纽约州立大学水牛城分校

The Political Science Department offers a broad range of courses that develop students’ research, writing and reasoning skills, and critical thinking skills. To build upon and refine these skills, many political science majors go on to pursue advanced degrees in law. The Accelerated BA to Law JD Program is a unique opportunity for undergraduate political science students to accelerate their course of study by completing their Bachelor of Arts in political science and Juris Doctorate in just six years of full-time study, saving students a full year of time and tuition.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of all requirements, the student will have knowledge of:

Demonstrate the ability to navigate substantive and procedural law, the democratic political system, and government policies
Identify relevant legal and factual issues, undertake legal research, and employ these skills in legal analysis, reasoning, and problem solving.

Develop the ability to apply reasoning in the analysis of a wide range of political and legal issues and problems.
Engage in theoretically-informed interpretations of political, social, and legal ideas and phenomena.

Communicate proficiently in both written and oral form.

Develop writing skills to intellectually communicate ideas and research findings about political and legal topics.
Develop the ability to effectively take a position and defend an argument against criticism.
Present a predictive analysis and a persuasive argument orally.

Fulfill professional values and ethical responsibilities to clients, the legal system, and the public.
Apply professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession in the appropriate cultural and social context.

Career Outlook

Generally, law school graduates obtain employment as a practicing lawyer or as an upper level manager who has a legal degree and is advantaged by it when applying for jobs (“JD Preferred Jobs”). In 2017, our overall placement rate was 81.6% with 63.2% of those employed working as a practicing lawyer and an additional 17.8% in JD Preferred Jobs. In 2017, the average starting salary was $61,000 with a high of $180,000. Our alumni are located world-wide, in large, medium and small law firms, federal and state agencies and departments, major corporations and banks, and the federal and state judiciaries. Notably, UB School of Law alumni consist of: NYS Court of Appeals Justices, several NYS Appellate Division Justices, a federal circuit appeals judge, and other federal trial level judges, as well as, former U.S. Attorneys, city mayors and various legislative representatives.