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Dual masters MUP and Law at Austin

U

urbanleopold

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Anyone have any experience with this program or at least any impressions? Any chance this dual degree, with a focus on international and comparative law on the law side might prepare one for working in development abroad?

Thanks.
 
I assume you're talking about the program at UT? I imagine it would get you just about anywhere you want to go. Keep in mind, though, that UT's law school is VERY hard to get into. Only a very small percentage of the applicants are actually accepted.
 
I've heard nothing but good about the UT Law school--I believe it is considered one of the top 3 public law schools in the nation. Its also extremely hard to get into.

A dual degree between law and MUP will set you up solidly for a consulting career, particularly for code writing. I can think of one consulting firm that pretty much only hires planners with law degrees. You would also be coveted by law firms specializing in public law--planning issues are some of the most common causes of lawsuits against cities.
 
UT Austin law program

Thanks for the informative responses. Regarding the competetive aspect of UT law school...I'm interested in the program partly because I'm very interested in immigration law as well as urban planning, though the two don't quite intersect, but mostly because I'd like to work abroad in planning and there seem to be very few graduate programs that specialize in international planning...Considering the difficulty of getting into law school at UT Austin, would I be better off applying to places like Cornell or MIT that may have planning programs with an international focus (for a planning degree, but no law degree)? Am I correct in assuming that planning programs at Cornell or MIT are just as competetive, if not more? I kind of wrote off the fancy east coast schools because I like living in the west and Austin sounds nice, but also because I assumed I would probably not get into them.

I feel I am a pretty strong candidate in some ways...I have a pretty good GPA, though not perfect, but I studied English and didn't really realize I was interested in law/urban planning until recently. I went to a small college that is known for being academically rigorous, where I did a lot of extracirriculars including student government, and did a Fulbright English teaching assistantship following graduation (not as competetive as a Fulbright scholarship). My first try at the GRE was pretty disappointing, but I hope to take it again, and I haven't attempted the LSAT yet. Right now I'm finishing up an AmeriCorps position in social services/affordable housing and hope to do something in the non-profit field for the next year before I go back to school. The only thing I've done so far that's even remotely related to law is volunteering for a renter's rights organization answering questions about landlord-tenant law for tenants that call in. I'm kind of worried about references, not because there aren't people who would write good ones, but because I've been out of school for a couple years so I'm not really fresh in the minds of many professors (or I've utilized them for references in the past).

I know no one can really assess my chances of getting in, but I thought I'd provide that info in case anyone more familiar with UT wanted to comment or advise.

Thanks!
 
I don't know if you've seen this already but maybe it will help give you an idea of the acceptance rates: http://www.utexas.edu/law/depts/admissions/application/

I don't think that the planning program at UT is very hard to get into but the law school is quite tough. They take many things into consideration, not just GPA or GRE scores, so you never know. You should definitely apply... nothing wrong with giving it a shot :)
 
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