Law and African-American Studies


A four-year program offered by UCLA Law and UCLA’s Department of African-American Studies, leading to a J.D. and an M.A. in African-American Studies.

The first program of its kind in the country, UCLA’s joint-degree program in Law & African-American Studies equips students to practice law with a fuller understanding of its intersections with the historical, social and cultural dimensions of the African-American experience, and to provide social and political leadership within or for the black community. The program requires satisfactory completion of all requirements of the Juris Doctor degree, including eighty-seven (87) semester units of mandatory first-year, Professional Responsibility and upper-division elective courses; and satisfactory completion of all requirements of the Master's degree in African-American Studies, including required coursework, written thesis and fulfillment of a foreign language requirement.

More Info About the M.A. Requirement

For more information about the African-American Studies portion of the Joint Degree Program, contact the UCLA Department of African-American Studies at 310.825.7403 or staff@afam.ucla.edu.

Business & Tax

UCLA Law Professors Play Key Role in Landmark Puerto Rico Debt Deal

In seeing through a debt deal that is among the largest restructurings in U.S. history, bankruptcy experts Daniel Bussel and Kenneth Klee provide pivotal counsel to a stricken island.

Explore More
News
See All
Dec 09, 2025

Remembering Stephen Munzer: A ‘gentleman’ scholar of law and philosophy

Read More
Dec 08, 2025

Rick Hasen is quoted in USA Today about the Supreme Court and deregulation of campaign finance

Read More