University of Cincinnati-Main Campus

The paralegal program was especially developed as a part of the Criminal Justice Division located in the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human

Services:.

After completing these courses a student will receive a proper education in paralegal studies based in an ethical, technological and contemporary understanding of the law that is responsive to the needs of the legal community.

They will be thought teach practical job skills combined with the legal theory.

Your teachers will mostly be experienced attorneys and paralegals that will provide with practical, hands-on legal training.

The courses include legal research and writing, litigation, ethics, contracts, business organizations and torts and they will develop communication, critical thinking, computer and organizational skills of a student along with the competency to handle various ethical issues.

After completing the courses, you will benefit from an experiential learning component.

If you choose to enroll in the associate and bachelor's degree programs, you will take a combination of legal specialty courses along with general education classes. If your option is the bachelor degree program, will choose a focus area or official minor of 30 credit hours. In the same time, the students choosing the post-baccalaureate certificate program will follow only legal specialty courses.

You can start the program at any quarter and you can go at day, evening or weekend classes.

Many people prefer to start in the fall but the University of Cincinnati has no restrictions on the starting quarter. You must know that not all legal classes are offered every quarter or year and some of them are sequential.

If the students attend full or part time the courses will affect the completion of the program.

If a student attends full time, he can complete the associate degree in two years, the bachelor degree in four years and the certificate in one year.

You must take several aspects into consideration when choosing a paralegal program. You must find out all there is to know about the accreditation/ approval, program's reputation, the program's ties to the legal community, services provided by the program, the curriculum and the program's administration and faculty.

Since 1980, the UC's paralegal studies program is the first active program approved by the American Bar Association.

The paralegal studies program offers three levels of education: associate degree, bachelor's degree or post-baccalaureate professional certificate. This certificate is available for any student holding a bachelor's degree or student who is already matriculated in another bachelor's degree program.

If you register for the UC paralegal program you will have access on the campus's law library and will attend classes in very well equipped computer labs.