Beyond the JD: Build a Career You Want to Wake Up For

Duke Law students come to Durham prepared to do challenging work and to build successful careers. The joint JD/Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy offers a way to differentiate your work and make that career distinctly your own.

As breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, health care, and other digital technologies reshape society, lawyers will be asked to do more than interpret rules. They will need to understand competing values, communicate across disciplines, and help organizations make practical, responsible decisions.

“While a degree from Duke Law comprehensively prepares you for any job upon graduation, combining the JD with an M.A. in Applied Ethics & Policy can help you find the position – and perhaps the career – you truly want,” says Duke Law Professor Jolynn Dellinger.“ A job that speaks to your passions in bioethics or technology, and with organizations or firms doing work in the life sciences, health, privacy, or wherever your special interests lie.” 

A Meaningful Professional Advantage

The joint degree program complements the rigor of a Duke Law education with an interdisciplinary community and curriculum that explores the real-world challenges at the intersection of science, technology, ethics, and policy. While the law school teaches you to think linearly, the master’s program helps you think laterally and in more creative ways.

This broader experience creates a meaningful professional advantage. Employers increasingly value lawyers who bring curiosity, critical thinking, and fluency in the social and technical context behind complex legal questions. The master’s degree becomes more than an additional credential. It is a way to gain perspective that applies across sectors, and differentiate yourself in interviews, clerkships, and future roles.

Ana Otero is a Duke Law 2L and JD/MA candidate who entered the program with a background in the biosciences. But exposure through the master’s program revealed the growing overlap between her bioethics work and emerging issues in technology innovation. “Firms are increasingly deploying legal AI tools, and some are even developing their own in-house AI platforms,” says Otero. “It’s expected that associates will be familiar with and embrace these technologies. Being able to engage with AI from an ethical and policy standpoint is a total value add to my already amazing legal education.”

The joint degree is designed to fit alongside the JD, with MA coursework beginning after the first year and structured around law students’ schedules. Students apply during the first semester of 1L year and complete both degrees in three years.

A Duke Law degree opens doors. The JD/MA can help you decide which doors lead to the work you are most excited to do. Learn more at scienceandsociety.duke.edu/jdma and apply by October 1st.