Juris Doctor and Master of Divinity

Pepperdine's stated mission is to strengthen lives for purpose, service, and leadership. In furtherance of that end, the Caruso School of Law and Seaver College Religion and Philosophy Division have collaborated to provide students with both legal and theological training in an interdisciplinary framework. The joint degree program in law and religion utilizes the resources of two segments of the University to provide students with top-caliber professional training in both fields of study. Drawing upon the host of natural convergences, methodologies, and themes linking law and religion, the joint degree program provides students the opportunity to allow the two disciplines to complement, cross-fertilize, and enrich each other.

A key feature of the program is that students may complete the requirements for a Juris Doctor (JD) and a Master of Divinity (MDiv) in five years rather than the six years it would normally take for completion of the two degrees. This joint program is one of only a handful of such programs in the country, and enables students to probe the depths of theology and simultaneously develop more fulsome understandings of the law, its effects, and its limitations.

All applicants for admission must have received a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university prior to registration.

Pepperdine will accept a GRE score for admission.

Applicants are urged to take the LSAT no later than March of the year in which admission is sought.

Submit examination results demonstrating an acceptable level of English proficiency. The Straus Institute only accepts the TOEFL and IELTS examination.