Recognizing that today’s lawyers are called upon for creative and thoughtful leadership on complex issues, Hamline University and Hamline University School of Law are responding with an innovative program to produce lawyers capable of exploring social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing. Hamline students now have the unique opportunity to pursue both a juris doctor (JD) and a master of fine arts (MFA) degree in creative writing. Hamline’s joint JD/MFA in creative writing degree is the first of its kind in the nation.

“There’s no doubt that the world is rapidly changing in this global economy,” Hamline University School of Law Dean Donald Lewis said. “To be successful, lawyers and other leaders must be able to think creatively and use disciplined imagination to solve problems. For students who can meet the rigorous admission requirements of both schools, the combined JD/MFA will encourage creativity and personal expression as part of the analytical rigor of law. Our graduates will be well positioned to serve as global leaders, thinkers, writers and, of course, members of the bench and bar.”

The MFA program at Hamline University was established as Minnesota’s first master of fine arts program in creative writing and is distinguished by its multidisciplinary emphasis and its encouragement of multi-genre explorations. The JD program at Hamline University School of Law provides a dramatically expanded interdisciplinary approach to writing and exploration of social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing. Students may apply to either program at any time.

Graduate School of Liberal Studies Dean Mary Rockcastle said the new dual program will allow Hamline “to create a bridge between two very different programs.” Rockcastle said that in the Graduate School of Liberal Studies, faculty members integrate the craft and values of good writing into interdisciplinary coursework and encourage students to write and publish in multiple content areas.

“Now, we’ll be able to do the same with students in law school, who can take their knowledge and experience as lawyers and write — nonfiction, fiction, screenplays and poetry,” Rockcastle said.

The JD/MFA is just one of Hamline’s many joint degree programs, which also include management, nonprofit management, public administration, and organizational leadership.

This is a highly limited enrollment program. Students must meet the rigorous admission requirements of each school. Admission to the joint program requires the separate admission to each program. Admission to either program, however, is not conditioned on acceptance to both.

Students may apply to either program at any time; however, no credits earned outside the School of Law may be applied towards the JD unless earned after matriculation into the School of Law.

The JD/MFA program will operate within the Law School very much like the current joint degree and exchange relationship now in place with Hamline University's Graduate School of Management (GSM). The primary difference will be the high bar to admissions in GLS due to the selectivity of that program.

Transfer of credits to School of Law

Law students seeking to register for MFA classes must first obtain pre-approval through the law school's Office of the Registrar. After obtaining the necessary approval, student will then register for MFA classes at GLS. Through the JD/MFA program, law students may receive up to 9 JD credits from approved MFA courses completed with grade "B" or better (each 4-credit MFA course counts as a 3-credit JD course; thus, up to 3 MFA courses will transfer). Approved courses will come from the MFA students' core and required writing offerings. As with all transfer credits, the MFA grades will appear on the Law School transcripts, but will have no effect on the law students' grade-point averages.

Transfer of credits to Graduate School of Liberal Studies

Jointly enrolled students will be able to transfer a maximum of three 3-credit courses to replace the three elective courses, including the interdisciplinary elective course required for the MFA. Students will not be eligible to reduce the number of core writing courses required for graduation.

Unless otherwise specified, all other academic rules relating to the joint-degree will be the same as those presently in place for JD students jointly enrolled in the Graduate School of Management.

Additional Information:

Admissions Requirements:

Graduate School of Liberal Studies

Transcript

Two letters of recommendation

Essays

1. A three-to-four page, double-spaced essay: Describe your background and experience with writing, including any published works and awards or honors received in writing. Describe your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Discuss personal and/or professional goals you hope to attain through this program. Include mention of additional work or experience that seems relevant to this application.

2. A two-to-three page, double-spaced essay in response to the question: What book or writer has had significant influence on you? Please include reference to key stylistic or content elements which you believe to be of special importance.

3. Writing Sample: Attach a 20-page creative writing sample. Prose should be double-spaced. Choose whatever you regard as your best work.

School of Law

Transcript showing a bachelor's degree.

LSAT score

Resume

Two letters of recommendation

Personal Statement

The reference letters for the two programs are designed to elicit information that may be different in each program so students may wish to submit references from different individuals to each program.

MFA Graduation Requirements:

Core Seminar (4 credits)
Writing Courses (24 credits)
Required: A (4 credit) "Groundings in the Craft"
and a (4 credit) "Advanced" course both in the genre in which students do their thesis.
Elective Courses: (12 credits) one of which must be a multidisciplinary Seminar
Capstone:
Thesis 1 (4 credits)
Thesis 2 (4 credits)
The MFA requires a total of 48 credits.

New joint degree program seeks to create lawyers with the Write Stuff

Featured in the July 30, 2007 Issue of Minnesota Lawyer.

By Dan Heilman
dan.heilman@minnlawyer.com

If you can provide an answer to a legal language issue that’s more esoteric than what’s in Black’s Law Dictionary — and can spend 1,500 words eloquently explaining why — you might be at home in a joint degree program Hamline University is developing.

