Admissions Office, 471 West Palmer
Detroit, MI 48202
Phone: 313.577.3937; Fax: 313.993.8129
E-mail: lawinquire@wayne.edu; Website: www.law.wayne.edu
Wayne State University Law School, founded in 1927, is the only public law school in Detroit, Michigan. Located in the heart of Detroit's historic cultural center, Wayne Law offers a unique urban experience. Detroit's vibrant legal market—including government offices, state and federal courts, multinational corporations, unions, and major law firms—provides students with a wide range of opportunities for employment and internships. Our students are bright, mature, conscientious, and altruistic. They come from unique backgrounds and professions, some having previously served as doctors, musicians, actors, engineers, and law enforcement officers before pursuing the law. Wayne Law also offers a network of more than 11,000 living alumni, including established leaders of the legal community, practicing throughout the nation and in more than a dozen foreign countries. Our expert faculty's nationally and internationally recognized scholarship adds depth to our students' understanding of legal theory, doctrine, and practice. Wayne Law students, faculty, and alumni are deeply engaged in the community and profession.
The Law School is a flagship unit of Wayne State University, a major metropolitan research university located in the heart of Midtown about four miles from downtown Detroit. Within blocks of the Law School are the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Science Center, and other cultural attractions. The City of Detroit shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario, and offers access to Michigan's largest concentration of law firms and state and federal courts. In October 2011, Wayne Law proudly celebrated the grand opening of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. The Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights will advance learning; attract talented faculty, students, and lecturers; enhance programming; and promote civil rights in one of the most culturally rich and diverse cities in the United States. The Keith Center will have active programs of legal studies and will promote community engagement.
The Arthur Neef Law Library is the second largest academic law library in Michigan and houses one of the nation's largest legal collections. With over 620,000 volumes, it serves as a major center of legal research in the Detroit and Michigan legal communities and is a designated federal government depository.
The majority of the study space in the recently renovated law library makes use of natural light. The Law School, including the library, is served by a wireless network. In addition, many library study spaces are equipped with communication ports and electrical outlets for the convenient use of notebook computers.
The law library also houses a computer laboratory featuring personal computers available for the exclusive use of Wayne State law students.
Wayne State University Law School offers its students a broad range of opportunities for practical legal training through its client clinics and its internship programs. The Law School operates six clinics: a Criminal Appellate Practice Clinic, a Disability Law Clinic, a Transnational Environmental Law Clinic, a Free Legal Aid Clinic, an Immigration and Asylum Clinic, and a Small Business Enterprises and Nonprofit Corporations Clinic. These clinical offerings give students a chance to take first-chair responsibility in a choice of settings while serving the needs of Detroit's urban community. Students also have the chance to serve as interns for state and federal judges, public prosecutors, the State Appellate Defender's Office, and many nonprofit organizations.
Students may pursue joint-degree programs in one of five different areas: business administration, dispute resolution, history, political science, and economics. Joint-degree students must be admitted separately to the Law School and to the appropriate master's degree program at the university. Each joint-degree program requires a student to spend his or her first year taking exclusively law courses, followed by two and a half to three years of concurrent studies.
Intellectual property (IP) law and related fields, such as the emerging area of electronic commerce, are among the strengths of the Wayne State law faculty. The Law School offers a tremendous variety of courses and seminars on IP-related subjects. Wayne State law students may take courses at the University of Detroit Mercy and the University of Windsor, just across the river in Canada, through the Intellectual Property Law Institute (IPLI). IPLI, which was created in 1987 as a cooperative effort of these three law schools, offers a rich curriculum for IP-focused students, including courses and seminars in patent, copyright, trademark, computer and related technology, communications and media, and entertainment law.
International law cuts across all aspects of a Wayne State legal education. Fully one-third of Wayne Law's tenured and tenure-track faculty teaches and writes on international subjects. Those faculty members enjoy worldwide reputations as innovative and prolific scholars. Students can take classes on a remarkable range of international topics, from international commercial transactions to international environmental law, to the use of military force, and the protection of human rights. Study-abroad programs give students a firsthand view of other nations' legal systems and their approaches to legal education. The Law School also boasts a broad array of internationally oriented student organizations, including a highly successful Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition team.
