The Gonzaga University School of Law and Eastern Washington Universitys School of Social Work and Human Services will collaborate this fall on a dual-degree program under which students will be able to earn both a law degree and a masters degree in social work simultaneously.


Students will receive the equivalent of five years of education in four years, says George Critchlow, Gonzaga School of Law dean. To receive an equivalent education previously, a student would need three years of law school and two years of schooling in social work, says Critchlow.


The degree will be called the Juris Doctor/masters in social work, or JD/MSW.


The need to combine legal and social work skills has resulted in the accrediting of 25 such dual programs nationally, but Critchlow believes this will be the first between a public university and a private, sectarian university. A few areas in which the dual degree could be applied would be mental health, social services, family services, and elderly services, he says.


The program will begin on a limited basis, with only four students admitted per year for the first three years, says Michael Frumkin, EWU social work and human services dean. The students must be enrolled both at GU and EWU, and, during their third and fourth years, must take law classes in Spokane and social service classes in Cheney.


The GU School of Law will allow dual-degree students to apply up to 10 semester credit hours taken through the EWU masters of social work program toward their law degree, and EWU will allow them to apply 12 semester hours of law school credits toward their MSW degree.


Dual-degree students may take clinical or practicum classes where they receive college credits for experience in the work force outside of the classroom, says Critchlow. He says instructors from both schools will oversee those endeavors to guarantee program integrity, and that the possibility exists for a dual-degree student to receive academic credit from both institutions for taking so-called cross-listed classes.