jeff-ward-student-jdma-header
Jeff Ward and a Duke Law School student

Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy
JD/MA Program

The legal profession is changing. So are the challenges that shape our world. Tomorrow's leaders will need more than legal expertise. They will need to understand how technology works, how ethical principles shape decision-making, how public policy is developed, and how institutions translate ideas into action. They will need the ability to bring together experts from different disciplines, evaluate competing values, and design practical solutions to problems that have no easy answers.

The Duke JD/Master of Arts in Applied Ethics and Policy prepares you to do exactly that.

Apply by 10/1

Beyond the Law: Lead the Future

Join the JD/MA in Applied Ethics & Policy Program

Artificial intelligence. Biotechnology. Data privacy. Climate innovation. Digital governance. The questions these fields raise are too complex to be answered by law alone. While laws and regulations remain essential, they often struggle to keep pace with rapid technological change. By the time new rules are enacted, technology has already evolved.

As a Duke Law student, you will develop the analytical skills to interpret the law, advocate effectively, and solve complex legal problems. But the next generation of leadership will not belong solely to those who understand the law. It will belong to those who can connect law with technology, ethics, public policy, and innovation to solve problems that cross traditional boundaries. The Duke JD/Master of Arts in Applied Ethics and Policy equips you with that broader perspective. This master’s program will complement your law school training by giving you the tools to understand the broader social, technological, and ethical contexts in which legal decisions are made.

Through an interdisciplinary curriculum, you will explore questions such as:

  • How should society govern emerging technologies?
  • What ethical responsibilities accompany innovation?
  • How can public policy encourage progress while protecting the public?
  • How do governments, businesses, and nonprofits work together to address complex challenges?

These are the questions increasingly facing today’s lawyers—and tomorrow’s leaders.

The joint degree program really helped me with my career. Every interview, every clerkship interview, or job interview, it comes up. It’s a great conversation starter, it provided a great independent study, and a lobbying opportunity in South Carolina.

Natalie Leon Duke Law School Graduation Photo
– Natalie Leon, JD/MA ’25

One Master’s Program. Two Concentrations.

Shape the Future of Patient Care and Biomedical Innovation 

Duke’s Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy with a concentration in Bioethics & Science Policy provides an interdisciplinary foundation in ethics, health law, and science policy, equipping graduates to address complex moral questions arising from advances in healthcare, biotechnology, and scientific research.  

The Bioethics & Science Policy concentration offers the knowledge and skills required to shape practices and policies about biomedical research and patient care by contributing to ethics committees, advising policymakers, developing institutional guidelines, and helping ensure that scientific innovation is guided by ethical principles. The degree prepares graduates for careers in hospitals, academic institutions, government agencies, research organizations, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and nonprofit organizations in roles such as clinical ethicist, research ethics specialist, policy analyst, or healthcare administrator.  

Learn more about the Bioethics & Science Policy concentration 

Lead The Future of Responsible Technology 

Technology is changing the world at an unprecedented pace. The decisions made today will define how technology shapes society for decades to come. From artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to digital privacy and climate innovation, today’s biggest challenges require leaders who understand both technology and its impact on society.  

Duke’s Master’s Degree in Applied Ethics & Policy with a concentration in Tech Ethics & Innovation Policy will prepare you to join the growing community of professionals committed to ensuring that innovation advances human well-being, promotes equity, and supports a more sustainable future. The interdisciplinary curriculum positions our graduates to be leaders in some of the most consequential and rapidly evolving fields of the 21st century. Whether your goal is influencing tech policy, guiding ethical corporate strategies, or advancing academic research, the Tech Ethics & Innovation Policy concentration provides the knowledge and practical skills to help get you there. 

Learn more about the Tech Ethics & Innovation Policy concentration 

Key Dates:

  • Late August: Applications open on the Duke Graduate School website.
  • September 9th @ 12:30 p.m.: JD/MA Information Session with Professors Jolynn Dellinger and Marc Groman (Please RSVP)
  • October 1st: Application deadline.

For more information on requirements and how to apply before the deadline, please read below or contact us with any questions.

Build the Skills Employers Value

Organizations across every sector are looking for professionals who can bridge disciplines and connect legal analysis with practical policy solutions.

The JD/MA program helps you develop the ability to:

  • Analyze complex policy challenges from multiple perspectives.
  • Understand the ethical dimensions of emerging technologies.
  • Communicate across legal, scientific, technical, and policy communities.
  • Design thoughtful, practical solutions to real-world problems.
  • Lead interdisciplinary teams tackling society’s most pressing issues.

Whether your career leads you to government, private practice, public interest, technology, healthcare, consulting, academia, or international organizations, these skills will distinguish you as someone who can navigate complexity and drive meaningful change.

Learn Beyond the Classroom

The Master of Arts in Applied Ethics and Policy emphasizes practical learning. You’ll engage with contemporary policy challenges, collaborate with faculty and professionals from diverse fields, and examine real-world case studies that connect theory with practice.

