USM partners with Mississippi College for accelerated law degree

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – Monday afternoon, Southern Miss signed an agreement with Mississippi College School of Law to help future lawyers get into the workforce a little early.

Through the new partnership, students can attend USM for three years majoring in political science, legal studies, and criminal justice, and then be admitted early into law school.

Students’ first year of law school would become their senior year, and they’re out of law school a full year early.

“So it turns a seven-year process into six for students,” said USM President Dr. Joe Paul. “It saves them an entire year of tuition and cost of living, and gives them one more year in the workplace, early entry to start to earn a living. So it’s a, it’s a great program for students that show up at Southern Miss that are serious about becoming attorneys.”

“Southern Miss serves the state of Mississippi and serves students in Mississippi,” said Mississippi College President Blake Thompson. “We as a law school, the only law school in the state capital, we think of ourselves as serving the state of Mississippi as well. We’re producing the next generation of Mississippi’s attorneys.”

Students participating in the accelerated degree program must pass the LSAT no later than December of their third year of full-time enrollment at Southern Miss.

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