Alexander Nottingham (MBA-JD ’08), operations consultant, Smile South Florida, believes that a law degree will open more doors for his career in business. Current graduate student Marlon Greenwood chose to pursue both a business and law degree because he was looking for a way to make his educational degree unique—and to help ensure that his résumé stands out in job application pools.
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Both offer insights into the value of pursuing a joint degree at Florida International University—in their case, the MBA-JD offered by the College of Business Administration in conjunction with the College of Law.
Joint degree builds real-world skills—where business and law intersect.
Nottingham is the first to graduate with an MBA-JD joint degree and is now seeking an upper-level executive position or a spot with a consulting firm.
“The study of law has improved my analytical and writing skills,” he said. “I believe it will help me greatly as a business person.”
With two years of law school completed, Greenwood decided to go for the MBA-JD joint degree.
“The benefit of having an MBA for just one more year of full-time coursework seems like an excellent opportunity,” he said. “I hope to eventually run my own business and, in my opinion, a solid background in both business and the law will provide me with the educational foundation I need to succeed.”
Greenwood observes that the MBA-JD program builds complementary skill sets.
“For example, a lawyer starting a practice needs to have a good business plan coupled with a good understanding of numbers in terms of how to finance and budget a firm’s operations,” he said. “On the flip side, in business today, you can hardly write a letter without subjecting yourself to some kind of legal implication—not to mention contractual agreements and regulatory requirements. That’s why the skills emphasized in law school—such as legal analysis, legal research, and legal writing—are increasingly important in almost every aspect of business today.”
In addition to the MBA-JD, eligible MBA students attending the College of Business Administration can choose from the following joint degree programs: the Master of Science of Finance (MBA-MSF), the Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MBA-MSMIS), the Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (MBA-MALACS), the Master of Science in Human Resource Management (MBA-MSHRM), the Master of Science in International Real Estate (MBA-MSIRE), and the Master of International Business (MBA-MIB).