Rather than studying issues from a single perspective, you’ll learn how ethical reasoning, technological innovation, public policy, and legal institutions interact—and how effective leaders bring these perspectives together.

Students apply to the joint degree program during the first semester of their 1L year. The curriculum requirements for the MA are undertaken along with the JD requirements, and students will most commonly graduate with both degrees in the spring of their third year.

A Duke Advantage

The JD/MA program draws on Duke’s strengths across law, public policy, science, technology, and ethics, allowing you to learn alongside faculty and students from multiple disciplines while building a network that extends well beyond the legal profession.

Program Details

As a JD/MA student in Applied Ethics & Policy you must complete 75 JD credits and 30 graded MA credits to receive both degrees. The Law School’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Amanda Lacoff will meet to discuss how to integrate your JD requirements with your MA requirements.

NOTE: IF YOU DO NOT COMPLETE ALL OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MA DEGREE, YOU CANNOT RECEIVE YOUR JD.

MA Core Courses (15 of the 30 required graded credits):

  • BIOETHIC 602: Research Ethics & Policy (3 credits) (offered in fall)
  • BIOETHIC 603: Clinical Bioethics & Policy (3 credits) (offered in spring)
    OR SCISOC 585: Digital Intelligence (3 credits) (offered in spring)
    • Note: Students intending to claim the Biosciences, Bioethics & Science Policy concentration should take BIOETHIC 603. Students intending to claim the Tech Ethics & Policy concentration should take SCISOC 585.
  • BIOETHIC 591-01 Topics in Science Policy: Scholarly Writing (2 credits in 3L Fall; 1 credit in 3L spring)
  • BIOETHIC 704: Science Law & Policy (3 credits) (offered in fall) [This course is cross-listed with the Law School; please be sure to register under the Graduate School/BIOETHIC 704 number, not LAW 333]
  • You have two choices for your final required core course.
    • SCISOC 690: Special Topics in Science & Ethics: Applied Ethics & Policy (offered in the fall)
    • OR You may take one of the following courses on privacy currently taught by Prof. Jolynn Dellinger:
      • SCISOC 614-01 Privacy, Ethics, Data and Technology (3 credits) (offered in fall)
      • SCISOC 615 Privacy: Concepts and Culture Informing Law and Policy (3 credits) (offered in spring)
      • LAW 331 Introduction to Privacy Law and Policy (3 credits) (offered in spring)

We encourage you to take at least one of the 3-credit core requirements in your 2L fall semester.

Note: These classes are deliberately designed to cover different material, and you can take any of the options to satisfy this MA core requirement. You may take more than one of these options, counting one as MA core, and any additional courses as MA electives, with approval from the DGS and Dean Lacoff.

If you take LAW 331 and you want to count that class as a Graduate School course, please notify Dean Lacoff prior to the Law School’s Add/Drop to reclassify the course for Graduate School credit. If you are considering practicing in the privacy and security area, Prof. Dellinger recommends you take LAW 331 as a law class.

 

Capstone Course (9 of the 30 required graded credits)

In addition, you will complete a capstone project totaling 9 credits. Six (6) of these credits will be completed during the summer following your 1L year. Science & Society anticipates that you will have a summer position, and the work required for the practicum will not prevent you from being able to pursue that opportunity.

  • BIOETHIC 705 (6 credits): Capstone – Bioethics and Science Policy (register for 6 credits for a summer-long enrollment)

Three (3) of the 9 credits will be completed in the Spring semester of your 2L year.

  • SCISOC 705 (3 credits): Practicum – Exploring Intersectionality (Register for 3 credits in 2L Spring.)

 

MA Elective Credits (6 of the 30 required graded credits)

You will also take a minimum of 6 credits from a designated list of Law School courses, selected by Science & Society in coordination with the Law School, to be counted toward your MA degree. These are listed on the Science & Society Website and updated each semester. (If there are other Law School courses that you believe should be included on this list, please contact us.) JD/MA students register for these elective courses using their law school priority status and must subsequently designate those courses intended to serve as MA electives no later than the end of the Law School’s add/drop by contacting Dean Lacoff. If there is a graduate level, non-Law course offered by another school within the university that you feel is relevant to the JD/MA, you may seek the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies to have it count in lieu of up to three of these elective credits.

Note: In addition to the courses that you select for credit toward your MA degree, you must choose an additional 6 credits from the list of courses linked above for credit towards your law degree.

Note: BIOETHIC 606, Communicating Science Policy (3 credits), which is a CORE course for regular MA students, is available as an elective in the spring semester for JD/MA students.

These elective credits may count either toward the MA or JD credit requirements (but not both), and at least 6 credits MUST be counted toward the MA degree. JD/MA students register for these courses using their law school priority status and must designate them as MA electives no later than the end of add/drop by contacting Dean Lacoff.

