Dual Degree Programs
Colorado Law is a part of an Association of American Universities' level-one research university and therefore offers rich opportunities for interdisciplinary study through seven dual degree programs with other University of Colorado schools and colleges. These dual degree programs offer students a way to integrate their study of law with other disciplines while earning course credit towards both degrees simultaneously. The Law School works in cooperation with these other schools to design and select courses in each program that allow students to earn a dual degree in less time than it takes to earn each degree separately.
Students apply separately to and are admitted by the two schools under their respective admissions procedures and standards. Students may elect a dual degree program at the time of initial application to both schools, or they may apply to one school after having enrolled in the other; however, only credits earned after Law School enrollment count toward the JD degree. The Law School requires that students take the first year of the JD curriculum as a unit exclusively in the Law School. Find details of each dual degree program in the Rules of the Law School. Tuition rates and fees for each program vary, depending on whether the student is doing the dual degree at the University of Colorado Boulder campus or at another campus. Students interested in pursuing a dual degree should contact the registrar's office and the relevant program advisor.
Tax Emphasis Program
The Law School offers a program of law study that leads to a Juris Doctor degree with an emphasis in taxation. The program signifies tax law experience beyond that normally obtained by law graduates, but not as extensive as that obtained in a Masters of Taxation degree program.
Students must earn at least 92 credit hours (89 are required for the JD) with at least 18 of the credits in taxation. These 18 hours must include:
- Income Taxation, Partnership Taxation, and Federal Estate and Gift Tax
- At least one tax planning course (Business Planning, Estate Planning, or Real Estate Planning)
- Tax Policy (at the Law School) or, if not offered, either the Tax Policy (at the Leeds School of Business) or Public Finance (in the Department of Economics)
- Additional elective credits to make up the 18 hours from tax courses (at the Law School) or from graduate tax offerings (at the Leeds School of Business) approved for law credit
Business school and economics department courses taken for Law School credit under the Tax Emphasis Program are limited to 6 semester credit hours and must have received prior approval from the faculty. Students may take more than the required 18 credit hours of tax courses.
Students must receive at least a B in the business school course or in the Public Finance course to count for Law School credit. The business school or Public Finance courses will be treated as pass/fail courses for the Law School transcript; that is, these courses will count toward the 92 hours required for the degree, but will not be taken into account in computing a law student's grade point average.
Students can complete the program within the normal three-year law degree period by planning the program of law study effectively and taking a summer session or a heavier-than-average load each semester after the first year. Law students who wish to participate to participate in the program should submit enrollment forms to both the program director and the law school registrar.
Certificate Programs
Colorado Law offers certificate programs that demonstrate a completion of a concentrated course of study in a specific legal field. Certificates require at least 92 credit hours (89 are required for the JD), with at least 18 or 21 of the 92 hours in designated courses.
Students can complete a certificate program within the normal three-year law degree period by planning the program of law study effectively and taking a summer session or a heavier-than-average load each semester after the first year. Law students who wish to participate in the program should submit enrollment forms to both the program director and the law school registrar by January 20th of their 3L year.
- American Indian Law Certificate
- Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resources Law and Policy Certificate
- Entrepreneurial Law Certificate
- Health Law and Policy Certificate
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program in Environment, Policy and Society – Offered through CU's Environmental Studies Program, it incorporates courses from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences (Departments of Anthropology, Biology, Economics, Geography, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology), Architecture and Planning, Engineering, and the Schools of Law, Business, and Journalism. Tracks are available in Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, Energy and Society, and Water and Society. Students must complete 18 credit hours of approved course work, including 6 credit hours of cornerstone/capstone seminars. At least 12 credit hours must be in courses outside the school/college/department in which the student is currently enrolled. Interested J.D. students should be further aware that participation in this program will require them to take more than the 89 credits normally required for the J.D. degree. Interested J.D. students should consult with law school Professor Sarah Krakoff and the law school registrar for more details.
- International Law Certificate
- Juvenile and Family Law Certificate