The University of Arizona Graduate College



SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1FAQ for Proposed MLS and MPS DegreesWhat standard should the Grad Council use in conducting its review?We appreciate the Grad Council’s review, and we want to make sure we comply with University procedures, but we do need to note that we must also comply with the standards of our accrediting body. Those rules spell out standards to regulate the relationship between law schools and universities. ABA Standard 205(b) provides that:The dean and faculty shall formulate and administer the educational program of the law school, including curriculum; methods of instruction; admissions; and academic standards for retention, advancement, and graduation of students . . .It is thus typical for graduate colleges to be involved in ministerial functions such as maintaining student records, ensuring compliance with university and federal standards regarding foreign students, and regulating matters such as student immunization and health insurance requirements, but law schools must retain authority to establish substantive requirements for the degree programs offered by the law school. Otherwise, it could cast doubt on our compliance with the regulations of our accrediting body.What motivated the College of Law to propose these degree programs?The College of Law currently offers LLM degrees (Masters of Laws) and an SJD (Doctorate in Law). We often receive inquiries from prospective students interested in these programs, particularly the LLM, who do not possess a law degree but whose career or educational path crosses over into law. Currently, the College of Law is unable to allow these students to matriculate, as ABA regulations require that students in these programs possess a JD or the foreign equivalent as a prerequisite for enrollment. The ABA does permit law schools to offer master’s degrees in law and legal studies for non-lawyers with the approval of the University and the acquiescence of the ABA. More than three dozen law schools offer such degrees. Some of those degrees are general legal studies and some are subject specific. We are proposing two degrees. One is a basic degree in legal studies (the MLS) which can be tailored to specific concentrations where there is student demand such as business law, health law, administrative law, employment law, international trade, environmental law, or immigration law. The other (MPS) is designed to capitalize on the international reputation of the College of Law’s IPLP Program and the highly successful non-credit, non-degree program it offers in connection with the University’s Native Nations Institute and Native Peoples Technical Assistance Office.How many other schools have degree programs for non-lawyers?The ABA (the accrediting body for law schools), maintains an online list of schools with master’s degree programs for non-lawyers. That list can be found at cross-checked that list by visiting the websites of the top 50 law schools as ranked by US News and World Report (we are tied for 38th in that ranking system). We then eliminated all degrees that were listed by the ABA but which were not advertised or otherwise listed on the law school’s website, and any degree which upon closer look had highly unusual requirements. For example, one school awarded the MLS as a consolation to those who did not complete the JDAS program and another school’s program was actually a joint degree. The result is a list of 26 schools that offer master’s degree for non-lawyers, and this is the list we used as our benchmarks. See attached spreadsheet.Why is the College of Law proposing two separate degrees? Why not one degree and two majors?The College of Law initially intended to propose one degree with several majors, but as we developed the details of the proposal, it rapidly became clear that we were talking about two different degrees. We recognize that each program must meet the University’s established minimum number of graduates, but we anticipate no difficulties in doing so.Here is a quick snapshot of the differences:MPS in Indigenous GovernanceMLS Credits required2626Required coursesIntro to US Law Legal Research Federal Indian Law Law, Policy, & Econ of Tribal GovtComparative Indigenous Governance Experiential learning courseThesis Intro to US LawLegal ResearchThesisGenesisOutgrowth of successful Continuing Education Certificate in Indigenous Governance, which is a partnership of the College of Law’s Indigenous Peoples Program and two non-academic units under the VPR’s office Inquiries from prospective students interested in the LLM but who do not possess a law degreeProspective studentsGrowing new group of professionals who work with and for Indigenous governments in the United States and around the world.People whose jobs require legal knowledge but not a law degreeCompetition from other schoolsCompetition comes from both law schools and schools of public administrationCompetition comes from other law schools and schools of public administrationAdministrationIndigenous Peoples Law & Policy ProgramGeneral College of Law offices?What do other schools call such degrees?The degrees are known by a variety of names. Here is the detailed breakdown:Name of DegreeNumber of schoolsList of SchoolsMJ (Master of Jurisprudence) 4DrakeWidenerLoyola ChicagoTulsaMLS (Master of Legal Studies)4ASUCleveland MarshallDaytonSouthern IllinoisMSL (Master of Studies in Law)5YaleWake ForestOhio StateU PittsburghGeorgetownMS (Master of Science)5CornellThomas JeffersonUniv. of DenverNova SoutheasternUniv. of San DiegoOther7See list belowMaster of Advanced StudiesNew HampshireMaster of Dispute ResolutionPepperdine Master of Environmental Law & PolicyVermontMaster of Energy Regulation and LawVermontMaster of TaxationCapitalJuris MastersEmoryMaster of Arts in Mental Disability LawNew York Law SchoolMaster of Judicial StudiesWashington University – St. LouisWhy did the College of Law pick MLS and MPS?As you can see from the chart above, law schools are fairly evenly split as to what to label the master’s degree for non-lawyers. We selected Masters of Professional Studies in Indigenous Governance for two reasons. First, as Associate Dean Dianne Horgan noted, MPS is offered by many US universities in fields outside of law. We wanted to signal that this was not a pure law degree, but rather focuses on law, public policy, governance, and public administration. Second, two of our competitor programs are schools of public administration, which are offering MPA degrees.?In terms of our choice of “master of legal studies” (MLS) we followed the lead of some of the other schools, such as ASU and Stanford. The use of “master of studies in law” (MSL) is the equivalent. We avoided “master of jurisprudence” in part because some non-law schools have used that as a designation, for example, for programs designed to train law enforcement personnel. We avoided “master of science” in large part because of concerns that some would associate this with a “science” instead of a social sciences program. In many foreign universities, for example, the law school is part of the school of social sciences, and we thought it best to avoid potential confusion.How many credits are required for graduation?The number of credit hours required for these programs various tremendously. They range from five schools requiring 24 credit hours to four schools that require more than 30 hours. Slightly less than half of the schools (12 schools to be precise) require 30 credit hours.We have opted for 26 credit hours. We have taken this approach for two primary reasons. First, it is consistent with the way the existing graduate law programs are structured. The existing LLM programs require 24 credit hours to graduate. The 2 credit hour difference is a 2 hour introduction to law course, designed to prepare students without a JD to successfully participate in law classes. Otherwise, since the goal is to open our LLM programs to otherwise qualified students who lack a JD, the programs are designed to track each other. The second reason for selecting the 26 hour requirement is the anticipation that most students will be attracted by our collection of upper division specialty courses, which tend to be more intensive, thus making it difficult for students to carry a 15 credit load each semester.Why these assessment standards? How do they compare to other schools?It is difficult to discuss what other schools do with respect to grading, as only 7 of the 26 schools on the benchmark list discuss minimum required GPAs on their website. We have opted for a default of a pass/fail/high pass standard, although students may opt for letter grades. We have taken this approach primarily because it is consistent with the way the existing graduate law programs are assessed. Since the goal is to open our LLM programs to otherwise qualified students who lack a JD, we are attempting to operate them as much as possible in parallel with each other. ................
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