Mississippi State students who are interested in becoming 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 have formally signed an agreement allowing qualified MSU students to enter MC’s Juris Doctor program before fully completing an MSU bachelor’s degree, accelerating the total length of undergraduate studies plus law school by one full year.
MSU President Mark Keenum and MC President Blake Thompson signed the Memorandum of Understanding alongside MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw, MSU Executive Vice Provost Peter Ryan, MC Provost and Executive Vice President Mike Highfield, and MC School of Law Dean John Anderson.
“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,” said Keenum. “It’s an exceptional opportunity for students, our institutions, and the state of Mississippi.”
MSU students 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), MSU will 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 MSU and 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.