University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) undergraduate students now have the opportunity to earn both their bachelor’s degree and a law degree in six years (compared to the typical seven years) thanks to a new agreement with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) School of Law.
Under the agreement, spearheaded by the UIS College of Public Affairs and Administration, UIS undergraduate students will have the opportunity to apply for admission to the UIC School of Law during their junior year. If admitted, the student will enroll in law school after their third year at UIS. After a student completes 30 credit hours of law school coursework, UIS will accept the UIC courses towards the credits required for the bachelor's degree.
“This is a fantastic program that allows students who are motivated in their law school path to save time and money in their educational pursuits while successfully achieving their career goals,” said Deborah Anthony, UIS professor of legal studies and director of the UIS Pre-Law Center.
A select number of qualified UIS student applicants will be accepted into the program with the UIC School of Law. Students applying for admission into this program must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or General Record Examination (GRE). The UIC School of Law carefully evaluates the quality of the applicant’s academic record, letters of recommendation, personal statement, writing sample, work experience, student activities and LSAT or GRE score.
UIS students applying to the UIC School of Law under this program must have completed all core degree requirements, including but not limited to general education requirements and requirements of their major and minor, before enrolling at the UIC School of Law. Students must have completed three-fourths of the credits leading to a bachelor’s degree and have no more than 30 credit hours left to earn an undergraduate degree from UIS when enrolling at the UIC School of Law.
UIS students with undergraduate majors in accountancy, business administration, criminology and criminal justice, economics, English, environmental studies, history, legal studies, management information systems, political science and public administration are eligible to apply to the accelerated UIC program. Additional majors are likely to be added soon.
UIS students must complete pre-law counseling through the Pre-Law Center, housed within the College of Public Affairs and Administration at UIS, and be certified by the Pre-Law Center director as qualified for eligibility in the program. The Pre-Law Center director will coordinate with the student’s undergraduate advisor to determine if a student has met all general education, major and minor degree requirements. Students typically must intend to attend UIC School of Law on a full-time basis for at least the first two semesters.
For more information, visit the Pre-Law Center website or contact Anthony at 217-206-8340 or danth2@uis.edu.