2021-2022 Samford University Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Law (Doctoral)
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 Return to: Cumberland School of Law
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Doctoral Programs and Requirements
Degree
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Law (J.D.)
Accelerated Bachelor-to-Graduate Pathway Program
Fast-Track Juris Doctor (J.D.) with a B.A. or B.S. in selected majors (aka 3+3 Law Program)*
(Popular majors include English, History, Human Development and Family Science, and Journalism and Mass Communication)
Joint Degree Pathway Programs
Juris Doctor/Master of Accountancy (J.D./M.Acc.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Theological Studies (J.D./M.A.T.S.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity (J.D./M.Div.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Laws (J.D./LL.M.)***
Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration (J.D./M.P.A.)*
Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.)*
Juris Doctor/Master of Science (Bioethics) (J.D./M.S.)**
Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Environmental Management (J.D./M.S.E.M.)
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* In cooperation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
** In cooperation with Albany Medical College, New York.
*** Includes concentrations in financial services regulatory compliance, health law and compliance, higher education law and compliance, and legal operations.
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Cumberland School of Law offers the juris doctor (J.D.) degree.
At the undergraduate level, the law school offers an accelerated bachelor-to-graduate pathway program (aka 3+3 program) leading to a bachelor’s and a J.D. degree. This program is only available to students enrolled as undergraduates pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Samford (popular majors include English, history, human development and family science, and journalism and mass communication) and is designed to allow students to earn both degrees in approximately six years. Some credit sharing is allowed and overall credits of the combined programs are reduced.
At the graduate level, the law school offers several joint degree pathway programs in cooperation with other Samford schools/departments: a J.D. combined with a master of accountancy (M.Acc.), a master of arts in theological studies (M.A.T.S.), a master of business administration (M.B.A.), a master of divinity (M.Div.), a master of laws (LL.M.), and a master of environmental management (M.S.E.M.). Some credit sharing is allowed and overall credits of the combined programs are reduced.
Additionally, the law school offers joint programs with institutions outside of Samford: a J.D. combined with a master of public administration (M.P.A.) or master of public health (M.P.H.) offered through the University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as a J.D. combined with an M.S. in bioethics offered through Albany Medical College. Some credit sharing is allowed and overall credits of the combined programs are reduced.
For more information on the J.D./LL.M. joint degree, see the Graduate Law section. For more information on law joint degrees, see the law school website, http://samford.edu/cumberlandlaw.
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Cumberland School of Law offers a 90-credit juris doctor (J.D.) program, the classic degree for a practicing lawyer. Most Cumberland graduates become practicing attorneys, but many choose public service, business, or other careers for which the study of law provides a good foundation.
Admission Requirements
Applicants for the juris doctor degree must meet the following qualifications:
- Possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university prior to entering law school.
- Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) within the last five years.
- Register with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) at www.lsac.org. Make arrangements for LSAC to receive and compile letters of recommendation, transcripts from all the colleges and universities attended, and LSAT score in a CAS report.
- Complete Cumberland School of Law’s official application and all that is entailed in the application instructions by the required deadlines. A completed application includes a personal statement, a résumé and any required addendum(s), and a CAS report.
International Students
Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law welcomes applications from international students if the degree conferred is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree.
Please make note of the following if you are applying from outside the United States:
- All transcripts from institutions outside the United States must be submitted through LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service and evaluated by World Educational Services (WES) or AACRAO. Those evaluations must then be sent to our office (Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, Alabama, 35229, Attention: Office of Admission) by the evaluating agency. Transcripts must indicate the successful completion of a bachelor’s degree-equivalent program.
- Students from countries in which English is not the primary language and who have not earned a bachelor’s degree-equivalent from an English-language institution must satisfy one of the following requirements for English language proficiency:
- iBT TOEFL: Total score of 90, minimum 20 on each sub-sector
- IELTS: 7.0, minimum 6.0 on each sub-score
Transfer Students
Any student currently enrolled in an ABA-accredited law school may be eligible to apply for transfer to Cumberland School of Law. Applicants must be in good standing at their current law school, rank in the top 50% of their current law school class, and have a current law school GPA of at least 2.70.
