GSAD-202 - Joint Degree Programs Administrative Policy

Purpose

To ensure that joint degree students receive the academic and administrative support needed to complete these complex educational programs.

All joint degree programs offered through the Graduate School.

: Joint degree programs offer select, highly motivated students the opportunity to combine advanced disciplinary knowledge offered by the Graduate School with legal or medical training offered by Penn State Law and Dickinson Law School, or the College of Medicine, respectively. The advantages of a joint degree program (compared to simply sequentially completing the two degree programs) include a curriculum in which the student benefits intellectually from a close integration of the curriculum, and benefits in practical terms from select individual courses that are counted toward the requirement of both degrees (“double counted courses”).

Managing the academic and administrative needs of the intersection of degrees from two schools with differing cultures and expectations is complex and requires clear academic and administrative policies to ensure that the students understand the expectations of them, and that the faculties and staff members of both programs provide appropriate support to the students.

Proposals for new joint degree programs must be accompanied by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the deans of the respective colleges describing how tuition will be charged to joint degree students as they progress through the program.
1. The graduate program and the respective partner school must work in conjunction with the University Budget Office, the Bursar, and the Graduate School to establish these MOUs.
2. The MOU must include a typical program of study.
The graduate program and the respective partner school will each identify a faculty member with academic administrative responsibility specifically for the joint degree program. For the graduate program, this may be the program head, DGS/PIC, or another member of the program’s Graduate Faculty specially designated to this role. These individuals have the following responsibilities:
1. Being knowledgeable about the requirements of the joint degree program;
2. Providing academic advising and guidance to joint degree students; and
3. Signing forms on behalf of the respective academic program for that program’s aspects of a student’s joint degree program.

Legal Statements