In my sophomore year of college, one of my professors told the class, "If you want an excuse to not go to law school, come to my office hours." I was intrigued, so I went to her office hours where she told me all about what getting a master's in public policy entailed. I was instantly intrigued; however, she did not convince me to give up on going to law school. Instead, I decided to pursue both degrees!
One of the main reasons I decided to come to the University of Michigan for graduate school was so that I could pursue both a master's in public policy and a law degree at a school that excelled in both. I am passionate about criminal justice reform and wanted to learn about how laws and policies impact the system as well as how I could use both to work towards making the system better.
Splitting time
In Ford School dual degree programs, students typically start exclusively at one school and then transition full-time to the other school for their second year. I began at the Ford School. This allowed me to really get to know my MPP cohort, which I am very grateful for. My peers all had wide-ranging interests and prior experiences that ensured different perspectives were considered in class discussions. Outside the classroom, the people at the Ford School were also incredibly kind and welcoming, and we all had the same passion for doing work to better our communities and the world.
As a dual MPP/JD student, I have had the unique opportunity to thoroughly learn about the two closely-related topics of policy and the law. My first year at the Ford School allowed me to expand on my quantitative skills in coursework like economics and statistics. I also learned about the intricacies of policy writing and different policy topics, ranging from PFAS contamination to the management of police officers, to the history of reparations.
I worked at the National Center for State Courts for my policy-focused internship, where I learned about the policy side of the courts and criminal justice system. I drew on what I learned in my first year at the Ford School to research issues such as racial biases in jury selection and write briefs about the effectiveness of court notifications.
In my second year, I transitioned to studying primarily at U-M's law school. I was surprised how much of what I had learned at the Ford School had helped me while in my first year of law school. I remember vividly learning about cost-benefit analysis in my torts class, although it was much less extensive than what I had learned in Professor Levy's microeconomics course. There have also been many times when I provided a policy perspective in class discussions that others in the law school are not familiar with. Although my law classes take a lot of my time these days, I still find time to hang out with my friends from the Ford School and attend Ford School events.
This past summer, I worked at a public defender's office in my home state, where I learned more about the legal side of the criminal justice system. My studies at the Ford School were still relevant as I learned about how the office has a legislative committee dedicated to advocating for policy changes to better the criminal justice system.
A common pathway
I remember initially being nervous about being a dual degree student, but when I arrived at the Ford School, I learned that I was not alone in wanting an interdisciplinary education. There were people in my cohort pursuing degrees from the School of Social Work, School for Environment and Sustainability, School of Business, School of Information, and more. There is even another person in my cohort pursuing their MPP and JD. This helped soothe my nerves, and those of us who are dual degree students are able to rely on each other as we all juggle being involved in two different degree programs.
My advice to students who are interested in pursuing a dual degree program is to talk to people pursuing the same degrees you are interested in! No one else better understands what it is like to be in the dual degree programs than the students who are currently in those programs. Although it is a lot of work, I, along with many other students at the Ford School, are proof it is achievable!
Lauren Fuller (MPP/JD ‘27) aims to use her degrees to advocate on behalf of individuals and for systemic change in the criminal justice system through policy and legal frameworks.