Historically Black Tuskegee University in Alabama and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham have created a new partnership that will allow Tuskegee students to participate in an accelerated bachelor’s to Juris Doctorate program. The agreement will allow students to forego their senior year at Tuskegee and instead begin their first year of law school at Cumberland. The 3+3 program creates a pathway for Tuskegee students to receive a bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee and a law degree from Cumberland in only six years of study, rather than the traditional seven. The newly added program will allow Tuskegee students to venture straight into one of the most highly regarded law programs in the state of Alabama.
Students with a competitive GPA and LSAT scores are eligible to receive a scholarship ranging from 25 percent tuition scholarship to a full-tuition scholarship. In addition, the partnership with Cumberland will create summer coursework and internship opportunities to help students build relationships with attorneys and judges within the Birmingham legal community.
“Tuskegee University is committed to meeting the needs of our students, and that by offering accelerated degree programs, our high-achieving students will have greater flexibility to not only save costs but also enroll in one of the premier law schools in the state a year earlier,” said Channa Prakash, dean of Tuskegee’s College of Arts and Science. “We believe that this partnership with the Cumberland School of Law will make law school more accessible for students of color within the State of Alabama and will ultimately increase the number of African Americans practicing law both in Alabama and in the Southeast.”
“We are excited to partner with Tuskegee University, which is known for its extraordinary history and outstanding academic reputation,” said Henry C. Strickland, dean of the Cumberland School of Law. “As we worked to create this program, I was struck by the dedication of Tuskegee faculty and administration to promoting their students’ success, the same priority we have at Cumberland. I look forward to this partnership helping prepare great leaders for our state and country.”
