Legal Studies Major (BA) - Law School Early Admission Option

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Law School Early Admission (3-3) Program

Hamline’s 3-3 program allows highly talented and motivated students to complete their undergraduate degree and law degree in just six years.

The objectives of this special program are:

to provide exceptional, highly motivated undergraduates who demonstrate academic excellence, maturity, and professionalism with an opportunity to complete their bachelor’s and law degrees in six, instead of the usual seven, years;
to integrate the liberal arts education with professional legal training; and
to provide a program that will develop legal professionals who are committed to defining and strengthening the moral and ethical values of the legal profession through value-based education.

The Legal Studies Department offers the 3-3 program in two formats:

The Legal Studies Major paired with a minor outside of the Legal Studies Department;
The Law School Early Admission (LSEA) Minor paired with a major outside of the Legal Studies Department. Majors typically paired with the LSEA Minor include: business (general, BBA), communications studies, criminal justice, economics, English, finance, history, management, marketing, philosophy, psychology, political science, sociology, and women’s studies. Please see the Law School Early Admission Minor section of this Bulletin for specific information.

Students interested in any 3-3 program should meet with an academic advisor in the Legal Studies Department early in their undergraduate career to discuss options. Please also contact the chair of the department in which you would like to major for more information. If you decide partway through your studies that the 3-3 track is no longer right for you, simply continue on with your studies and graduate in four years.

Degree Requirements

Candidates for early admission to Mitchell Hamline School of Law through the Legal Studies Major must:

Declare their candidacy by completing a Declaration of Major form, select the LGST-LSEA Major.
Contact the Mitchell Hamline School of Law Admissions Office to discuss the profile recommended for admission.
Register for and complete the LSAT during their junior year. Materials and scholarship applications are available online and at the law school.
Apply to graduate by December of their junior year.
Apply for admission to the Mitchell Hamline School of Law by March of their junior year and with acceptance in the fall class.

While at Hamline, students must complete 100 semester credits by the end of their junior year. These credits must include the following:

All Hamline Plan requirements,
The Legal Studies major requirements,
A minor outside the Legal Studies Department (students completing a second major do not need a minor)

During the first year at Mitchell Hamline, students must complete 28 credits of first-year law school work, with grades of C- or better. These credits must be transferred to Hamline before a student will be awarded the Bachelor’s degree.

Legal Studies Major Requirements (40-44 credits)

One course chosen from the following:

Two courses chosen from the following:

Elective pathway:

Choose one of the elective pathways below.

Pathway 1 - Graduate Paralegal Certificate (20 credits)

This path is for students who want to work as paralegals or in some other field or industry where the knowledge of the law and skills of a paralegal will provide value added to their employers or prospective employers. Students must complete a brief application and may register for the graduate paralegal certificate courses to begin after they have completed 16 credits of undergraduate work in the major. After earning a bachelor’s degree with the graduate paralegal certificate, students are eligible to complete Hamline’s Master in the Study of Law degree with 14 additional graduate credits.

Note: Hamline’s graduate paralegal certificate is approved by the American Bar Association for the training of paralegals. Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to clients or to the public, except as permitted by law. A paralegal certificate does not qualify the recipient to sit for the bar examination or work as a lawyer.

Pathway 2 - Interdisciplinary (16 credits)

Choose 16 credits from the list below:

LGST 3420 - Topics in Law
Any LGST courses not used to satisfy requirements above
CJFS 3710 - Criminal Law and Practice
CJFS 3720 - Constitutional Issues in Criminal Procedure
HIST 3930 - Topics in United States History (topic: Landmark Trials in American History)
LGST 3100 - American Constitutional Law
PSCI 3100 - American Constitutional Law
PHIL 1130 - Logic
PHIL 3330 - Social, Political, and Legal Philosophy
WGS 3500 - Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies (topic: Engendering Justice)

Notes:

Participation in the 3-3 program does not guarantee law school admission; students must take the LSAT and apply to and be accepted to the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Students who are not accepted into law school after three years can complete their undergraduate major and earn their bachelor’s degree in the usual four years. They may, of course, reapply to law school upon completion of their undergraduate degree.

Once students enroll at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, they are no longer eligible for financial aid as an undergraduate student, including the presidential fellowship. However, they are eligible to apply for financial aid and scholarships through the law school.

Transfer Students:

Transfer students are eligible for the law school early admission (3-3) program. They must complete a minimum of sixteen (16) credits at Hamline toward their undergraduate major. In all other respects the LGST-LSEA program is identical for transfer students. Transfer students are encouraged to consult with a transfer advisor and a Legal Studies professor before beginning at Hamline.