Thank you for your interest in our joint degree program leading to both a Juris Doctor and a Master's in Mass Communication.
The joint MA/JD program allows students to obtain both a master's in mass communication and a law degree in 4 years, about 1 year less than it would ordinarily take to receive both degrees. The primary purposes of the joint degree are to enable students to 1) find a job and practice in media law, 2) work as a reporter covering the courts, or 3) prepare for college teaching in media law. Therefore, a master's program might emphasize media law, but you could instead emphasize journalism, telecommunications, advertising, public relations or international communications.
Our program provides the widest array of media law courses available in the country. In addition, we offer strong specialties in telecommunications policy and intellectual property. We have several faculty members ready to work with you.*
The program policy requires you to be admitted into the second program no later than two semesters before you graduate from the first program. If you are inclined to start the communications program before you have been admitted into the law school, you need to talk to me about planning your communications program with that in mind.
If you are interested in applying to the joint degree program, you will need to apply to the College of Law as well as the College of Journalism and Communications. Write to Michael Patrick, Dean of Admissions, College of Law, 325 Holland Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. You need to apply to the two programs separately. You will need to take both the Graduate Record Exam and the LSAT. The College of Journalism and Communications has no specific application deadlines. However, the law school does.
Please let me know if you need any more information. If you have any questions, you can call me at (352) 392-0463 or e-mail me at: dostroff@jou.ufl.edu. My office is located in room 2075, Weimer Hall.
Sincerely,
David Ostroff
Interim Graduate Coordinator
* In August, 2009, Clay Calvert will be joining the team at Florida when he becomes the Joseph L. Brechner Eminent Scholar in Mass Communications. Professor Calvert, a member of the State Bar of California who also holds a Ph.D. in Communication from Stanford University, currently serves as the John & Ann Curley Professor of First Amendment Studies at Pennsylvania State University and has published more than 75 law journal articles on contemporary First Amendment Issues.