La Salle-FEU MBA-JD Program

The De La Salle Professional Schools and Far Eastern University MBA-JD Dual Degree Program or La Salle/FEU MBA-Law is a dual degree program offered by an academic consortium of two graduate institutions--De La Salle University Graduate School of Business and Far Eastern University Institute of Law.
The Consortium offers the first dual degree program in the postgraduate level to be offered in the Philippines.
Beginnings
De La Salle University was planning to establish its own law program. However, Philip Ella Juico,then Dean of the Graduate School of Business (GSB), decided to seek a partner law school instead. Juico conceptualized a program designed after double degree programs in the United States.
Juico's preceding GSB Dean, Dr. Lydia B. Echauz, had just been appointed President of Far Eastern University. For its academic program, Far Eastern University Institute of Law was chosen as the partner law school of De La Salle Graduate School of Business. An academic consortium between the two schools was formed. In May 2003, the first batch of students were accepted.. The first batch of law graduates under the program took the Philippine Bar Examinations for four (4) consecutive Sundays in September 2008.
Earning concurrent credits
The program is designed for students who intend to earn both a Juris Doctor degree (JD) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) concurrently. When taken jointly, students can complete both degrees in five years, instead of six years if taken independently.
Program itinerary
MBA-JD students attend law classes at the De La Salle GSB Campus in RCBC Tower, Makati City. They have the option of taking MBA classes in any of four GSB campuses--Taft Avenue, Ortigas Center, RCBC Tower, and Canlubang.
MBA-JD students must complete their first year at the law school, then take mostly MBA subjects in their second year. Students then pursue both law and MBA courses in the next three years toward the completion of the final requirements of each program.
Academics
The Consortium requires the preparation, submission, presentation, and defense of a graduate level thesis that will address the academic requirements of both MBA and JD programs. Students are required to submit a thesis which should combine knowledge learned from both MBA and JD subjects. They shall also undergo a written Written Comprehensive Examination (WCE) or take a refresher course that shall cover all major aspects in business management.
Core courses and electives
The JD curriculum includes all law subjects required in the Philippine Bar Examinations (i.e., Constitutional Law, Labor Law, Criminal Law, Civil Law, Commercial Law, Taxation Law, Remedial Law, Legal Ethics) and electives on corporate legal theory and practice.
The MBA curriculum includes preparatory MBA courses (i.e., Managerial Statistics, Business Economics, Information Management, etc.), core MBA courses (i.e., Financial Management, Marketing Management, Production and Operations Management, Organizational Behavior, etc.), elective MBA courses (i.e., International Business, Sports & Recreation Management, Culture & Arts Management, Property Management, Agribusiness, Entrepreneurship, etc.), and integrating MBA courses (i.e., Strategic Management, Digital Technology).
Neither the JD nor the MBA curricula require students to take the Comprehensive Law Examination.
Study abroad options
The Consortium offers a study abroad tie-up with law schools in the United States and Europe. Upon completion of at least two years in the program, students can enroll in partner law schools abroad for one summer term. In 2006, ten MBA-JD students went to Italy and attended special courses offered by the University of San Diego Extension Program.
Admission requirements
The Consortium requires applicants to hold at least a bachelor's degree in any field. They must achieve a satisfactory mark in a combined MBA-Law entrance examination that is administered by both schools. The examination is patterned after the GMAT and LSAT programs offered by the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Separate admission interviews shall be conducted by De La Salle Graduate School of Business and Far Eastern University Institute of Law.
Compared with the cut-off score for the regular MBA Program, a higher cut-off score is applied to applicants of the dual degree program. Work experience is waived for all applicants.
Faculty pool
The Consortium has a pool of full-time and part-time faculty who are law and management practitioners holding law, business, and other graduate degrees from such schools as University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Santo Tomas, San Beda College, Far Eastern University, Asian Institute of Management, Harvard University, Yale University, Complutense University of Madrid, University of Michigan, University of Melbourne, Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, National University of Singapore, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, INSEAD, Northern Illinois University, Duke University, University of Bristol, and University College London.
Several are topnotchers in the Philippine Bar Examinations, established authors, court magistrates, senior partners in law firms, and top corporate executives.
Administration
The Consortium is jointly administered by Far Eastern University Institute of Law Dean Andres D. Bautista and De La Salle Professional Schools Graduate School of Business Dean Philip Ella Juico. Inter-faculty program relations is handled by MBA-JD Coordinator Prof. Aeneas Eli S. Diaz, the topnotcher of the 2003 Philippine Bar Exams.
The program is overseered by an external Board of Advisors whose members include: Alfonso Yuchengco, former Ambassador and Chairman of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (which owns RCBC Plaza); Washington SyCip, Founder of SyCip Gorres and Velayo Accounting Firm (SGV); and Atty. Roman Mabanta, Managing Partner of Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc and De Los Angeles Law Offices.
Graduates
May 14, 2008 marked the 1st MBA-JD Graduation. The ceremony was held at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater in RCBC Plaza, Makati City. From the initial 112 students, the program had 31 graduates. Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco was the Commencement Speaker to the graduating class.
The program's pioneer batch enjoyed a high passing rate of 77% in the 2008 Philippine Bar Examinations results released on April 3, 2009. In the 2009 Philippine Bar Examinations released on March 26, 2010, the program had a passing rate of 73%. Both results were above the National Bar passing average of 20% for 2008 and 25% for 2009. To date, the program has produced 45 lawyers admitted to the Philippine Bar. At present, the program's graduates are active law practitioners in the country's top law firms, corporations and the government.

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