Bachelor of Arts Degree
Psychology and Juris Doctor Degree, 3+3
Save a full year’s tuition on a law degree and acquire training that sets you apart in the job market.
Oakland University’s psychology and law degree 3+3 program offers a fast, affordable path to a law career. You’ll complete a psychology bachelor’s degree and a law degree in just six years, one year faster than it would take to earn both degrees separately. In addition, the program offers unique pre-law preparation that gives you distinct advantages over your law school peers. You’ll study human behaviors and motivations in the psychology degree, while becoming proficient in writing, conducting research, evaluating evidence, formulating logical arguments and other skills you’ll need in a legal career. You’ll graduate with a law degree from a nationally ranked school and a broad foundation for professional success.
Oakland University’s psychology and law degree 3+3 program offers a fast, affordable path to a law career. You’ll complete a psychology bachelor’s degree and a law degree in just six years, one year faster than it would take to earn both degrees separately. In addition, the program offers unique pre-law preparation that gives you distinct advantages over your law school peers. You’ll study human behaviors and motivations in the psychology degree, while becoming proficient in writing, conducting research, evaluating evidence, formulating logical arguments and other skills you’ll need in a legal career. You’ll graduate with a law degree from a nationally ranked school and a broad foundation for professional success.
Psychology and Law Degree 3+3 Program: The Oakland University Advantage
In addition to saving you time and tuition on a law degree, our psychology-law 3+3 program helps you get your career in law off to a fast start. You’ll acquire skills and experience that distinguish you from most law students, giving you a competitive edge when you seek your first job as a lawyer.
Oakland University’s psychology and law degree 3+3 program also excels for its:
- Affiliation with nationally ranked law schools. You can seek early law school admission at either Wayne State University or University of Detroit Mercy. Both institutions appear in the top 100 of U.S. News and World Report’s 2020 rankings of top law schools.
- Advanced research training. Oakland University’s psychology major includes coursework in research design, methodology and statistical analysis. Many pre-law programs don’t address these skills at all, and few cover them as comprehensively as our psychology degree, so you’ll be ahead of the curve entering law school.
- Hands-on field experience. Our psychology degree provides multiple opportunities to earn academic credit via internships in mental health clinics, social service agencies and other real-world settings. You can advance your pre-law training by arranging psychology internships that overlap with legal issues such as substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and domestic violence.
- Extensive faculty attention. Like most undergraduate programs at Oakland, the psychology degree features small classes taught by senior faculty (not graduate students). Professors will take a personal interest in your success and help you maximize the pre-law components of the psychology major, both inside and outside the classroom.
- Academic freedom. Elective courses make up a large share of the required credits for the psychology degree, so you’ll enjoy broad independence to focus your studies in preparation for law school.
What Can You Do With a Combined Psychology Major / Law Degree ?
With both a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a law degree, you’ll be extremely well qualified for a career as a practicing attorney. Lawyers participate in complex interactions that often involve intense emotions, so the ability to understand human psychology and behavior can make you a more effective legal advocate—particularly in roles such as negotiation, mediation, interrogation and persuasion.
In addition, a psychology-law degree combination enables you to broaden your range of professional options. You may find opportunities in fields such as:
- Nonprofit leadership
- Public administration
- Business
- Journalism
- Education
Psychology and Law Degree 3+3 Program: What You’ll Learn
Under the psychology/law degree 3+3 program, 30 credits from your first year of law school count toward both the law degree and the bachelor’s degree in psychology. As a result, you can earn both degrees in six years, a full year less than it would take to earn the degrees separately.
The academic program for our psychology major offers broad flexibility, enabling you to focus your studies on pre-law preparation. You’ll gain useful insights about emotional development and social dynamics, practical skills in social science research and statistical analysis, and hands-on community experience with populations that frequently interact with the legal system.
If you complete psychology major requirements by the end of the junior year, you’ll be eligible to apply for accelerated law school admission at Wayne State University and University of Detroit Mercy. We recommend that you work closely with academic advisers beginning in the freshman year to plan courses carefully and ensure that you fulfill all psychology degree requirements in time to qualify for law school admission after your junior year.
Psychology and Law Degree 3+3 Program Resources
Programs Related to the Psychology and Law 3+3 Program
Not sure if the psychology and law degree 3+3 program is right for you? Check out these other programs at Oakland, and contact our admissions team to discuss your options.
- Political Science and Law Degree 3+3 Program
- Combined Psychology BA/MS 4+1 Program
- Psychology BA and Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) program