Michigan State University College of Law

Introduction

With a broad and rigorous curriculum that provides extensive opportunities for students to gain valuable practical experience, Michigan State University (MSU) College of Law successfully prepares graduates for legal employment in settings across the nation—litigation, transactional law, business and industry, alternative dispute resolution, and public interest—to mention just a few.

As a law school with a 100-plus year tradition of graduating outstanding lawyers, judges, and entrepreneurs, students at MSU Law benefit from the college's status as a private law school located in the heart of a Big 10, world-class research university. The College of Law's location in East Lansing provides students with convenient access to externships and employment with state and federal agencies and courts, and an array of law firms and corporations. MSU Law is fully accredited by the ABA and is a member of the AALS.

Academic Programs

The College of Law curriculum provides a thorough education in all principal areas of law and practice. A total of 88 credit hours is required for graduation, with 29 of these credits being prescribed by the College of Law. The College of Law teaches core legal skills, supplemented with academic concentrations, programmatic initiatives, and scholarly research and exchanges. The educational program of the college teaches and reinforces the ethical core of good lawyering, the values of professionalism and service, the art of client representation and trial advocacy, and the understanding of legal principles, private rights, and public policy.

The College of Law strives to continuously strengthen academic quality in all programs and activities of the college. The college is committed to fostering flexible opportunities for professional growth, innovation, research, and scholarship by the faculty. The faculty is committed to excellence in instruction, making significant contributions to legal research, and engaging in public service and community outreach. The staff is committed to providing necessary service, support, and creativity.

The elective and required curriculum of the College of Law integrates theory and practice, thereby helping to ensure that graduates of MSU Law are well prepared for their first professional positions and the professional responsibilities for decades to come.

Focus Areas: Law students at MSU have the opportunity to choose a focus area or certificate program when selecting elective courses. Focus areas include Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); Child and Family Advocacy; Corporate Law; Criminal Law; Environmental and Natural Resource Law; Family Law; Indigenous Law; Intellectual Property, Information, and Communications Law; International and Comparative Law; Public Law and Regulation; Taxation Law; and Trial Practice/Litigation.

Canadian and American Law Degree Program: MSU Law students who rank in the top half of the class may enroll in the dual-degree program with the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, thereby earning both a US and a Canadian law degree in four years.

Study-Abroad Programs: The College of Law offers an ever-expanding list of study-abroad options, including the MSU Law Canadian program, and study-abroad programs in Croatia, England, Japan, and Poland.

Dual-Degree Options: Law students with an interest in broadening their skills set have the opportunity to pursue a dual degree with another graduate program at Michigan State University. Dual degrees are established with more than a dozen graduate programs, with the typical dual-degree student being able to earn the law degree and a master's degree in just four years.

Master of Laws (LLM) Program: An LLM is offered for international lawyers. An LLM/MJ (Master of Jurisprudence) is offered in Intellectual Property and Communications Law for domestic and international students.

Experiential Learning

MSU Law Clinics: The College of Law operates law clinics to provide students with the opportunity to apply the skills they have learned in the classroom. Students enrolled in the clinics may handle cases from start to finish, thereby gaining résumé-building experience from their clinical experiences, all while helping members of their own community. Law clinics available to MSU students include the Civil Rights Clinic, First Amendment Clinic, Housing Clinic, Immigration Clinic, Plea and Sentencing Clinic, Small Business and Nonprofit Law Clinic, Tax Clinic, and Chance at Childhood Law and Social Work Clinic.

Spring Semester in Washington, DC: The College of Law's Washington, DC, Semester Program provides the opportunity for 25 students to spend a full spring semester in our nation's capital, working 32 hours weekly for federal agencies while also enrolling in several law courses taught by MSU Law faculty. The DC program provides valuable practical experience and insights into employment with the federal government.

Externships: Externships, which are field placements that provide practical legal training under the supervision of practicing attorneys and faculty members, may be completed with a variety of legal employers—judicial, legal aid, nonprofit, and governmental. Annually, more than 200 students enroll in externships, with summer externships located throughout the US and abroad.

MSU Law Journals: Michigan State Law Review, MSU Journal of International Law, MSU Journal of Medicine and Law, and Journal of Business and Securities Law.

Trial Practice Institute: MSU Law alumnus Geoffrey N. Fieger has partnered with the College of Law to establish a premier trial practice institute, designed specifically to train law students as successful trial lawyers. Students interview at the end of their first year of law school, and selected students start the program at the beginning of their second year. The institute offers hands-on learning experiences through clinics, externships, field placements, and simulations.

Career Services

Graduates of the College of Law can be found in all regions of the country and abroad. In a typical year, graduates accept employment in 25 or more states. The most common career path of recent graduates is private practice, with graduates accepting employment with law firms of all sizes. Other recent MSU Law graduates have accepted judicial clerkships (4–8 percent), employment in business or industry (15–25 percent), governmental employment (10–15 percent), and public interest work (3–5 percent). Placement rates for new graduates consistently exceed 90 percent.

Admission

MSU Law has an admission process designed to identify individuals who have the potential to excel in their legal studies and the practice of law. The College of Law seeks to enroll students who are academically talented and who bring to the classroom a diversity of personal and professional experiences and perspectives. The College of Law's Admission Committee considers many variables in addition to the applicant's undergraduate record and score on the LSAT.

The Admission Committee encourages candidates for the Juris Doctor program to apply for admission at the earliest possible date after October 1 and prior to March 1. The Admission Office accepts applications through late spring, with a final deadline of April 30. Candidates whose applications are received prior to February 1 will be given priority consideration for scholarship assistance. Applications for admission are reviewed on a rolling-admission basis beginning in early November and continuing through late spring. Applications generally are reviewed according to the date they are complete with all supporting materials. Admission to Michigan State University College of Law is granted for the fall term only for both the full-time and part-time programs.

Scholarship Assistance

The College of Law offers one of the most generous scholarship programs among law schools nationally, with as many as 60 full-tuition scholarships awarded to members of each incoming class. Additionally, the College of Law annually awards 50 scholarships ranging in value up to $25,000. Every applicant who is offered admission to the College of Law is considered for scholarship assistance, though grants based on financial need require an application. Law students who achieve a GPA of 3.60 or higher at the end of their first year of full-time studies at MSU Law automatically are provided a scholarship that covers one-half, three-quarters, or 100 percent of tuition.

Applicant Profile

Michigan State University College of Law

This grid includes only applicants who earned 120–180 LSAT scores under standard administrations.

Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 99% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.