American Studies, B.A. to Law, J.D. Accelerated Program

Saint Louis University's accelerated 3+3 American studies B.A.-to-J.D. program allows students to apply a maximum of 30 first-year law school credits to their undergraduate degree programs and receive their bachelor’s degree after the successful completion of the first year at the SLU School of Law.  

For additional information, see the catalog entries for the following programs:

American Studies, B.A.

Juris Doctor

Accreditation

Saint Louis University School of Law has been continuously accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) since December 1924. The accrediting body is the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738.

Students are eligible to apply to Saint Louis University's American studies/J.D. program any time in their undergraduate career. Students must maintain a 3.50 cumulative GPA to continue in the accelerated program.

After completing 75 credits, students will apply to SLU's School of Law. If admitted to SLU Law, these students will begin their J.D. program in their fourth year. The first year of law school coursework will count as elective credit toward the undergraduate bachelor's degree. Thus, the College of Arts and Sciences will award students their degrees after completing their first year of law school.

Students must complete at least 90 credits, 75% of those required to earn their undergraduate degrees, before matriculating to the law school. These must include the College of Arts and Sciences core curriculum requirements (48 to 51 credits) and American studies major requirements (30 credits).

Continuation Standards

Each accelerated program student will be assigned a faculty mentor in the Department of American Studies, who will meet with the student every semester. These meetings will ensure that the student makes timely progress toward a degree.

The American studies faculty mentor will also review each accelerated student's academic record at the end of each semester. Any student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.50 will go on probation. If the student's GPA does not improve to the minimum level of 3.50 throughout 30 subsequent credits, the student will be suspended from the accelerated program. A student who is suspended from the accelerated program will be allowed to continue with the B.A. in American studies in accordance with the department's undergraduate continuation standard.