Which diploma goes on top?
October 25, 2006 7:28 AM   Subscribe

[My-copy-of-Emily-Post-is-in-the-shop-Filter:] I have two diplomas, a JD and a BA, and I want to hang them in my office, one above the other. Which one goes on top?
posted by Saucy Intruder to Grab Bag (17 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: JD on top. I don't even have my undergrad diploma up.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:39 AM on October 25, 2006


Best answer: Yeah. The better, the higher.
posted by cribcage at 8:15 AM on October 25, 2006


Response by poster: Makes sense - the wall should look like my resume. Thanks.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 8:21 AM on October 25, 2006


Good info... M.Ed. then B.F.A. Now where does my teaching certification go? Or is it not worth it?
posted by nimsey lou at 9:38 AM on October 25, 2006


On the other hand, if your BA is from Haaaah-vaaaahd and your JD is from UF and you live in Illinois, you might think about making the Haaaaah-vaaaahd one more prominent.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:05 AM on October 25, 2006


I've got a JD, BA, and MBA. La Patrona came by my office and hung them side by side, with the JD in the middle. I go the BA and MBA from the same school and the JD from an in-state rival.
posted by CRS at 10:24 AM on October 25, 2006


where does my teaching certification go

Right at the top. It's an extant professional qualification and of more immediate relevance to you doing your job than the academic qualifications which enabled you to get it.
posted by dmt at 10:31 AM on October 25, 2006


I say put up the undergrad diploma only if it meets one of these criterions:

1) it is related to what you do - securities law, BA in managerial economics would qualify; environmental law, BA in political science doesn't.

2) BA is from local college - if your office is in the Bay Area, and you got your BA from Cal (better if #1 above is still fulfilled)

3) Ivy - if you have a true Ivy, put it up. Following #2 above, if you're in the south and you have a southern ivy degree (and if you buy into the Southern Ivy concept), put it up.

If none of the 3 above apply, I say leave the BA for the home office.
posted by littlelebowskiurbanachiever at 10:49 AM on October 25, 2006


4) Or if it's cool. My undergrad major was Jazz Composition, and you can bet I'll hang that in my law office someday. If there's one thing I've learned working in politics, it's that you never know what you'll have in common with the next fellow you meet. Never underestimate the value of a good icebreaker.
posted by cribcage at 11:14 AM on October 25, 2006


Response by poster: Do undergraduate diplomas commonly list majors? I went to a college (Ivy, natch) where people just kind of majored in whatever.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 11:33 AM on October 25, 2006


Mine does. My fiancée's BS doesn't, but her Associate's does.

Dunno what's common.
posted by cribcage at 12:03 PM on October 25, 2006


OMG *I* majored in whatever!

My understanding is that in law, you put up your Bachelor's regardless of where you went.
Example 1: My boss went to Ohio State and she keeps hers up in her surburban MA office. Or, she did 'til we switched offices; now nothing's up, so I can't report re: whether it includes her major.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 12:19 PM on October 25, 2006


Saucy Intruder: My undergrad puts majors on some diplomas and not on others. It depends on what the precise degree awarded by the department is. For instance, I have a "Bachelor of Science in Chemistry," but some majors just award a "Bachelor of Science." (And some majors offer both kinds of degrees: the wimpier physics degree is a "Bachelor of Science," while the hard-core one is a "Bachelor of Science in Physics.") (For what it's worth, this is MIT.)

Oddly enough, my law degree doesn't say "Juris Doctor"; it says "Doctor of Law."

</off-topic>
posted by raf at 12:59 PM on October 25, 2006


I have my JD on the same level and next to my bar certificate (license) in my office, and I have my BBA (which is applicable to my work and is from a better school than my JD) at home. I'm working on my MBA and I will hang that on the same level and next to the bar certificate.
posted by Not in my backyard at 2:46 PM on October 25, 2006


Why not put them next to each, as a kind of academic time line?
posted by oxford blue at 5:30 PM on October 25, 2006


I have my bar certificate up. Both law degrees (LL.B. and B.C.L.) and my B.Sc. are rolled up at home. But then again, I work in a government office, so I am never trying to impress clients or shmooze with them.
posted by birdsquared at 6:40 PM on October 25, 2006


How common is it in US law firms to put your JD/BA/whatever up on your wall? I have never (ever) seen this in a English firm.
posted by patricio at 4:07 AM on October 26, 2006


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