UIC, IIT Chicago-Kent offer new law school admission program
The University of Illinois at Chicago’s Honors College announced a new partnership with IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law that will provide guaranteed seats for UIC graduates in the law school.
The new program is part of UIC’s highly competitive Guaranteed Professional Program Admission initiative (GPPA), which admits a few select new first-year students to UIC with guaranteed admission to a professional degree program. UIC now offers 24 GPPA programs in 11 colleges, including law, medicine, pharmacy and dentistry.
Nearly all GPPA students are enrolled in the UIC Honors College in addition to the college of their major.
The UIC-IIT Chicago-Kent program is open to applications from current UIC undergraduates as well as new freshmen, making it the first GPPA program to offer a guaranteed admission option to returning students.
“We are pleased to offer prospective and current students this prestigious pathway to a career in law,” said Bette L. Bottoms, dean of the Honors College and professor of psychology. “This program allows academically motivated students to continue challenging themselves as undergraduates with the comfort of knowing that the next step in their educational journey is secure, as long as they continue their outstanding performance.”
Starting in the 2014-2015 academic year, students will have the following options for entrance to the program:
- Prospective incoming freshmen will be able to apply through the Common Application.
- Freshman students completing their second semester at UIC, who meet the minimum eligibility requirements, will be able to apply starting in summer 2015.
- For 2014 only, eligible UIC sophomores currently in their 3rd semester of study at UIC can apply by Dec. 15.
Students who enter UIC via GPPA apply to the program of their choice when seeking admission and must submit a personal statement that addresses their intended profession and qualifications for a guaranteed seat in the corresponding post-baccalaureate degree program.
Students maintain their guarantee by fulfilling the conditions of acceptance, which are required to prepare them for their graduate or professional school experience. Honors College students must also maintain a 3.4 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and complete special honors enrichment activities, including a senior thesis.
The new program is not the first collaboration between the two institutions. The UIC School of Public Health and IIT Chicago-Kent offer a coordinated program that leads to Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health degrees.
“We have been blessed with wonderful students from UIC in the past and look forward to even more in the future,” said Harold J. Krent, IIT Chicago-Kent dean and professor.
Founded in 1888, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, a private, technology-focused, research university offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology and law.
The UIC Honors College, with approximately 1,500 students and 330 faculty fellows, provides select undergraduates with a nurturing and collaborative educational environment to explore issues in depth, through special projects and classes. Established in 1982, the college grew out of a longtime university program that sought to enhance the experience of extraordinarily academically motivated students. Admission is based upon a holistic review of factors such as high school class rank, grades earned in high school, extracurricular interests and activities, strength of application essays, and performance in an in-person interview that explores their desire to participate in the Honors College.
