Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1942 [PAGE 918]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

i94 2 l

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

915

FOUR-YEAR CURRICULUM IN LAW (4) The University Senate recommends that a new four-year curriculum in Law be established as an option in addition to the present three-year curriculum. The entrance requirements, residence requirements, and the grade and degree requirements in the three-year curriculum shall remain unchanged, except that the thesis requirement for the J.D. degree shall be eliminated. The specific requirements of the new four-year curriculum are: Admission Requirements—The candidate at the time of his admission shall have completed in residence in a college approved by the University of Illinois one-half the number of hours required for the bachelor's degree by the college from which he transfers to the College of Law. T h e candidate shall present a grade average of 3.5 in all college work presented for admission. Graduation Requirements—(1) Satisfactory completion of two years of law work (58 hours) with a grade average of 3.0 in law classes shall be required for the degree of B.S. in law. (2) Completion of two years of additional work in the Law School (112 hours of law work for the four years) with a grade average of 3.0 shall be required for the LL.B. degree. (3) Completion of 112 hours of law work with a grade average of 4.0 shall be required for the J.D. (Doctor of Law) degree. The prime motive for the four-year curriculum is the indisputable fact that the problems and areas in law have increased to such a degree that it is difficult to treat them adequately in the traditional three years. Realization of this condition has led to various proposals, at different times, for extension of the law course, beginning in 1918 with the recommendation of the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools to increase the course to four years. A similar recommendation was made by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 1921. The Universities of Minnesota and Chicago adopted four-year programs in 1931 and 1935, respectively. This program was the subject of extended discussion at the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools in 1939. At that time a poll of law teachers showed 52 per cent to be in favor of the four-year program. In the same year a poll of our own graduates showed 66 per cent to be in favor of it. At present the law schools which have adopted the four-year program are: the Universities of Chicago, Minnesota, Louisiana State, and Washington, and Washington University at St. Louis. In all these schools, with the exception of the University of Washington, the three-year course has been retained as an alternative curriculum. Recently Northwestern University Law School has reduced the requirement of pre-law study from three to two years. Not only will the addition of a year of study permit the student to take more law courses than before, but it will permit the Law School to offer some integrating courses, which deal with the legal system as a whole. Accordingly it is intended to offer courses in the Development of Legal Institutions, in Legislation, and in Jurisprudence. And in order that students may have more practice in individual work on specific legal problems, there will be offered a course in the Drafting of Legal Documents and a Seminar. The Dean states that this program can be initiated without any additional expense for the present and during the war period because of decreased enrollment. However, when the enrollment comes back to the pre-war peak it will be necessary to add to the staff the equivalent of one full-time and one half-time instructor. H e points out that studies of the College of Law enrollments indicate that it has been understaffed in normal times. I recommend approval.

On motion of Mr. Davis, this curriculum was approved.

DEGREE O F DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ANIMAL PATHOLOGY AND HYGIENE (5) The Executive Faculty of the Graduate School has recommended, and I have approved, authorization of the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy for graduate work in Animal Pathology and Hygiene. The program which