Director: Eun-Jung Kim,
https://clas.wayne.edu/lawstart

Housed within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Wayne State University LawStart Program helps highly-qualified undergraduates to complete their General Education, College, and Major requirements within approximately three years, or 90-100 undergraduate credits.  Students will then apply to enter Wayne State Law School for their fourth year of undergraduate education.  Credits earned during the first year of law school will double-count to fulfill students’ remaining undergraduate elective credit requirements. Students in the LawStart Program who are admitted to Wayne Law will receive the Bachelor’s degree upon successful completion of all first-year law courses, normally at the end of the fourth year. They will receive the JD degree upon completion of all Law School coursework and other requirements, normally at the end of the sixth full-time year.

Students are eligible to apply to LawStart if they have completed  between 24 and 64 credit hours, with a minimum of 24 credits hours being completed at Wayne State University. To qualify for admission to the LawStart program, students must be majoring in a subject in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and must have a cumulative GPA requirement of 3.5 or better in college-level coursework. LawStart application materials also include a personal statement about future career goals, a resume, a graded writing sample from a college-level course, and 2-4 letters of recommendation. A LawStart selection committee may also require an interview for those students who make it to the final selection round. 

Students will be accepted to the LawStart Program each fall semester, and application deadlines are in early Fall.

Once accepted into the LawStart program, students must:

• Maintain satisfactory progress toward completing their undergraduate coursework in three years, or by the time they reach 90-100 undergraduate credits.  
• Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. If students do not make satisfactory progress for two consecutive semesters, they may be removed from the LawStart program.
• Meet with a member of the Wayne Law admissions staff in November of the third year of undergraduate study, to receive information about the law school application process.
• Take the LSAT no later than midway through their third year of undergraduate study and apply for Wayne State Law School admission by no later than April 1st of the same year.
• Meet with the LawStart advisor at least once a semester, to ensure satisfactory progress toward LawStart program requirements.
• Meet with a departmental advisor at least once a semester, to ensure satisfactory progress toward completing their required undergraduate coursework.
• Participate in LawStart enrichment activities to ensure their preparedness for law school. 

Any student failing to meet these program requirements may be removed from the LawStart program at the discretion of the LawStart selection committee. Any student removed or who withdraws from the program will need to complete their final year of undergraduate studies and any remaining requirements in order to attain the bachelor’s degree. 

In order to earn a bachelor's degree, LawStart students,must complete 120 credits in course work including satisfaction of the University General Education Requirements and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Group Requirements, as well as the departmental major  requirements. Acceptance to the LawStart program does not commit students to completing the JD degree. If a student is admitted to and enrolls in Wayne State Law School, he or she will receive a JD degree after completing all JD degree requirements equivalent to three years of full-time law school.