Information Studies and Law (J.D./M.S.)

Florida State Law and the Florida State University College of Information's joint degree program in Law and Information Studies prepares students interested in a career in law librarianship while completing the J.D./M.S. degree programs concurrently.

Students in this joint degree program not only take graduate classes in the College of Information and the law school, but they also have the opportunity to work with the experienced law librarian faculty at the College of Law Research Center to develop high-level research and instruction skills, as well as learn about law library operations.

Opportunities for Law Librarians

In the digital age, law librarianship is an interesting and challenging profession with opportunities available in a variety of legal settings. Law schools, law firms, corporations, government agencies, and federal, state and local courts all seek people with graduate degrees in both law and library science. For more information about what its like to be a law librarian, the American Association of Law Libraries' Recruitment Committee has gathered a wealth of resources and readings on their Web site.

Admission

Applicants must apply for acceptance to both colleges according to the individual department's admission criteria.
For the joint degree program, both the GRE and LSAT must be taken in order to be considered. Applicants to the Information Studies program must have a bachelor's degree, an upper division (junior and senior) grade point average of 3.0 or better and a minimum combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the GRE. At the College of Law, for the Fall 2009 entering class, the average LSAT score was a 161 and the median GPA was a 3.53.

Once a student is accepted in to both colleges, they must then complete an application for the joint degree program, which is located at Florida State Law's Office of Admissions and Records. This is normally done during the first year of law school. The first year of study is generally done at the law school.

Suggested Sequence of Coursework

After the required first year law curriculum, students may take law and LIS courses simultaneously, as their schedules permit. Internship opportunities with the College of Law Research Center are available for dual-degree students for credit.

Program Requirements

A total of 106 credit hours are required from both programs: 79 credit hours from the College of Law, 27 credit hours from the College of Information. In effect, 9 hours of graduate course work in Information Studies are credited toward the 88 hours normally required for the Juris Doctor Degree, and 9 hours of law are credited toward the 36 hours normally required for the MS degree. This will save the joint degree student 18 credit hours of coursework which would otherwise be required to complete both degrees separately.

The major responsibility for planning and carrying out an integrated program of courses in both schools lies with the individual student assisted by the advisor for the program in each school. The joint degree program must be completed within 5 years, although most students complete the program in 4 years. For further information, contact both the College of Law and the College of Information.

The Juris Doctor (J.D.) Curriculum

The Juris Doctor program consists of 79 credit hours of instruction. The law curriculum consists of 36 credit hours of required courses. Thirty credits are taken during the student's first year in the program. The remaining 43 credit hours of elective classes may be chosen from the large selection of courses offered by the College of Law. In addition, all J.D. students must complete an upper level writing requirement and 20 hours of pro bono legal work.

The Library & Information Studies (M.S.) Curriculum

A student enrolled in the joint degree program must complete 27 credit hours from the School of Information Studies. The M.S. program includes 4 required courses (12 credit), and the remaining 15 credits are taken at the discretion of the student.

Professional Organizations

There are a number of national and regional professional associations for law librarians that provide information about the profession, networking and professional development opportunities, and scholarship support. Reduced-cost membership rates are often available to students.

• American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)
  • Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries (SEAALL)
• Special Libraries Association (SLA)
  • Special Libraries Association - Legal Division

Contact Information