By: Huntre Keip ’20, Assistant Editor
Lebanon Valley College’s politics department recently announced its latest dual program with the University of London.
This partnership acknowledges LVC as the first accredited college in the United States where students may earn their undergraduate degree and a University of London Certificate in Higher Education in the Common Law in three years.
The accelerated program will involve the same general education courses and major courses at LVC, but will replace some general electives with additional four modules with the material provided by the University of London. The four modules will revolve around legal systems and methods, public law, criminal law and contract law. Each module is worth nine credits.
“We hope the new program will enable driven students, who successfully complete the four modules, to graduate in three years,” Dr. Philip Benesch, associate professor of politics and director of pre-law and external scholarships and fellowships, said. “As many of the same common law principles apply in American and British legal systems, this University of London certificate program may well help students develop skills that will benefit them in law school.”
Interested students will be able to take LAW 150, Introduction to Law course, in Fall 2019 which will examine different aspects of the legal system and offer insight into what the new program will involve. Then, students will begin the registration process that includes additional fees. The program will cost approximately $2,500, phased over the four modules but still creates tremendous savings by not having a fourth year of college.
“Our goal is for students to save time and money without compromising quality,” Benesch, said.
The program will consist of work both in-and-out of the classroom. There will be some preparatory coursework at LVC but much of the preparation will be in the hands of each student working independently with material sent by the University of London together with online resources provided by the University. Independent work is essential, especially over the summer months, to complete the program in three years.
To earn the Certificate in the Common Law, students will need to complete and pass a University of London exam in each module.
The process of creating the dual program was not a simple task. During the summer of 2018, Dr. Benesch wrote and edited the program proposal on behalf of LVC. Then, in October, several committees at the University of London vetted the proposal. The University’s Board of Trustees approved the program in November, and LVC received the official confirmation letter at the beginning of this year.
“Providing the politics and pre-law students with this experience shows how hard the faculty in the department work to provide their students with even more opportunities that few other schools can offer,” Tristian Ferguson, a junior politics major, said.
The program will be available in the fall semester of 2019. For more information, please contact Philip Benesch at benesch@lvc.edu.