Matthew Hall talks with Marta Toczylowski and Brandi Soper, two Honors College students who were able to take law classes as undergraduates. UM photo by Nathan Latil.
OXFORD, Miss. – Students in the University of Mississippi’s Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College are accustomed to intellectual challenges, and now they have an opportunity to “try out” law school before they graduate.
Thanks to cooperation between the Honors College and School of Law, honors juniors and seniors with at least a 3.6 GPA are able to take a “gateway” course, HON 350: Introduction to American Law and Legal Reasoning. After that, they have the option to enroll for undergraduate credit in certain law school courses. This is the only program in Mississippi that allows high-performing students the experience of studying law as an undergraduate.
The partnership is designed for smart, disciplined students who are wondering if law school is the way they want to go, and for those who know it is and can’t wait to get to it.
“First and foremost, we wanted to give our students a shot at a rich experience,” said Douglass Sullivan-González, Honors College dean. “If they are thinking about law school, this will give them a taste. Even if they’re not thinking about a career in law, the complexities of law and the legal system are a challenge to mind and heart. Our partnership with the School of Law embodies our commitment to preparing citizen scholars to take their place in the world.”After completing the introductory class, students can take HON 550 or 551: Honors Advanced Studies in Law I and II, composed of a selection of classes including bioethics, constitutional law, criminal procedure, environmental torts, international space law and jurisprudence.
The law school is interested in doing everything possible institutionally to stem the brain drain of good students from the state, said Matthew Hall, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law.
“For the students, the logic of the program is the ability for Honors College students to find out what the law school is, while they are still undergraduates,” Hall said.
Hall’s role is to bring the honors students up to speed so they are able to take an upper-level law school class. He teaches them a range of concepts, vocabularies, classroom skills and exam-taking skills.
“The Honors College students are extraordinarily well-prepared, enthusiastic students who bring a real breadth of knowledge that typically only our top law students bring to the classroom,” Hall said. “About two-thirds of the group are thinking seriously about law school, but there is another group of people who are interested in public policy or medical school, who simply want the rigorous classroom experience or have some interest in the field, even if this is not their destination.”
Brandi Soper is one of the students who participated in the partnership, and she said the introduction class with Hall was much different than she anticipated.
“It totally changed my way of thinking about how I should study, and it made me decide that I did want to go to law school because it was something I could actually do well,” said Soper, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology. She is attending the University of Alabama School of Law this fall.
“I was intimidated at first, but all of the law students were helpful,” Soper said. “It was really a huge eye-opener, and I realized that this is what I am going to be doing for the next three years.”
The Honors College graduated 22 students who took HON 350; eight of them have enrolled in the UM School of Law and three have enrolled in other law schools. One of them is Marta Toczylowski, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in history and English.
“I knew I was interested in law school, and I thought taking these classes would be a good opportunity to see if I did like it, or if I liked anything to do with law, or if I absolutely hated it,” Toczylowski said.
After taking the 350 and 550 classes, she decided to further her studies by enrolling in the Ole Miss law school this fall, which has a few perks.
“I’m used to the building, which is a huge advantage,” Toczylowski said. “I’m not going to be as nervous as I would be otherwise. I already know some of the students and some of the professors, and it has definitely prepared me.”
For now, 10 juniors and one senior are enrolled in this fall’s HON 350, being taught by Jon Czarnetzky, professor of law, and nine students are enrolled in five different sections of HON 550.
“One of the best aspects of this program is that because they are in with graduate students and graduate professors and because the methodology is different, they are learning to think in a different way,” Hall said.
For more information, visit the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.