UI law school adds new and expanded degrees

The University of Iowa College of Law is offering several new and expanded degrees, officials announced.

The law school will offer a two-year path to the Juris Doctorate degree to international students who have law training from a foreign law school. The students' advanced standing status essentially allows them to transfer previous coursework to apply to up to one-third of their UI degree, officials said.

The law school also expanded its master's degree in law to allow students to focus on in-depth research projects, or more practical skills, and it has added a new doctoral-level research degree for those with academic aspirations. The advanced standing program and the expanded master's program are in place for this fall, and the doctoral degree will be added in the fall of 2014, once the accreditation approvals process is complete, officials said.

Marcella David, professor and associate dean of the law school, says the new degree and expanded programs will bring up to 20 students to the school each year, most with international backgrounds.

"We have a long-standing tradition of excellence in our comparative law degree program and will continue to do so, and these new degrees will help us enhance our international footprint," she said in a statement.