MSU, MC partner for accelerated law degree program

�̾��ƵPresident Mark E. Keenum, center left, and MC President Blake Thompson, center right, signed the 3 + 3 accelerated law degree program Memorandum of Understanding Aug. 21 alongside, from left, �̾��ƵExecutive Vice Provost Peter Ryan, �̾��ƵProvost and Executive Vice President David Shaw, [Keenum and Thompson], MC Provost and Executive Vice President Mike Highfield, and MC School of Law Dean John Anderson. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State students who aspire to become attorneys now have a new accelerated pathway into the legal profession thanks to a new university partnership with Mississippi College.

Mississippi State and MC’s School of Law formally signed an agreement Wednesday [Aug. 21] allowing qualified �̾��Ƶstudents to enter MC’s Juris Doctor program before fully completing an �̾��Ƶbachelor’s degree, accelerating the total length of undergraduate studies plus law school by one full year.

�̾��ƵPresident Mark E. Keenum and MC President Blake Thompson signed the Memorandum of Understanding alongside �̾��ƵProvost and Executive Vice President David Shaw, �̾��ƵExecutive Vice Provost Peter Ryan, MC Provost and Executive Vice President Mike Highfield, and MC School of Law Dean John Anderson.

�̾��ƵPresident Mark E. Keenum, left, and MC President Blake Thompson agreed the new accelerated pathway for students who desire to enter the legal profession and become attorneys will benefit not only the students and institutions, but the entire state. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

“Mississippi State and Mississippi College share similar values and a commitment to serve, and I’m so pleased we have been able to work with President Thompson and his leadership team to develop this accelerated academic pathway,” Keenum said. “It’s an exceptional opportunity for students, our institutions, and the state of Mississippi.”

�̾��Ƶstudents who have completed 75% of the coursework required for a bachelor’s degree will be eligible for admission to MC. After the student successfully completes the first year of the J.D. program (30 hours), �̾��Ƶwill award the appropriate bachelor’s degree. Then, after completing requirements for the J.D. degree, MC will award this professional diploma. MC will accept applications Sept. 1-March 31 for admission to the entering class for the following fall semester, which begins each August.

“This new partnership between �̾��Ƶand MC Law allows us to better serve Mississippi by pairing our state’s largest land-grant university and its only capital city law school. The arrangement offers a tremendous benefit to the students of both institutions, and it will help to keep our brightest future lawyers in the state,” said Thompson.

Students participating in the accelerated degree program must be admitted separately to MC, and those seeking this accelerated admission should apply to MC using the normal law school application process provided by the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT, which is required. Letters of recommendation will not be required by MC but are effective in enhancing the law school admissions application.

The accelerated MSU-MC program meets requirements of the American Bar Association.

MC’s School of Law has been preparing leaders for the legal profession since 1930 in Jackson, where the State Capitol, Mississippi Supreme Court, federal courts and many of Mississippi’s most respected law firms are in close proximity, giving students practical experience in the field before graduation.

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