Student-Edited Law Journals—Wayne State University Law School publishes two student-edited law journals. The Wayne Law Review, a scholarly legal journal with a nationwide circulation, has been published since 1954 by upper-class law students selected on the basis of superior academic achievement and writing ability. The Journal of Law in Society publishes articles drawn from an annual spring symposium on topics such as affirmative action, environmental justice, reparations for slavery, school vouchers, and gentrification. Both journals offer an opportunity for students to enhance their research and writing skills, and further their knowledge of the law, while earning law school course credit.
Moot Court—Founded in 1949, Wayne State University's Moot Court program, which helps students hone their written and oral advocacy skills, has evolved into one of the most competitive appellate advocacy programs in the country. Wayne State Moot Court teams compete in many national moot court competitions and have won many competitions, including the National Moot Court Championship in 2003.
Student Trial Advocacy Program—The Student Trial Advocacy Program (STAP) complements Wayne State's extensive offering of skills courses by providing students with instruction and experience in the techniques of trial litigation. Wayne State STAP members have successfully competed in trial advocacy competitions across the country.
Student Organizations—More than 30 student organizations add greatly to the quality of life at the Law School by sponsoring speakers and debates on topics of current interest or in specialized areas of law, jointly sponsoring outreach events for the needy, volunteering their time to public service, and collaborating to produce programs with area practitioners.
Wayne State University Law School is committed to attracting and retaining highly credentialed students while maintaining economic accessibility to legal education and the legal profession. We offer substantial scholarships, and award over $2.8 million in WSU and privately endowed scholarships and grants to students. The Dean's Scholars program awards 50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 percent tuition scholarships to the top students of each incoming class. These awards are renewable yearly if students maintain a GPA above an established minimum. We also offer one-year awards to incoming students and provide scholarships for continuing students based on first-year performance. More than 70 additional scholarships are awarded each year at Honors Convocation based on academic merit, future career plans, or participation in law-related activities.
As a Wayne Law student, you can live on campus either in the University Towers Apartments, the Chatsworth Apartments, or in the Towers Residential Suites. The top floors of the high-rise tower are reserved for graduate students; the majority of the rooms are suite style and there are also studio rooms available. Within the building are a café-style dining hall, a mini bookstore, and multiple fitness rooms. The Towers feature free Internet access, cable connections, multiple social and study lounges, laundry rooms, and a 24-hour staffed reception area. Students interested in living off campus have many affordable options in the metropolitan Detroit area.
Our Career Services Office provides Wayne Law students and alumni with tools, resources, and expertise needed to identify the ideal career path, launch a successful job search, and develop a fulfilling career in, around, or outside of the law. Three professional career counselors help students navigate job searches and offer guidance on balancing the demands of finding a job while in law school. Each of our counselors has a JD, has practiced law, and specializes in counseling students interested in working in government, law firms, courts, corporations, and public interest organizations, as well as those pursuing alternative careers.
This grid includes only applicants who earned 120–180 LSAT scores under standard administrations.
| GPA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSAT Score |
3.75+ Apps |
3.75+ Adm |
3.50– 3.74 Apps |
3.50– 3.74 Adm |
3.25– 3.49 Apps |
3.25– 3.49 Adm |
3.00– 3.24 Apps |
3.00– 3.24 Adm |
2.75– 2.99 Apps |
2.75– 2.99 Adm |
2.50– 2.74 Apps |
2.50– 2.74 Adm |
2.25– 2.49 Apps |
2.25– 2.49 Adm |
2.00– 2.24 Apps |
2.00– 2.24 Adm |
Below 2.00 Apps |
Below 2.00 Adm |
No GPA Apps |
No GPA Adm |
Total Apps |
Total Adm |
| LSAT score 175–180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LSAT score 170–174 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| LSAT score 165–169 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 53 |
| LSAT score 160–164 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 24 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 103 | 99 |
| LSAT score 155–159 | 30 | 28 | 57 | 54 | 63 | 59 | 49 | 46 | 23 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 245 | 221 |
| LSAT score 150–154 | 25 | 20 | 52 | 38 | 54 | 23 | 57 | 9 | 33 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 268 | 95 |
| LSAT score 145–149 | 12 | 3 | 32 | 6 | 46 | 5 | 45 | 2 | 30 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 209 | 20 |
| LSAT score 140–144 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 117 | 10 |
| LSAT score 135–139 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 65 | 0 |
| LSAT score 130–134 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| LSAT score 125–129 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| LSAT score 120–124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 111 | 92 | 207 | 141 | 230 | 126 | 204 | 78 | 137 | 36 | 107 | 22 | 55 | 4 | 36 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 5 | 1116 | 507 |
Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 99% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.