Virginia Tech, Law School announce joint degree program

Virginia Tech and University of Richmond have announced a new joint degree program that will enable students to earn both a bachelor of science and a law degree in as little as six years, thus eliminating up to two years from their total time in school. The program is a partnership between the College of Science at Virginia Tech and T.C. Williams School of Law.

With planning and careful coordination of courses, students who want to take advantage of the partnership can potentially complete their coursework at Virginia Tech in three years and move directly into law school, completing their J.D. degree in another three years. Students who complete the program will have a specialization in intellectual property law.

“Both of our schools will benefit, as will society, from well-educated students who have a strong academic grounding in the intersection of science and law,” Virginia Tech President Charles Steger said. “These students will be specially trained in both their undergraduate and law school years to address the rapidly evolving challenges facing law, science and public policy in the arena of intellectual property.” 

Steger also noted that the initiative directly addresses a key recommendation in the state’s Higher Education Restructuring Plan. That recommendation is for schools to find ways to reduce the time it takes students to earn their degrees.

“We anticipate this joint collaboration will enhance the quality of the University of Richmond Law School’s existing intellectual property program by bringing a critical number of highly qualified science students with a keen interest in intellectual property issues,” said Rod Smolla, law school dean.

“The College of Science is proud to be involved in one of only a handful of joint degree programs offered at Virginia Tech,” said Lay Nam Chang, dean of the College of Science. “Science and technology will continue to shape our society and our future. As they do, we will rely more than ever on intellectual property law to control their impact. That is the key aspect of this unique educational initiative––the confluence of all three: technology, society and law.”