Starting in August 2019, students can complete their journey toward a University of Dayton School of Law degree online through Law@Dayton, one of the nation's first accredited hybrid Juris Doctor programs, blending online and on-campus instruction.

The School of Law, which received approval for an American Bar Association variance on May 17 to offer this hybrid degree, will start accepting applications to the Law@Dayton program this fall.

The University of Dayton School of Law will partner with 2U, Inc., a global leader in education technology, to develop and deliver the hybrid Juris Doctor degree. This is the first Juris Doctor program for 2U, which partners with top universities around the world to deliver quality digital education.

"We are thrilled that the American Bar Association recognized the value of our innovative format and look forward to taking this next step in the evolution of providing legal education," said University of Dayton President Eric F. Spina. "We are confident that 2U — with its 10-year proven track record of placing the highest value on student outcomes — will help us deliver quality legal education."

Dayton law faculty will teach students through weekly live classes and faculty-developed interactive coursework on an online platform, and students will come to the University of Dayton campus for one week each semester for additional live classes and networking opportunities. Just as with the on-campus J.D. program, Law@Dayton will feature substantive exploration of legal doctrine as well as skill-based education to prepare students for the practice of law.

The new hybrid program also will include innovative enhancements such as 2U’s Bidirectional Learning Tool, which allows faculty to employ the Socratic method online and students to interact with and receive feedback from classmates and professors in real-time. 2U's platform works seamlessly on mobile devices, allowing students to complete their assignments from nearly anywhere. Like all UD law students, students enrolled in Law@Dayton will have the opportunity for practical hands-on legal work experiences with a supervising lawyer — known as externships — in their communities. Identification and placement of the externship opportunities will be facilitated by the University of Dayton School of Law externship office and 2U.

Faculty will reinforce the knowledge and skills obtained in the online environment and apply them in the context of real-world situations to hone students' problem-solving skills during REAL (Relevant Experience & Applied Learning) Week when students are on campus, according to University of Dayton School of Law Dean Andrew Strauss.

“2U has led the way in delivering quality online degrees in new academic disciplines, and we’re changing perceptions of what’s possible in online education,” said 2U CEO and Co-Founder Christopher “Chip” Paucek. “We’re ecstatic to announce another pioneering program, this time in legal education. The world is changing, and the University of Dayton understands that even the most established institutions need to think beyond traditional brick-and-mortar education and toward meeting the needs and demands of today’s diverse range of working professionals. We’re excited to continue working with President Spina and to build on our work with the University of Dayton.”

The University of Dayton School of Law has long been recognized as a leader in legal education. The School of Law was among the first schools in the nation to move quickly once the American Bar Association adjusted its six-semester residency requirement to incorporate an accelerated option so students could graduate in two years instead of the usual three. The School of Law was a member of a select group of law schools that participated in the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s examination of the future of legal education. It also was part of the Institute for the Advancement of Legal Education’s Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Consortium and the Future of Legal Education (Future Ed Series) co-sponsored by Harvard Law School and New York Law School.

Law@Dayton is a new Domestic Graduate Program for 2U. 2U also works with the University of Dayton School of Business Administration to deliver MBA@Dayton as well as with the University of Dayton School of Education and Health Sciences to deliver a suite of education-focused degree programs.

For more information about Law@Dayton, visit onlinelaw.udayton.edu.