Dual Degree Program Overview

Leading the Way

Cornell’s Law, Psychology and Human Development program, established in 2007, is unique among Ivy League institutions.  It boasts a significant percentage of the interdisciplinary field’s leading scholars, and has quickly become widely considered the best and most influential program of its kind in the United States. The dual PhD/JD is an advanced collaboration between the College of Human Ecology and the Law School.    Although the dual PhD/JD degree was recently approved in 2011, it builds on over 220 years of academic excellence in Human Ecology and the Law School.  Highly motivated students who enter the program emerge as lawyers with extensive, doctoral-level training in experimental psychology, and psychologists with a complete legal education.  It is anticipated that this program and the scholarship produced by its faculty, students, and graduates will influence the course of legal reform and legal education for generations to come.  

Program Details

The Cornell dual PhD/JD in Developmental Psychology and Law is a 6-year (12-semester) program, for a total of approximately 167 credits. The program is divided into three years of full-time PhD study, two years of full-time JD study, and a blended year of PhD/JD study. Up to 12 HD semester credits may be counted as electives towards the 84 credits that are required for the JD.

Students must spend their first, second, and fifth summers conducting master’s and doctoral thesis research. All PhD required core courses must be completed, and a research-based master’s thesis must be completed and defended in Human Development, by the end of the second year. Upon completion of the fourth year, all JD core courses must be completed, and the “A” exam for the Graduate Field of Human Development must be taken. During the sixth year, students complete and defend a research-based dissertation, and complete their remaining requirements for the JD.

Please note that HD courses' availability varies from year to year.  The following is a sample only; students work with their supervisory committee to formulate a plan.