Program Requirements
The University of Cincinnati is the first school to offer a joint degree in law and women's studies. The joint degree is designed to be completed in four years. Applicants must apply separately to both programs and meet admission requirements of both programs, which include taking both the LSAT and GRE. Applications and more information are available from the College of Law Admissions Office, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 210040, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0040, (513) 556-6805, and the Department of Women's Studies, P.O. Box 210164, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0164, (513) 556-6778.

Sequencing of the Joint Degree Program
Currently there are two scenarios for the sequencing of the joint program.

	Scenario 1	Scenario 2
Year 1	Women's Studies first year	Law school first year
Year 2	Law school first year	Women's Studies first year
Year 3	Law school second year (finish MA paper)	Law school second year
Year 4	Law school third year	Law school third year (finish MA paper)

Credit Requirements
Law student are required to complete 90 credit hours, with a minimum of 77 being in the classroom. Joint degree candidates are able to finish both degrees in four years by applying a number of credits to both programs. Joint degree students satisfy 8 classroom credit hours through the MA program, so only 82 additional credit hours are required; 69 of those must be classroom hours.

In addition to the general credit requirements, law students have an upper level writing requirement and a seminar requirement. The writing requirement may be combined with an MA project if the student signs up for a 3 credit hour individual research project with a law school faculty member who will also sit on the MA committee. This means the MA paper would require a substantial legal component and may need to be expanded. Joint degree students who opt to revise and expand their MA paper and who wish to earn Individual Research credit at the law school must choose a seminar paper written in Women's Studies, not in the law school.

A joint degree student registers for this 3 credit hour individual research project in lieu of the Independent Directed Research, which Women's Studies will count as the 4 credits for Independent Directed Research. In effect, there will be overlap between one of the WOmen's Studies Independent Directed Research course and the law school individual research project.

Law School Course Title	Law School Credits	Women's Studies Credits
Independent Research Project (see requirements above)	3 cr.	4 1/3 cr.
Sex Discrimination	3 cr.	4 1/3 cr.
Women's Human Rights	3 cr.	4 1/3 cr.
Sexual Orientation and the Law	2 cr.	3 cr.
Feminist Jurisprudence	3 cr.	4 1/3 cr.
Law, Literature & Feminism	3 cr.	4 1/3 cr.
Gender Equity in Education	2 cr.	3 cr.

Public Interest Externship
A public interest externship program allows students to put their years of studying theory and doctrine to practice. With this capstone to the four year joint-degree program, students will spend 10 weeks working at national public interest organizations that focus on issues of gender and the law. In preparation for their placements, students enrolled in the externship program will take an intensive practical lawyering course.

During their placements, students will do the work of these organizations and will write an article length paper based on the projects undertaken over the semester. After returning, students will make a conference presentation. This unique academic format will enable students to apply feminist legal theory and doctrine to "real-life" situations, while they analyze their practical experiences in a scholarly paper.

Students have completed externships at prestigious national organizations such as the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., the National Partnership for Women and Families in Washington, D.C., the Women's Law Project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Equality Now in New York City.