The University of Tennessee College of Law’s two new degree offerings are resonating with students who want to supplement their legal studies with other specializations.
This semester the college officially launched the Master of Legal Studies and the Master of Science in Social Work, and in this inaugural year 18 students are pursuing degrees through the programs.
The Master of Legal Studies offers courses geared toward working professionals and graduate students whose fields intersect with the law. It’s a degree for those interested in strengthening their legal knowledge but not interested in a J.D. degree.
College of Law Professor Alex Long, who serves as the program director, said the Master of Legal Studies offers an educational advantage for many career fields and fills a curricular gap in Tennessee.
“It’s certainly a unique program that helps professionals in a number of job fields supplement their education and add to their legal knowledge in their areas of expertise,” Long said. “We are currently the only institution in the state offering the degree.”
The Master of Legal Studies degree is most often pursued by individuals who work as compliance officers, cybersecurity experts, higher education administrators, human resources administrators, law enforcement officers and paralegals, all of whom might regularly communicate with lawyers or need to navigate legal regulations, but never represent a client. The College of Law also offers a 15-credit legal studies graduate certificate for those who may not want to pursue the 30-credit-hour degree.
Also new this fall, the College of Law and the College of Social Work have partnered to offer law students the opportunity to earn both a Master of Legal Studies and a Master of Science in Social Work at an accelerated pace. Law students in this program will earn both graduate degrees in just two academic years (including summers), rather than the three years needed if pursued separately.
This program’s integrated curriculum values collaboration and communication skills and will be advantageous to those who practice law as well as social workers, program directors and therapists.
College of Law alumna Cristina Spear, who completed her J.D. degree in May, can speak to the value of obtaining both law and social work degrees.
She spent her second summer of law school working in the Knox County public defender’s community law office. She’s now pursuing the Master of Science in Social Work while she works as a policy fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Division of Violence Prevention.
“Whether the goal is to work directly with clients or to do work at the macro level, doing policy or organizational leadership, the combination of the knowledge bases complement each other well,” Spear said. “There are so many fields that the joint social work and law degree would be useful for.
“I think the combination will help graduates to holistically and effectively address social issues and advocate for social reform,” she said.
Photo: Cristina Spear (right) collaborates with one of her peers to offer legal assistance to residents of East Tennessee during a community court event in Dandridge, Tennessee hosted by the UT Legal Clinic.