Administrative Adjustment (6 credits, required but not graded)

To enable JD students to obtain the MA degree concurrently, changes were made to the requirements for each degree. For the Graduate School’s bookkeeping purposes, you must register for 6 credits under the designation “Research 1-01.” These credits do not require you to perform any additional work and do not count towards an overload. We recommend that you register for 3 of these credits during 2L fall and 3L fall.

 

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

All Master’s degree candidates in the Graduate School are required to attend RCR forums. Forums are “specialized, smaller and interactive opportunities for you to engage with faculty, librarians, staff and other professionals to explore ethical issues and concerns in your scholarship.”

In order to satisfy the requirements set by the Duke Graduate School, JD/MA students should register for the following RCR forums:

  • GS714
  • GS715
  • BIOETHIC 602 (Research Ethics & Policy) counts as one of your RCR requirements.

Note: GS714 and GS715 are given during fall MA orientation, and we strongly recommend that you attend these programs. If, however, you are unable to attend due to law school conflicts at that time, you may take any two other RCR forums offered by the Graduate School at some point before graduation. Please confer with the DGSA before signing up for these forums.

 

MA Final (Required, but No Graded Credits)

The Graduate School requires each student receiving a Master’s Degree to complete an MA Final during the semester prior to graduation. Your CORE required classes are organized to help you satisfy this requirement.

To assist you in preparing for the MA Final, in your fall 3L semester, you will enroll in a 2-credit hour scholarly writing tutorial (BIOETHIC 591-01 Topics in Science Policy: Scholarly Writing, which satisfies a CORE requirement) and, in the spring semester, you will enroll in a 1-credit hour scholarly writing tutorial (BIOETHIC 591-01 Topics in Science Policy: Scholarly Writing, which satisfies a CORE requirement). The written work product you create during this tutorial will form the basis of your MA Final, which you will present before a panel of 3 faculty members in the Spring.

JD/MA students are permitted, but not required, to declare either a concentration in Tech Ethics & Innovation Policy or a concentration in Bioethics & Science Policy or (in some cases) both concentrations upon completion of the degree.

  • To qualify for a concentration in Tech Ethics & Innovation Policy, students must enroll in SCISOC 585: Digital Intelligence and complete electives, a summer practicum, and an MA final project that are all reflective of tech ethics and policy
  • To qualify for a concentration in Bioethics & Science Policy, students must enroll in Bioethics 603, and complete electives, a summer practicum, and an MA final project that are all reflective of the ethics and policy of life sciences.
  • 603 and SCISOC 585, undertake a selection of elective credits reflective of both areas of concentration, undertake a summer practicum which includes work on both areas of concentration, and present an MA Final project related to both concentrations.
    • Complete BIOETHIC 603: Clinical Bioethics & Policy
    • Undertake a selection of relevant elective credits
    • Complete relevant work during the summer practicum
    • Present an MA Final project related to life science ethics and policy

Please be sure to confer with the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and/or DGSA no later than the end of your 2L spring semester to ensure that you are on track to receive your preferred concentration.

Note: You will have separate GPAs for your JD and MA curricula. Your Law School classes will be graded on the established Law School numeric curve. You will receive alphabetic grades for your MA classes and a separate GPA calculated from these grades.

The additional cost of the Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy amounts to one additional Law School semester paid over the course of 6 semesters. This represents a 60% tuition scholarship reduction from the master’s program, subsidized by Duke Science & Society and the Duke Law School.

The following totals will be added to your Law School bursar account.

TermAmount
Fall 2026 + Spring 2027 (backfilling Fall)2/6 of Law School Semester = $13,900
Fall 20271/6 of Law School Semester= ~$7228
Spring 20281/6 of Law School Semester = ~$7228
Fall 20281/6 of Law School Semester – ~$7517
Spring 20291/6 of Law School Semester – ~$7517
TOTAL OVER 3 YEARS~$43,390

How to apply to the JD/MA program:

The Duke Graduate School application for the Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy opens in late August. The deadline for applications is October 1st. To apply:

  • Complete the application on the Graduate School application portal.
  • Submit all four required essays on the Graduate School application. See this page for detailed instructions.
    • Statement of Purpose for pursuing the Master of Arts in Applied Ethics & Policy.
    • Life Experiences Statement.
    • Two MA Program supplemental essays.
      • Discuss a bioethical or tech ethic and policy dilemma.
      • Tell us how this degree will help you with your future career plans.
  • Provide contact information for 3 recommenders to submit 3 letters of reference. You can ask your two law school application references to resubmit their same letters to the Duke Graduate School. Unfortunately, Duke Law School cannot send these directly to the Graduate School.
  • Contact registrar_office@law.duke.edu to have your undergraduate transcripts sent to the Graduate School for your application. The contact is grad-admissions@duke.edu

For additional questions, contact Madeline Liddicoat at madeline.liddicoat@duke.edu