New UAS partnerships allow students to pursue law degrees in Juneau
The University of Alaska Southeast is partnering with Minnesota-based Mitchell Hamline School of Law to allow Alaska students to get a law degree without needing to leave the state.
Normally, students pursuing law move out of state, said UAS Chancellor Aparna Palmer on KTOO’s Juneau Afternoon.
“We don’t have a law school in Alaska, and so most people have to basically go out of Alaska, go to law school,” she said. “And then if they want to come and practice in Alaska, then they return to Alaska.”
The university already has a partnership with Willamette University that allows qualifying UAS students to enroll directly in the Oregon law school. The new partnership is the campus’ first that allows students to complete most of their coursework in Alaska.
University of Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks both have their own partnerships with law schools as well.
In 2024, House Concurrent Resolution 14 would have supported efforts for the University of Alaska Anchorage to establish a physical law school, but that bill did not pass out of the House Education Committee.
Palmer said UAS students have two options to pursue a law degree with Hamline. One guarantees admission for qualifying students and alumni, and provides a 50% tuition scholarship.
The other, called a 3+3 program, lets students enroll in law school during the last year of their undergraduate degree. That cuts the amount of time students typically spend in law school by one year.
Palmer said she’s excited about the partnership.
“I think law is a really important profession here in Alaska, and in fact you know a law degree doesn’t necessarily mean that you become a lawyer,” she said. “There are so many other positions that you can occupy that aren’t lawyers, but really use that background.”
Students who want to apply for direct admission must do so by May 1 of the year they want to begin law school. Undergraduates interested in the 3+3 program have until July 15 of the year they would be able to begin law school.