The time is now to start planning for a joint degree. Do not wait until you are halfway through business school to realize that your dream of working in medicine, public policy or even law is greater than your desire to use your MBA to become a consultant or banker. Knowing ahead of time allows you to plan properly and take advantage of any synergies or time savings.
If you are thinking about doing this you need to ask yourself the following questions:
Is it financially viable?
Unless money is no object this will at best cost you one more year of making zero income. Most joint degree programs which include an MBA can be thought of as adding one additional year onto the other program. For instance, law degrees typically take three years to complete, whereas a JD/MBA typically requires four years to complete.
Will the culture be right?
Having taken classes in multiple graduate programs I can attest to the fact that the culture is quite different. Law schools and medical schools tend to have younger students with less time devoted to networking than a typical business school. Public policy and Urban Planning schools might have students who have been out of undergrad for a longer period and who might be fully employed. These differences, good and bad, will take away from some of the features of business school.
Do I need both degrees?
Some people like to collect degrees or just hang out in academia. Without constraints it is not that bad of a gig, but most of us have to deal with reality. Think about what career you are seeking and if the additional degree is truly necessary or just something you would like to hang on your wall. If you want to be the corporate M&A guy at a law firm, then it might make sense, but on the flip side you might be the banker whose group makes him read every legal document it comes across.
Can I fulfill these interests with electives?
Most business schools are tied into universities that offer a slew of graduate degrees. Often these programs will allow a portion of your business school elective classes to be taken in other disciplines. I quenched my public policy interest by taking a couple of classes at that school and took a class at the film school just for fun. I doubt any of those classes will help my career, but they were a lot more interesting than another financial statement analysis class.
Can you get into both programs?
Depending on your schools of choice and your test scores you might not be able to get into both schools. For example, a certain Ivy League college might have an up and coming business school that you could easily get into but their law school might be ranked at the top.
Do you want to take another test?
Most graduate programs use the GRE as their admission test, while business schools use the GMAT, law schools use the LSAT and med schools use the MCAT. If you love studying for and taking these tests this won’t be a problem, but it will add to the cost and the time it takes. Some test sites allow access to both tests so check that out too.
I am sure there are more but that is a good start. If you still want to go for both, good for you and best of luck.
