Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) Program

Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) Program

Quinnipiac University offers an innovative Bachelor's/Juris Doctor accelerated program, which will shorten the usual seven-year sequence to just six years to earn a BA or BS in a major in the College of Arts and Sciences or the Schools of Business, Communications, Engineering or Health Sciences, and the JD from the Quinnipiac School of Law. This program is designed for students who know they want to attend law school at Quinnipiac. 

Benefits

The Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) program provides a number of benefits. In addition to the opportunity to complete both degrees in only six years, students may:

• Live in Quinnipiac housing for four years. 
• Participate in specific programming including interacting with the law school dean and faculty throughout the undergraduate years. 
• Enroll in a 1-credit LSAT prep class offered to help students prepare for the exam.

Applicants accepted through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions prior to their first year at QU will also receive financial benefits consistent with Quinnipiac University’s accelerated dual-degree programs policy: 

• Frozen tuition and student fee rate for the first four (three undergraduate and one law/transition) years.
• January term courses (up to 3 credits) and summer courses (up to 7 credits per summer term) during the first three (undergraduate) years included in annual tuition.
• Renewed merit scholarships throughout law school, subject to law school renewal policies. 

For more information, visit the Accelerated Dual-Degree Programs Financial Policy.

Students who enter the 3+3 program post-matriculation have access to January term courses (up to 3 credits) and summer courses (up to 7 credits per summer term) within annual tuition but neither of the other financial benefits apply (i.e., frozen tuition and fees, renewed merit scholarships).

Qualifications

The Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) program is designed for students who know that they want to attend law school at Quinnipiac School of Law. Entrance into the 3+3 program can happen in two ways:

Upon Matriculation

Entering students who indicate Pre-Law or the Accelerated Dual-Degree program on their Admissions application must:

• Be admitted to a major in the College of Arts and Sciences or in the Schools of Business, Communications, Computing and Engineering or Health Sciences at Quinnipiac. 
• Earn a 3.5 grade point average (GPA) in high school.
• Rank in the top 20 percent of their high school class. 
• Achieve a combined critical reading and math SAT score of at least 1200 or a composite ACT of at least 25 or higher. 

*Students interested in the program who are close to but do not meet the admission criteria may apply to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for special consideration.

Post-Matriculation

First-year students and sophomores attending Quinnipiac, as well as first-year and sophomore transfer students, may apply to the program through the Pre-Law Advising Office. Students must:

• Meet or be close to the same eligibility criteria for first-year students entering the program directly through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. 
• Sophomores entering the program must have a minimum of 27 credits with at least a 3.0 GPA at the end of their first year. 

Program Requirements

Students admitted to the Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) program are required to: 

• Complete all major and University Curriculum requirements before entering the School of Law. 
• Complete at least 60 undergraduate (non-law) credits at Quinnipiac immediately prior to matriculation in the School of Law.
• Regularly meet with Quinnipiac’s pre-law adviser as well as the academic adviser in their major to be certain they have completed all major and University Curriculum requirements before entering the School of Law.
• Complete course overloads as necessary to satisfy the undergraduate degree requirements in the accelerated time period. 

Program Structure

There are two options for completion of the program:

• Option 1 requires completion of a minimum of 90 undergraduate credits, including all major and University Curriculum requirements, by the end of the third year. Students following Option 1 will:
  • Use the first year of law school for their fourth year of undergraduate credits and count up to 30 law school credits toward their undergraduate degree. 
  • Be full-time law students in the first semester of their fourth year. 
  • Earn a bachelor’s degree at the end of their first year of law school/fourth year of college.
• Option 2 requires completion of a minimum of 105 undergraduate credits by the end of the third year. Students following Option 2 will:
  • Participate in a “bridge” semester – the fall semester of the fourth year – consisting of 6 credits of undergraduate courses and 10 credits of law school courses. 
  • Be considered full-time law students in the second semester of the fourth year. 
  • Enroll in 6 credits of law school courses in the summer between the fourth and the fifth years. 
  • Receive their bachelor’s degree at the end of the bridge semester.

Law School Transition

In their third year, students in the Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) program must:

• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 by the end of the third year.
• Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) no later than March of that academic year and achieve a score equal to, or greater than, the law school’s first year class median at the time the law school application is submitted.
• File a law school application with the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) receiving assistance from the Quinnipiac School of Law Admissions Office if necessary. 
• Pass review by the Quinnipiac School of Law Admissions Committee ensuring that the prerequisites are met and there are no character and fitness issues. Students who do not meet the minimum GPA or LSAT score requirements may still be considered by the Law School Admissions Committee. If they are admitted, they would not be guaranteed the scholarship awarded at the undergraduate level.

Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) 

Program of Study

Option 1

Accelerated Dual-Degree Bachelor’s/JD (3+3) 
Program of Study

Option 2

By the end of the third year, students must:

• Complete all major and University Curriculum requirements for a total of at least 90 credits (which can include any AP or advanced standing credits as determined when they enter as first-year students) with a minimum cumulative 3.4 GPA.
• Complete at least 60 undergraduate (non-law) credits at Quinnipiac immediately prior to matriculation at the School of Law.
• Take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) no later than March of their third year and achieve an LSAT score equal to, or greater than, the law school’s first year class median. 
  • Students who do not meet the GPA and/or LSAT score requirements may still be considered by the Admissions Committee to determine whether they are eligible for early admission to the law school, and if so, whether they will receive merit scholarship funds.
  • A score of 155 or higher may be sufficient to increase undergraduate scholarship to a higher level as the student enters the School of Law, subject to the law school renewal policy.

If those prerequisites are met, and there are no character and fitness issues, the student would be admitted to the law school and guaranteed a scholarship in the amount awarded to them as undergraduates, subject to the law school renewal policy.