The university’s law school and Graduate School of Liberal Studies are teaming up to create the nation’s first Juris Doctor/Master of Fine Arts joint degree. Set to debut in fall 2008, the program is an outgrowth both of successful previous attempts at joint programs at Hamline and the interdisciplinary nature of the school’s M.F.A. program in creative writing.

Jon Garon, dean of the law school, said the idea for the joint degree program came up late last year as part of Hamline’s regular strategic planning process.
“We tried to identify some university-wide opportunities, and the M.F.A. with Creative Writing and the J.D. seemed
like signature programs. It became pretty obvious that there was a natural overlap between the two programs,” said the dean, who is also the author of a business
and legal guide for filmmakers.

’Creating a bridge’

Mary Francois Rockcastle, dean of Hamline’s Graduate School of Liberal Studies, feels the dual program will allow Hamline “to create a bridge between
two very different programs.” Rockcastle said
that in the Graduate School of Liberal Studies, faculty integrates the craft and values of good writing
into interdisciplinary coursework and encourages students to write and publish in multiple content areas.

“Now, we’ll be able to do the same with students in law school, who can take their knowledge and experience as lawyers and write — nonfiction, fiction, screenplays,
and poetry.”

Garon said several Hamline law students have successfully gone through the Creative Writing program in the past, notably John Bessler, husband of Sen. Amy
Klobuchar and author of three books. “In some ways he’s the prime illustration of how this can work — a very successful lawyer with creative writing ability,” Garon said. “We started realizing that both curricula could be valuable to the right kind of student.”

Enrollment now open

The goal of the joint degree program goes much deeper than teaching new lawyers to write better. By combining the J.D.’s focus on law with the M.F.A.’s focus on multiple genres and styles, Hamline seeks to produce lawyers capable of exploring social and political issues through fiction and creative nonfiction writing.

Enrollment is already open for the program, and while Garon didn’t say how many students the university expected to enroll, he did say the number would be limited by the rigors of the admission process.
Students must meet the enrollment requirements of both the J.D. and the M.F.A. program separately, and no prior credits earned outside the School of Law may be applied toward the joint degree.

Fusing a law curriculum with another discipline is nothing new. Other universities offer such joint programs as
J.D./M.B.A. and J.D./M.A. in Psychology. In fact, the University of Minnesota offers a J.D. in tandem with degrees in its Health or Life Sciences programs. But Hamline’s is unusual in that it includes a creative component.

“I personally think lawyering is a very creative art,” Garon said. “But we don’t emphasize that in legal education. So it often takes lawyers a few years of practice to redevelop that creativity around what they do. Law students are frustrated by that, because you need to have the technical craft before you can explore that creative side.”

The joint degree is modeled after the School of Law’s joint degree and exchange relationship currently in place with other Hamline programs. Hamline students can currently combine a J.D. with a Master’s in Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, Management, Library and Information Science and Organization Leadership.

Nancy Hellerud, associate dean of Hamline’s graduate School of Management, said the university has high hopes for the J.D./M.F.A. joint degree because of the
success of similar previous efforts.

“I think Hamline students are accustomed to crossing disciplines,” Hellerud said.

“People find it rewarding working at the intersection of two degree programs that have some contrasting elements.”

Hellerud added that the J.D./M.P.A., the joint degree program containing a J.D .component that’s been at Hamline the longest, has produced about 40 graduates since its introduction in 1997.

The next Turow?

Law students seeking to register for M.F.A. classes must first obtain pre-approval through the law school’s Office of the Registrar. Each four-credit MFA course counts as a three-credit J.D. course, meaning law students may receive up to nine JD credits from approved M.F.A. courses. The M.F.A. grades will appear on the student’s
law school transcripts, but will have no effect on the law student’s grade-point average.

Garon foresees a unique combination of creative and analytical skills among prospective applicants to the program, along with a strong interest in public policy.
“The typical applicant we’ll see will be someone who probably has a strong creative sense in addition to a strong academic background,” Garon said. “It will
be somebody who really wants to use their law degree as part of their broader public participation. I see this as a way for lawyers who want to engage in the public
debate to use their writing, particularly their nonfiction writing, to engage the public at large.”

The application benchmarks for the program incorporates elements from both the law school and the liberal arts school, so that in addition to the customary LSATscores and letters of recommendation, admission
requires completion of two essays: one outlining the applicant’s background, accomplishments and goals, and the other discussing a particular book or author that has stirred the applicant’s creative side.

Garon said that while the program has both fiction and nonfiction classes, the students who get the most out of it will be the ones who are developing their creative
sides independent of the program.

“It’s really creating that balance that law school itself doesn’t have,” he said. “This will create a much more immediate opportunity for students with that creative
side to keep developing it.”

Though it’s not a stated goal, Rockcastle indicated that the university wouldn’t mind it at all if Bessler wasn’t the last published writer Hamline’s law school produced.

“Hamline may just turn out the next Al Gore, Scott Turow or Stephen Carter,” she said. “Why not aim for a National Book Award or Pulitzer while writing about public policy, conflict studies, government or the environment?”