Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and the Kellogg School of Management have launched two new programs that combine legal and business education for both undergraduate and graduate students: Northwestern MiM-JD Program and the Kellogg-Northwestern Pritzker Law LLM-MiM Program.
The schools’ new program allows Northwestern undergraduate students to earn a Master in Management (MiM) from Kellogg followed by a J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker Law. There is also a new dual degree program for students pursuing an LL.M. that allows them to earn a MiM from Kellogg.
Zachary Clopton, dean of Northwestern Pritzker Law, said increasingly, employers in the legal field desire graduates with knowledge and experience in the world of business.
“For undergraduates, this means a clear path into law school that starts building business fluency years earlier than most of their peers,” Clopton said. “For LL.M. students, it means leaving Northwestern with both a legal credential and a Kellogg degree that speaks to employers anywhere in the world.”
The new offerings respond to two converging trends: growing student interest in interdisciplinary training in business and law and rising employer demand for graduates skilled in both. As legal and business challenges increasingly intersect, these programs prepare students to meet that need from day one of their careers.
Francesca Cornelli, dean of the Kellogg School of Management, said Kellogg and Northwestern Pritzker Law have been proving what’s possible at the intersection of business and law for more than 50 years — starting with its JD-MBA, still the largest program of its kind in the country.
“Now we’re opening similar paths to undergraduates just starting out, and to international law students building global legal careers,” Cornelli said. “As business and law keep converging, this partnership makes sure our students are ready to lead right at that intersection.”
The Northwestern MiM-JD Program is open exclusively to Northwestern undergraduates and provides a coordinated path through Kellogg’s MiM and Northwestern Pritzker Law’s J.D. program. Eligible students apply during their junior or senior year and complete the MiM after graduating from Northwestern. After the MiM program, they will complete a summer internship before matriculating at Northwestern Pritzker Law to begin their J.D. degree. Students are not required to complete the LSAT, GRE or GMAT for admission, providing a streamlined and accelerated path to becoming lawyers with advanced business acumen.
The Kellogg-Northwestern Pritzker Law LLM-MiM Program is a two-year offering that allows LL.M. students, who already hold a first degree in law from a university outside the United States, to also complete a MiM from Kellogg during their time at Northwestern. The MiM will be completed at Kellogg in the first year, followed by completion of the LL.M. in year two.
Kellogg’s Master in Management (MiM) is a 10-month, full-time program that gives recent college graduates from non-business backgrounds — STEM, economics, the liberal arts — a rigorous foundation in leadership, communication and core business skills, taught by Kellogg’s faculty. The classroom experience is fast-paced and collaborative: students work alongside equally accomplished peers in a model built to sharpen them into polished, ready-for-anything professionals well before they enter the workforce.
The relationship between Kellogg and Northwestern Pritzker Law stretches back more than 50 years, when the JD-MBA program launched in 1970. The schools were the first to let students earn both degrees in three years instead of the traditional five, adopting that model in 2001. It remains the nation’s largest JD-MBA program, with an alumni network to match.
The schools also offer the Kellogg Certificate in Business for Lawyers, available to LL.M. students seeking a business edge. Delivered by Kellogg faculty in collaboration with Northwestern Pritzker Law, this certificate equips law students with strategic, financial and operational fluency to lead.
Upon graduation, students who have earned degrees through both Kellogg and Northwestern Pritzker Law will join an alumni network that includes lawyers, business professionals and entrepreneurs.
