University of Georgia

The Pre-Professional Advising Office is exited to announce that we will be offering the Legal Disparities and Equity Service Program for the Fall 2025 semester. Read below to find out more about this Experiential Learning opportunity.

The concept of equality before the law is fundamental to constitutional system of governance across the world. In the United States, the Fourteenth Amendment enshrined the Equal Protection Clause into law. Has formal equality created a just and equitable society? Does it even exist in practice, or does it remain an ideal? What can we do to change things?

The Legal Disparities and Equity Service Program will give participants the perspective and introductory experience to explore such complex questions. Participants attend a series of presentations from academic and legal experts. Participants will simultaneously complete volunteer work with underserved or vulnerable populations to earn the Experiential Learning credit.

Registration for the program will open on Monday, August 19, 2024 at 9:00am. You must register by Friday, September 5, 2025 by 5:00pm.

Register Here

This certificate program is open to all UGA undergraduate students.

You will receive Experiential Learning credit upon successful completion of all the requirements outlined below. Completion of this program will not appear on your University of Georgia transcript. You can include your experience on a resume or in your personal statement.

Please note that you need to double check with your college that they have approved this activity for Experiential Learning Credit on engage.uga.edu. If you do not see this listed, speak with your academic advisor to confirm whether or not this program will count for EL.

Program Requirements:

  1. Attend four presentations via Zoom. See below for the schedule to confirm that you can attend at least four presentations. The sessions will not be recorded.
  2. Attend the Reflective Structured Dialogue Session on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, from 4 pm to 5:30 pm.
  3. Complete at least 50 hours of service-oriented volunteering. Volunteer with approved organizations that serve vulnerable or underserved populations. Submit signed documentation from your supervisor of fifty volunteer hours completed by Tuesday, December 2, 2025. See below for more details on volunteering.
  4. Complete a 1 to 2-page essay that reflects upon your experiences during the program by Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

Introducing the 2025 Legal Disparities and Equity Service Program Guest Lectures

The Pre-Professional Advising Office is proud to introduce our guest speaks for the 2025 Legal Disparities and Equity Service Program. All presentations will be held virtually via Zoom.

  • Monday, September 22, 2025, 5 to 6 pm, Healthcare, Discrimination, and Law, Elizabeth Weeks, University of Georgia School of Law
  • Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 4 to 5 pm, Public Defense and the Racial Factors in Criminal Sentencing, Imani J. Carter, University of Georgia School of Law,
  • Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 4 to 5 pm, The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)in Georgia, Dr. James Owen, University of Georgia, Institute of Native American Studies.
  • Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 4 pm to 5 pm, Social Justice Lawyering, Keisha Stokes-Hough, Southern Poverty Law Center
  • TBD, Elizabeth Taxel, University of Georgia School of Law, Working as a public defender and vulnerable populations
  • Others to be announced.

Structured Reflective Dialogue:

The last session is mandatory and will give students a chance to discuss and reflect on the topics covered in the various presentations provided by the program. Students will break out into small groups on Zoom and will be given selected prompts to work through using the knowledge gained from the speaker series. You will receive more information on the prompts for the session two weeks prior to the event.

Volunteering:

To earn Experiential Learning credit, complete 50 hours of volunteer work by December 2, 2025. Volunteer with a service-oriented organization that provides resources and assistance to vulnerable populations. DISCLAIMER: It can take a while to set up volunteering opportunities. Do not wait until the last minute.

Click here for approved volunteering list Click here for the volunteer log

Things to Remember:

  • Volunteering through these organizations on this list will be accepted.
  • Please, email [email protected]if you want to volunteer somewhere not listed.
  • You may volunteer at multiple sites given they are on this list.
  • You must document and get a signature of a staff memberor someone in leadership for each volunteer site, see volunteer sign-off sheet.
  • Volunteering may take a while to set up. Start the process of volunteering earlyin the semester.
  • Be aware not all volunteer sites may be accepting volunteers.

Essay:

  • Formatting: 1-2 pages, 12-pt font, double-spaced 1” x 1” inch margins. For citations use footnotes: Presenter Name, Presentation Title, Date of Presentation. You should cite information that you learned from a presenter, directly analyze, and did not previously know.
  • Essay Prompt: Will be available in ELC.
  • Submission: You will be added to the Legal Disparities and Equity Service Program group on ELC.

Image of Certificate

Interested in becoming a speaker for this certificate program on the topic of legal disparities and health equity? Please email Ashley Roseberry [email protected].