New law program announced

The College of Arts and Sciences is introducing a new 3+3 program, which is beneficial for pre-law students at Troy University.

The new program contains an accelerated law curriculum for students who aim to go to law school. It allows them to complete general studies and advanced studies requirements for an undergraduate degree. Then, the student would attend a law school for a year, which counts as the last year of the undergraduate degree.

Troy University is partnering with Cumberland School of Law at Samford University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery.

Annette M. Allen, chair of the Department of Social Sciences, said that this program helps students reach their degrees sooner.

“This is for students who know they want to go to law school and are in a hurry,” Allen said. “So this allows them to start the law school a year early and be finished a year early. The benefit to the students is that they can start their life faster. They can become aware faster.”

In a news release, James Rinehart, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said, “This is an exciting way for students wishing to pursue law to accomplish their goals more quickly than the traditional route.”

Students must meet the GPA and LSAT requirements for each school before applying.

“However, law schools are fairly competitive,” Allen said. “If they are successful in having the proper GPA and decide to stay, then and they will start paying for the law school right after three years of college. That means one year of college fees is also saved.”

Once in law school, students will have to take 30 hours, 15 each semester. If a student maintains his GPA, the classes completed in the first year will be transferred to Troy. Students would then have finished their bachelor’s degrees and have completed one year toward their law school degrees.

“I think it’s a great program for students who know what they want to do,” Allen said. “This program will give them a head start that would boost towards their career.”