August 29, 2017
Ursuline College and Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., are partnering to offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree and law degree in six years instead of seven.
Thanks to this direct admission agreement, signed by both colleges this summer, a student may complete three full years of study at Ursuline, followed by three years at Catholic Law, culminating in a baccalaureate degree from Ursuline after the fourth full year of study and the J.D. (law) degree from Catholic Law after the sixth full year of postsecondary study. Students who complete four years of study at Ursuline may also be eligible for direct admission.
“This agreement opens another door of opportunity for Ursuline College students who have a passion for the law,” said Anne Murphy Brown, J.D., associate professor and director of Ursuline’s Legal Studies Program. “The individual attention and support that students receive at Ursuline provides a great runway for the rigors of law school. At the end of three years at Ursuline, they will be prepared for success.”
Ursuline President Sister Christine De Vinne, OSU, Ph.D. agreed, adding, “We at Ursuline College are delighted to be able to offer future lawyers this chance to begin their college career with us, in a women-focused, supportive environment. They may eliminate one year of college expenses and enter their careers one year sooner than they would have after a typical seven-year experience of undergraduate studies and law school.”
“Catholic University's Columbus School of Law is delighted to have entered into a 3+3 program with Ursuline College that will enable its undergraduate students to obtain early admission to our Law School. This is a great way for highly motivated students to obtain bachelor's and J.D. degrees in six years as opposed to the usual seven years,” said Dean and Knights of Columbus Professor of Law Daniel F. Attridge. “We are confident that Ursuline's top undergraduate students will perform well in our first-rate J.D. program in the Nation's Capital.”
For admission to this program, Ursuline students must have:
- Completed at least three years of coursework, as determined by Ursuline;
- Earned a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 3.60 by the end of the third year for third-year students or 3.50 by the end of the fourth year for fourth-year students;
- Scored above the 66th percentile on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT);
- Remained in good academic and disciplinary standing, as determined by Ursuline; and
- Met all of the fitness, character, and other criteria for admission required by the Office of Admission of the Columbus School of Law.
Ursuline offers a pre-law program that provides students of several different majors access to advising, workshops, and test preparation for the LSAT. Students in the following Ursuline majors are eligible for consideration in this new Direct Admission program: Biology, Biology: Life Science, Business Management, English, History, Legal Studies, Mathematics, Marketing, Nursing (as a four-year program only), Political Science, Psychology, Public Relations and Corporate Communications.
In 2016, Ursuline officials signed a similar agreement with the Cleveland Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, enabling students to enter that law school after three successful years at Ursuline.
Questions concerning Ursuline’s agreements with either law school should be directed to Anne Murphy Brown, Associate Professor and Director of Legal Studies, Campus Pre-Law Advisor. She may be reached by phone at 440-449-5403 or by email at amurphybrown@ursuline.edu.
Both Ursuline College and The Catholic University of America are independent, Catholic colleges welcoming students of all faiths. The Ursuline congregation was founded in Italy in 1535 and spread across Europe. The Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland came to the U.S. from Boulogne-sur-Mer, France in 1850 to establish the first Catholic schools in the Cleveland diocese. They founded Ursuline College in 1871 as one of the first Catholic women’s colleges in the United States. The Catholic University of America was founded by the Catholic bishops of the United States in 1887, with a charter from then Pope Leo XIII, to be the national university of the Catholic Church in America. The university was established as a graduate and research center and began offering undergraduate education in 1904.
