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DOCTORAL PROGRAMS AT SMU

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A Message from the Dean

Welcome to the SMU Dedman School of Law! We are absolutely delighted that you are here and hope this catalog will give you some idea of the quality, richness and excitement of a legal education at Southern Methodist University. With an outstanding student body, a faculty with superb credentials and a beautiful tree-lined campus just minutes from the heart of vibrant downtown Dallas, the Dedman School of Law seeks to give each student a personal educational experience of the highest order. In addition to the outstanding J.D. program, the school has some of the oldest and most outstanding graduate legal programs in the country, including a Master of Laws in taxation, a Master of Laws in comparative and international law, a General Master of Laws and a Doctor of the Science of Law. We also offer joint degree programs with other colleges in the University, including the J.D./M.B.A. program with the SMU Cox School of Business.

As you will see in the following pages, the school has a diverse and highly talented faculty whose members are dedicated to teaching. Not only do they hold stellar academic credentials, but virtually all of them also had practical experience before entering their teaching careers. Consequently, they provide the invaluable link between the theory of classroom instruction and the reality of legal practice. Dedman School of Law enjoys a national and international reputation, with its graduates practicing in every state in the union and in many foreign countries.

We take pride in offering our students a total educational experience. Students have the opportunity to participate in six respected law journals; eleven legal clinics; and many externship programs. While our curriculum is extremely rich, we are still small enough to take a personal interest in each student. As an example, the Inns of Court program is an interdisciplinary approach to the first-year experience at SMU Dedman School of Law. It was born out of a recognition of the need for smaller, more personalized groups to provide students with a source of relationships and support. Through the Inns, students connect with fellow classmates, faculty, student leaders, career advisers, and alumni for a community experience that extends throughout their time at the law school and beyond graduation.

Our student body is diverse, intelligent and inquisitive. Students come from a variety of backgrounds and from all over the United States. The student body is enriched by the addition of students from many other countries who participate in the graduate legal programs. Upon graduation, students enter private practice, government practice and the corporate sector, or they may engage in public interest work, serve as prosecutors or defense attorneys, or obtain judicial clerkships.

I hope that you will visit our campus, interact with our students and experience SMU Dedman School of Law in a way that the pages of a catalog can only suggest. We wish you the best in your pursuit of a legal career.

Jason P. Nance Judge James Noel Dean and Professor of Law

Information concerning admissions and financial aid is available online at www.smu.edu/law or from the address below.

( ZIP code information should be included on all return addresses.)

Office of Admissions Dedman School of Law Southern Methodist University PO Box 750110 Dallas TX 75275-0110

ADDRESS ALL OTHER MATTERS TO THE OFFICE OF THE DEAN.