Graduate and Professional Programs

Schools of Medicine, Law, and Dentistry are available in the Las Vegas region. As you’re planning your move to the area, it would be a good idea to find out more information on the schools listed within this section.

Graduate College at UNLV

The Graduate College at UNLV offers nearly 120 graduate degree programs, including 36 doctoral and professional degrees. To find out more about specific programs, call 702-895-3320 or visit online at http://graduatecollege.unlv.edu/.

William S. Boyd School of Law

William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, offers both a three-year, full-time day program and four-year, part-time programs (day and evening) for the Juris Doctor degree. Entering classes have approximately 140 students. The mission of the Boyd School of Law is to prepare students for the competent and ethical practice of law. At the same time, the Boyd School of Law recognizes that the skills and knowledge acquired in the law school may be transferred easily to other fields of endeavor and that many students seek legal training for the value it may have in pursuits other than the practice of law.

UNLV School of Dental Medicine

The UNLV School of Dental Medicine, which accepted its Inaugural Class in August of 2002, has been designed to serve the local community and the state of Nevada in oral health care, health services, research and scholarly activities. Education of dental students will be accomplished through a competency-based curriculum with a special emphasis on biomedical sciences; professional studies; and an innovative, vertically integrated team approach for clinical instruction and delivery of patient care. The School of Dental Medicine is recruiting and employing a diverse and distinguished faculty to facilitate the program.

University of Nevada School of Medicine (UNSOM)

UNSOM was established in 1969 as a two-year basic science program. It converted to a full four-year M.D. degree program in 1977 and graduated its first class of physicians trained in Nevada in 1980. The goal of the school is to graduate students who are knowledgeable, caring, skillful, responsible physicians capable of entering any specialty training program and delivering high-quality health care to the individual, the family and the community. Unique features of the UNSOM program include small class size, hands-on clinical experience beginning in the first weeks of medical school, access to top level researchers and a culture of honor and professionalism. Recent highlights include:

Highlights:

University

The William S. Boyd School of Law moved up 13 spots to 75 — its highest ranking ever — according to recent U.S. News & World Report’s annual national rankings of the best law schools and specialty programs. The move constitutes a 25-place improvement in the past two years for the law school, which was established just 11 years ago.

Research

Chemistry professor Dong-Chan Lee received a five-year, $484,000 early career development award from the National Science Foundation for his research related to organic solar cell optimization. This award is the highest given by the federal government to scientists and engineers beginning their careers. Lee’s award is the fourth of its kind to be given to UNLV scientists. Chemistry professor Chulsung Bae and life sciences professors Brian Hedlund and Frank Van Breukelen previously received the award.

English professor and poet Claudia Keelan received the 2008 Jerome J. Shestack Prize from the American Poetry Review for her poem “Everybody’s Autobiography.” The poem is both an elegy for her father and an attempt to understand the historical reality of America’s fuel consumption.

Fundraising

UNLV’s $500 million Invent the Future fundraising campaign has reached 90 percent of its goal. It has raised more than $450 million in gifts and gift intentions, including more than $52 million for student scholarships and more than $266 million for UNLV’s programs and centers.

Students

More than 6,000 graduate and professional students are currently enrolled at UNLV. The university offers more than 120 graduate programs, including 38 doctoral and professional programs.

UNLV student-athletes set a new school record in fall 2008 when 45 of them earned Academic All-Mountain West Conference (MWC) honors. To be eligible, students must have completed at least one academic term while maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA, and be a starter or significant contributor to their teams.

Mary Ehrsam received the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Undergraduate Research Fellowship following a competitive, nationwide selection process. Working with Professor Duane Moser of the Desert Research Institute, she will study microbial and microalgal communities of desert aquatic systems. The fellowship provides a $4,000 student stipend as well as $1,000 to allow her to present the results of her research at the 2010 ASM General Meeting in Philadelphia.