UAA and Willamette University College of Law have signed a memorandum of understanding for a "3+3" program for UAA students. “3+3” refers to 3 years of undergraduate credits plus 3 years of law school.
Under this agreement, UAA students from any major who have completed their required disciplinary credits, all of their GER credits, and a total of 90 credits overall, may apply for admission to Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon.If they are accepted to the law school, students may matriculate from UAA before completing the reminder of their undergraduate degree. After participating students complete their first year of law school, UAA will accept up to 30 law school credits as transfer credits toward the total 120 credits necessary for the UAA baccalaureate degree. Thus, students will graduate from UAA after their first year of law school at Willamette.
The program is modeled on a similar partnership between Willamette College of Law and Oregon State University. Click here for details on the OSU program. (Go to the UAA Justice Center web page for program information. The page is still under development.) Such programs allow students to complete their education more quickly, significantly reducing costs and student loan debt and providing students with an extra year of earning power. These types of agreements are becoming increasingly common among academic institutions. Curtis Bridgeman, Dean of Willamette University College of Law, visited UAA earlier this year to discuss the proposal with UAA Chancellor Tom Case, Provost "Bear" Baker, and Mary Hughes, UA Board of Regents. Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Legal Studies Program Coordinator at the UAA Justice Center, worked with Willamette to develop the 3+3 program and will be UAA’s point of contact for program advising.
