The University of Denver will offer a joint degree program in which students can earn a bachelor’s degree and a law degree in six years instead of the typical seven. The school is the 16th to offer a 6-year Bachelors/JD Program, and the first in Colorado. There are only two law schools in the state.
“Students admitted to the program will spend the first three years of their DU careers fulfilling all of the requirements of their undergraduate education,” said Martin Katz, Dean of the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. “Their next three years will be spent fulfilling the requirements of the Juris Doctor degree.”
By double-counting 39 hours of graduate law classes as elective undergraduate credits, students in the 6-year Bachelors/JD Program will be able to complete the requirements for the two degrees a year early.
Students can be admitted to the program before they start college or after their junior year. Pre-first year admissions will be limited to students who have excellent predictors of college and graduate school success. These predictors include superb high school transcripts and premium SAT scores r high school graduates and accomplished college transcripts for undergraduate students. They must also have a strong interest in law school and a high level of maturity.
University of Denver undergraduates in their junior year can apply for the 6-year Bachelors/JD Program, but must have completed all requirements for their undergraduate education by the end of their junior year.
“More students today are seeking multiple degrees,” Katz said. “They recognize that getting a graduate degree, in addition to their B.A. or B.S. degree, makes them more competitive in the job market.”
The Program is expected to begin the fall of 2014.
