Study at the only law school in Rhode Island and gain a competitive edge with a dual J.D./M.S. degree focused on law and preserving and protecting historic resources.

Location:

Bristol, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

History

Program Overview

Program Description:

Historic preservation law is a unique specialty within the environmental law field. But while there are many environmental law programs at law schools throughout the country, the typical environmental curriculum does not offer great depth in this area.  Drawing on the strength of both Roger Williams University’s School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation, and the School of Law, this new Joint Degree program seeks to answer this need.

For more than three decades, the Historic Preservation Program has been harnessing Roger Williams University and community-wide resources to provide in-depth preservation studies and professional practice in the context of a liberal arts education whose diversity mirrors the communities and cultures we help preserve. The Roger Williams University Historic Preservation Program provides classes, community-based work and field expertise specific to preservation and couples a multi-disciplinary approach with a rigorous core of field-based professional preservation offerings. The program includes coursework in preservation history and philosophy, planning, law and regulation, economics and heritage management. In 2012, the School of Law partnered with the Historic Preservation program to develop lawyers trained in this dynamic discipline.

Lawyers trained in Historic Preservation are well equipped to become leaders and advocates in the field.  Graduates of this program will know how to maneuver federal, state, and local regulations while protecting historic resources.  Historic preservation overlaps with constitutional, administrative, and even tort law.  Lawyers equipped with these two degrees can be found specializing in historic preservation at law firms, governmental agencies, advocacy organizations, lobbying firms, and non-profits.  To learn more about what a lawyer can do in the field of Historic Preservation visit the website of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

To earn the degree, students must complete 75 credits at the School of Law and 43 credits in the Historic Preservation Program.  The School of Law will accept 15 transfer credits and the Historic Preservation Program will accept 9.  This means students who enter this joint degree program can complete both degrees in as little as four years (with some coursework in the summers/winters).  Students who already have an undergraduate degree in historic preservation may be able to complete both degrees in less time.  Students can apply to enter into this joint degree program after the completion of their first year of either program.

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

Roger Williams University School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association.

Financial Aid:

Yes

International Requirements:

International graduate applicants are required to submit an official evaluation of ALL foreign credentials, and the evaluation must include a course-by course evaluation, including all courses earned toward the undergraduate degree. Applicants may use a