If a transfer student is admitted, the associate dean for academic affairs will determine the number of law school credit hours that will transfer. A maximum of 40 hours of previous coursework may transfer. In most instances all credit hours earned in regular first-year law courses at an ABA-approved law school with a grade of “C” or better will transfer. Transfer credit will not be awarded for coursework graded on a pass/fail or similar basis, or in which a student received a grade lower than a “C” or its equivalent. Transfer students are not assigned a class ranking until two semesters of study at Cumberland School of Law have been completed.
A complete transfer application that is ready for review includes the following:
- Application
- Résumé
- Personal statement
- Explanations and additional documentation (as needed)
- LSAC law school report, including
- LSAT score(s)
- Two letters of recommendation
- College and law school official transcripts (law school transcript may be mailed directly to Cumberland School of Law Office of Admission.)
- Letter of Good Standing from current law school, mailed directly to the Cumberland School of Law Office of Admission. This letter must include your current law school class rank.
Study Abroad
Cumberland School of Law offers opportunities for U.S. law students to study abroad. Participating U.S. students gain international perspective by studying and living in a legal system and culture different than their own. In addition, there are other international degree opportunities.
Cambridge, England
A five-week summer study abroad program in Cambridge, England, gives J.D. students the opportunity for comparative study of U.S., British, and European Union law, in an historic and attractive setting at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.
East Anglia, UK
Under a cooperative arrangement between the Cumberland School of Law and The Norwich Law School at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, British law students have the opportunity to study in the U.S., and Cumberland graduates have the opportunity to study in the U.K. Participating Norwich LL.B students spend a year at Cumberland after their second year of legal studies at Norwich. Two Cumberland J.D. graduates each year are awarded full-tuition scholarships for studies toward an LL.M. degree at Norwich.
Accelerated Bachelor-to-Graduate Pathway Program
3+3 Law Program
Samford University and the Cumberland School of Law have created an accelerated bachelor’s to JD pathway program (aka 3+3 program) which permits a Samford student who has completed three-fourths of the work acceptable for a bachelor’s degree to be admitted to the law school. After successful completion of the first year of classes at Cumberland, the student will be awarded a bachelor’s degree in his/her undergraduate major. The program is available to Samford students from several undergraduate majors (popular ones include English, history, human development and family science, and journalism and mass communication). This program requires acceptance into Cumberland Law School following the normal application process, and careful advisement and documentation in order to ensure the completion of the bachelor’s degree. Some credit sharing is allowed and overall credits of the combined programs are reduced. Students should consult their academic advisor for additional details regarding this program.
Joint Degree Pathway Programs
Keeping legal education relevant requires offering more than one traditional law degree. To broaden perspectives or to help prepare for careers in special fields, Cumberland School of Law students have the option to pursue nine different joint degrees. Five programs are offered in conjunction with other schools at Samford University. One is offered in combination with the Cumberland School of Law’s master of laws (LL.M.) degree. Two programs are offered in association with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, an internationally recognized academic and research medical center, and one program is offered in association with Albany Medical College.
Applications must be made during the spring semester of the first year of law school. To be admitted to joint-degree programs, students must have completed their first year of law school, earned a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50, and satisfied the particular joint-degree program’s admission requirements. In addition, students must first complete the law school’s Joint-Degree form and meet with the director of law student records.
Juris Doctor/Master of Accountancy (J.D./M.Acc.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Theological Studies (J.D./M.A.T.S.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (J.D./M.B.A.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Divinity (J.D./M.Div.)
Juris Doctor/Master of Laws (J.D./LL.M.)***
Juris Doctor/Master of Public Administration (J.D./M.P.A.)*
Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health (J.D./M.P.H.)*
Juris Doctor/Master of Science (Bioethics) (J.D./M.S.)**
Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Environmental Management (J.D./M.S.E.M.)
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* In cooperation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
** In cooperation with Albany Medical College, New York.
*** Includes concentrations in financial services regulatory compliance, health law and compliance, higher education law and compliance, and legal operations.
For additional information, please contact the law school admissions office:
Office of Law Admission
Cumberland School of Law
Samford University
Birmingham, Alabama 35229
Tel: (205) 726-2702 or (800) 888-7213
E-mail: lawadm@samford.edu
Website: http://samford.edu/cumberlandlaw
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