Bachelor of Science, Law

I've been looking at the BSc Law degree offered mainly by California Colleges. Does anyone have any experience with these qualifications? Is the qualification a decent interim Law Degree and are they recognised ?

 

A BSc Law degree is actually more of a UK degree. In the US the current bottom degree is the JD (which used to be the LLB).

What California Colleges offer the BSc Law?

 

The Bachelor of Science in Law is offered by several decent correspondence law schools in California. The idea is, if you go into the program without a BA but have the Bar required 60 semester hours of prelaw college credit, you qualify for the bachelor's degree after finishing about half of the Bar JD program.

It's not particularly useful, though I suppose a paralegal might find it an asset in the job search.

I don't THINK that any accredited schools offer the degree any longer. My college dropped law as an undergraduate major in about 1970.

 

Schools I found:

British American Uni
Northwestern California Uni
Saratoga Uni
S Cal Uni for Prof Studies

My assumption is that they're not particularly god schools ?

 

All of the listed schools are unaccredited California correspondence law schools. Completion of the Bar program at any of these schools will qualify the student to take the California Bar Exam, so their JD degrees are not worthless.

 

A popular paralegal degree

The Bachelor of Science in Law is actually fairly popular among the paralegal crowd here in California. Paralegals must now meet minimum education standard under California Business and Professions code section 6450 (something prospective paralegal students may want to look at prior to enrolling in some of the more popular online choices for paralegal education ). I know Kaplan and St. Mary’s offer the BSL degree. I’m sure there are a few state options for the same or similar designations.

 

I've seen the Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement, but that's a police science degree.

 

Kaplan offers the Bachelor's degree in "paralegal studies". I imagine it is somewhat different than the old BSL

 

From the St. Mary’s website. Kaplan’s is actually a BA in paralegal studies

Bachelor of Arts in Law Studies

The first program in California to combine legal and liberal arts education, this Law Studies degree provides the skills and knowledge necessary to advance to well-paying opportunities in law-related fields. Because of the solid foundation in the College's prestigious liberal arts curriculum, students develop critical thinking, analytical and communication skills so vital in today's ever changing market.

 

I think that has devolved to the political science curriculum in the U.S. Here is an example from N.Carolina.

 

Another possibility for an "interim" degree might be what you could cobble from the Ohio University distance learning courses.

 

The thing about the California correspondence BSL is it should carry credit toward an unaccredited but Bar qualifying JD at a different school whereas the undergrad BSL does not.

 

Re: Re: Re: Bachelor of Science, Law

Andy's "interim" reference has me believing he'd like to go on to a JD. If so then he'll need to choose a program acceptable to a law school. Political science is, I believe, a common choice for future lawyers.

 

Re: Good majors for JD hopefuls

Q: Do I have to have an undergraduate degree in pre-law to go to law school?
A: No, our students have a wide variety of undergraduate majors. Major in an academic area that interests you. If possible, choose courses that emphasize intensive reading, critical writing, and analytical skills. - from the College Of Law At Arizona State University FAQ page

Q: Is a "pre law" undergraduate major necessary?
A: No. Pre-law actually just refers to a collection of primarily liberal arts courses, and people enter law school from all types of academic backgrounds. The most common majors among our applicants are political science, English, history, psychology, the sciences, and business, but majors from all fields are present in the school. To see a listing of the variety of undergraduate majors from our fall 2002 entering class click http://www.law.missouri.edu/prospective/ugmajors.htm. - from the University of Missouri - Columbia School of Law FAW page

Decimon - I used to think the same thing about political science being a good major, but after doing some research for a friend that was getting out of the military to go back to college, I realized that there really wasn't one particular degree that was the most beneficial. I like the following quote from the ASU page. "Major in an academic area that interests you. " It is the best advice that I have seen.

Now if I could just get stationed somewhere with a evening/weekend JD program...

 

The ABA and its approved schools don't express any preference in undergraduate major; I really think that their advice to "study what interests you" is good advice because you will develop a better undergrad GPA. GPA weighs very heavily in the law school admissions process.

That said, all other things being equal, there are certain undergrad majors that could be more useful than others to the JD graduate (as opposed to applicant):

-engineering (any branch but pass the F/E exam)
-accounting (not general business. CPA is ideal)

and the envelope please! My prediction for the most valuable undergrad degree majors for beginning lawyers IS:

-microbiology or biochemistry. (if possible, with a minor in accounting)

These young lawyers will have the potential to make money in amounts beyond the wildest dreams of avarice. Their professional lives will be challenging and even newsworthy.

 

Steve,

Dunno. I'm just passing on what I've read and will gladly stand corrected. I think that nosborne answered you.

airtorn,

I've been told that polysci is good prep for law school and that seems to make sense.

nosborne,

What about undergrad majors that impart some understanding of "the legal mind" and cover some of the same material covered in the JD? Or is that wishful thinking?

 

Well, no law program, ABA or not, will allow credit for preprofessional law study. You have to complete the entire JD no matter what your background is, with the rare exception that students holding first professional degrees in law from outside the U.S. can sometimes receive advanced standing in a U.S. JD program (i.e. LL.B. from a Canadian law school, the sole case I know of personally)

 

Almost any tech field

I actually work in the IP litigation field, and technical and bio degrees. At the upper levels, you’ll find many with advanced degrees in hard science (including many Ph.Ds).

After the firm collapses of last year, many in the field remain a little shell shocked, but demand for top IP talent is still pretty strong.