College of Law Climbs in U.S. News Rankings; Earns an A Rating in List of 50 Best Schools for Practical Training; Students Incur 3rd Lowest Average Debt Level among US News’ Top 50 Schools
When U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of top U.S. law schools in early March, the College of Law climbed five spots, from 47th place last year to 42nd place this year among 205 ABA-approved U.S. law schools. For the first time, the College’s environmental program was ranked in the top 10.
In the days since the release of the U.S. News rankings, the College continues to receive positive news about the effectiveness and affordability of its programs.
In the National Jurist magazine’s March 2015 ranking of the Best Schools for Practical Training, the College of Law earned an A rating and was in 16th place among the top 20 schools nationally.
Professor Linda Smith, Director of the Clinical Program, said that clinical experiences are an integral part of the College of Law’s approach to preparing students for practice while providing service to the community. “Relying on faculty-supervised clinics as well as a plethora of external placements with generous alums and other members of the bar and bench, we are able to guarantee every student a lawyering experience every semester. And over 90% of our students take advantage of this!”
Not only do College of Law students have an opportunity to select from an enormous range of clinical opportunities, but they are able to do so without being burdened by crippling levels of debt. The College of Law has the third lowest average debt among the top 50 law schools in the U.S. News and World Report ranking, behind BYU and Alabama.