The Department of Philosophy at Youngstown State University has launched a “3+3 undergraduate to law school program” that allows students to major in philosophy and get a law degree in six years, as opposed to the seven it would normally take.
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[archived image unavailable] A building at Youngstown State UniversityThe BA/JD program saves students time and tuition, and by getting them into their jobs a year earlier, effectively provides them with a career bonus equivalent to at least one year’s starting salary (though in many cases the benefit will be greater than that, as subsequent raises will come earlier, too).
Students in the program complete the specific courses for the philosophy major and the general education requirements at Youngstown State in the first three years, and, if they meet the requirements, continue for another three years at either the University of Akron School of Law, Cleveland State University School of Law, or Case Western Reserve University School of Law (each school has slightly different criteria). The law schools waive the typical requirement that students have a BA before being admitted, and the university accepts the law school courses as credits students can use to satisfy their graduation requirements. The details of the program are here.
The launch of the program made the local news:
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Majors that combine philosophy with other subjects, such as Philosophy, Politics and Economics or philosophy-centered pre-law programs are not uncommon ways of meeting student interest and increasing enrollments and numbers of majors. But combining philosophy undergraduate degrees with and graduate academic or professional degree programs is rarer, or so it seems. It would be good to hear more about what combinations are being tried out, how the programs are doing, whether they’ve resulted in the anticipated enrollment and major increases, and the experiences people have had in creating and implementing these programs.
