Kent State, Akron Team Up to Offer 6-Year Bachelor’s, Law Degree Program

• The University of Akron and Kent State University will offer students a dual bachelor's and law degree program.
• Students who participate in the program will be able to get both a bachelor's and a Juris Doctor in six years.
• Students will be able to apply for the program when they apply for admission to Kent State or while enrolled in the school.

Students will soon be able to get a bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctor in just six years as the result of a new partnership between two northeast Ohio universities.

Under a new "3+3" partnership, students will be able to get a bachelor's degree from Kent State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Akron School of Law (Akron Law) in a combined six years, according to the two Ohio institutions.

Students will be able to apply for the program in their initial application for admission to Kent State or any time while they're enrolled at the university.

Students who are in the program will be automatically admitted into Akron Law after finishing three years or more of their bachelor's degree studies. They'll also need to "maintain good academic, financial and disciplinary standing at Kent State, satisfy the Akron Law character and fitness standards, and meet LSAT and grade point average standards," according to the schools.

"Our students will be able to transition seamlessly to receive both their undergraduate and law degrees in six years instead of seven," Kent State Senior Vice President and Provost Melody Tankersley said in a release announcing the partnership.

“Students will be able to apply for the program in their initial application for admission to Kent State or any time while they're enrolled at the university.”

It will be up to Kent State to decide which majors are eligible for the new partnership.

"Year in year out, the law school enrolls more incoming students from Kent State than any other school besides the University of Akron, so we believe there will be a lot of interest in this new program," Akron Law Dean Emily Janoski-Haehlen said in the release.

Akron already has a host of 3+3 partnerships with other schools, including Robert Morris University, the University of Mount Union, Walsh University, and Youngstown State University.

This isn't Kent State's first 3+3 partnership designed to help its students earn their Juris Doctor: Earlier this year, the school announced a similar partnership with the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.