Dec 07, 2024  
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year]

Undergraduate/Law Dual Degree Program


UH Law Center  > Undergraduate/Law Dual Degree Program

Application Process

It is expected that consideration for early admission to the JD program at the Law Center as a dual-degree student will require a cumulative grade point average, “GPA,” of at least 3.5 at the end of 90 undergraduate-eligible term hours and achieving at least the median Law School Admission Test,”LSAT,” score of the preceding year’s entering class at the Law Center.  Early admission is also contingent upon approval of the student’s moral character and fitness responses.

Students participating in the program who have a GPA lower than 3.5 or who have an LSAT lower than the previous year’s median may be considered for early admission at the discretion of the Law Center admissions committee. Additional application materials may be required, including a statement describing why they merit early admission. Early admission for such applicants will be contingent upon approval of the student’s moral character and fitness responses.

Students who have earned college credit prior to enrolling in the Honors College may apply to and participate in the dual degree program. However, in order to preserve the culture of the Honors College, in no case shall an Honors College undergraduate student be admitted to the Law Center through this program unless that student has completed at least 90 undergraduate-eligible term hours while a student in residence in the Honors College.

Required Academic Credits and Undergraduate Degree Requirements

  1. In their first three years at the University of Houston, interested Honors College students will complete at least 90 semester credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies, including two undergraduate minors, one of which must be Phronesis. Students admitted to the Law Center can begin the first-year law school curriculum only after completing at least 90 undergraduate term hours in residence. Students must begin the first-year law school curriculum in the fall term.
  2. To receive an undergraduate degree, program students must successfully complete at least 120 undergraduate-eligible term hours, as well as all of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies. For purposes of this degree program, the Law Center’s first-year courses are undergraduate-eligible term hours. 
  3. In their fourth year in the program, eligible students admitted to the Law Center will take the required first-year law school curriculum, which will fulfill the final 30 undergraduate-eligible term hours required for an undergraduate degree. Such students will also fulfill the third minor required for the Liberal Studies degree by completing at least 15 term hours of the first-year law school curriculum.  
  4. Students enrolled in the program may substitute the Human Situation sequence in place of Introduction to Liberal Studies as a first-year course for Liberal Studies majors.

Required Courses for the Liberal Studies Degree


Liberal Studies


  • ILAS 2350 Introduction to Liberal Studies Credit Hours: 3.0 (May substitute with the Human Situation sequence.)
  • ILAS 4350 Senior Seminar in Liberal Studies Credit Hours: 3.0

Phronesis


For the minor in Politics and Ethics, a student must complete 19 term hours of approved coursework, including:

  • ENGL 1370 - Freshman Composition II - Honors Credit Hours: 3.0
  • HON 2301 - The Human Situtation: Antiquity Credit Hours: 3.0

One of the following POLS courses:

  • POLS 3342 - Liberalism and its Critics Credit Hours: 3.0
  • POLS 3343 - Democratic Theory Credit Hours: 3.0
  • POLS 3349 - Foundations in American Political Thought Credit Hours: 3.0

One of the following PHIL courses:

  • PHIL 3350 - Ethics Credit Hours: 3.0
  • PHIL 3351 - Contemporary Moral Issues Credit Hours: 3.0
  • PHIL 3355 - Political Philosophy Credit Hours: 3.0
  • PHIL 3358 - Classics in the History of Ethics Credit Hours: 3.0
  • PHIL 3375 - Law, Society, and Morality Credit Hours: 3.0

 

  • Two 3000-level courses from approved list
  • One approved 4000-level course (Seminar on a course issue, with a substantial writing component.)
  • An average GPA of 3.0 on all courses in minor.

Law Center First Year Curriculum


Fall Term Hours
Contracts 4
Procedure 1 4
Torts 4
Lawyering Skills & Strategies 3
Total 15

 

Spring Term Hours
Constitutional Law 4
Property 4
Criminal Law 3
Statutory Interpretation &  
Regulation 3
Lawyering Skills & Strategies 2
Total 16