500 West Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-1786
Phone: 410.706.3492; Fax: 410.706.1793
E-mail: admissions@law.umaryland.edu; Website: www.law.umaryland.edu
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law was established in 1816, making it one of the oldest law schools in the nation. Today, its outstanding faculty, innovative programs, and superb student body make it one of the most vibrant places to study law.
Taking advantage of its location in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, Maryland Carey Law has a wealth of opportunities for working and learning as part of the state and national legal, political, and business communities. Because of its foundational commitment to integrating theory and practice, Maryland Carey Law offers extensive clinical and experiential learning opportunities, an academically rigorous core curriculum, and specialty programs that are consistently recognized as among the very best in the country.
Maryland Carey Law's student body is highly talented, diverse, and collegial. The school's small size and low student-to-faculty ratio create a welcoming community dedicated to fully developing each student's talents. Our nationally distinctive Cardin Requirement provides that each full-time student will have a faculty-supervised experience providing free legal services to people and organizations that lack access to justice. This requirement helps instill a spirit of public service in all students—regardless of their chosen career path.
UM Carey Law students are recruited by many of the nation's most respected law firms. They assume positions of leadership as lawyers and judges, business executives and community advocates, legislators and policymakers, and other agents of social, political, and economic progress.
Maryland Carey Law is fully accredited by the ABA, is a member of the AALS, and has a chapter of the Order of the Coif.
At UM Carey Law, entering students quickly become part of a supportive community. We are diverse in age, gender, race, academic background, ideology, and prior employment, and this diversity is reflected in our students and in our faculty and deans. Nearly 40 percent of students in the entering class come from outside of Maryland, including many from foreign countries. Our student body represents more than 130 undergraduate institutions, nearly 15 percent have prior graduate degrees, and many more have had impressive careers.
Our faculty are national leaders in a wide range of subject areas, and they are readily available to support and advise students. Smaller classes and a 12 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio enable close working relationships to develop in a professional and intellectually vibrant setting. Many resources are available to students to ease their transition to law school. Students also directly benefit from a wide network of engaged alumni who occupy positions of professional leadership throughout the state, region, and nation. By acting as mentors, volunteer judges, and adjunct faculty, alumni help connect each student's law school experience with the professional life of the surrounding legal community.
Maryland Carey Law's location in the Baltimore-Washington corridor—the country's second largest market for legal employers—is one of our greatest assets. New in 2002, our facility sits just a few blocks from Baltimore's beautiful Inner Harbor and Camden Yards, and—along with the rest of the burgeoning University of Maryland campus—is playing a vital role in the city's downtown renaissance.
The law school is also a simple commute via public transportation from Capitol Hill and an easy drive to Maryland's capital in Annapolis, providing our students unique access to all levels of the federal and state government and judiciary. Students take full advantage of our proximity to Washington, DC, pursuing externships and careers with leading national law firms, public interest groups, government agencies, and other organizations of prominence.
Our proximity to the other professional schools on the UM campus allows us to offer an array of interdisciplinary courses and joint-degree programs. These offerings produce sophisticated graduates who are prepared to practice in an environment of increasing complexity.
The School of Law and the Thurgood Marshall Law Library occupy a modern complex opened in 2002. Our classrooms and courtrooms are fully equipped with the latest educational technology, as well as wired and wireless Internet access for student use.
The Thurgood Marshall Law Library houses a collection of about 534,000 volumes and equivalents accessible through the online catalog. A staff of 26, including 12 librarians, provides customized reference and consulting services to faculty and students. In addition to LexisNexis and Westlaw, the library offers an extensive array of legal and nonlegal web-based electronic databases. Seating in the library includes carrels, tables in attractive reading rooms, and comfortable lounge areas, all located in spaces full of natural light.
The rigorous core curriculum at UM Carey Law forms the basis for more specialized study through over 200 elective courses, seminars, independent studies, simulations, clinics, and externships. The first-year curriculum involves both traditional substantive courses like those at many schools, together with a small section course taught by a full-time faculty member to focus on analytical reasoning, research, and writing. A wide array of upper-level courses in key fields allow students to either sample an array of subject areas, or focus in on a particular area of practice. Research, writing, and advocacy are strong components throughout the program as well, with introductory and advanced courses to hone these critical skills. A student's analytical writing culminates in the production of an academic paper to satisfy the advanced writing requirement. Many students have gone on to publish and win writing competitions with these papers.
Maryland Carey Law is home to several nationally recognized specialty programs. These programs are a magnet for leading faculty from across the country as they provide opportunities for in-depth scholarship and teaching. Three of our specialty programs—Law and Health Care, Environmental Law, and Clinical Law—have long established national reputations for excellence. Our other specialty areas continue to grow and are on the cutting edge of key issues—Business Law, Intellectual Property Law, International and Comparative Law, and Women, Leadership, and Equality. The School is also noted for its excellence in the area of Trial Advocacy.
Regardless of what course of study they pursue, students can expect a challenging law school experience that will cultivate depth of understanding and clarity of thought—the hallmarks of the most successful lawyers.
Through the Cardin Requirement, named after our alumnus US Senator Benjamin Cardin, each full-time day student gains hands-on legal experience by representing actual clients who would otherwise lack access to justice. This program is a hallmark of Maryland Carey Law's commitment to helping students learn to integrate theory and practice, rigorously reflect on their own practice experience, and become lifelong learners committed and capable of continuing to develop legal skills and knowledge. Each year, over 25 faculty and 250 students provide more than 110,000 hours of free legal services to those in need. They work in nearly every area of law practice.
Our legal clinic is among the best and largest in the nation. In addition to in-house clinical work, students may gain experience in public and private nonprofit externships in the Baltimore-Washington region.
Today's lawyer must practice in an environment of increasing sophistication. Maryland Carey Law offers several dual-degree programs in partnership with other leading academic institutions in the region. Dual-degree programs include Business Administration, Community Planning, Criminal Justice, Government, Liberal Arts, Pharmacy, Public Policy, Public Health, Public Management, and Social Work.
The Admission Committee selects applicants who have the greatest potential for succeeding in law school studies and whose background, character, and experience will contribute to the diversity that we believe is important to the quality of legal education.
The factors we consider in the admission file evaluation process include geographic origin, cultural and language background, barriers overcome, and extracurricular pursuits such as work, leadership activities, and service or social experiences. The personal statement and letters of recommendation are the primary means for candidates to convey this information. First-year students are admitted only in the fall. The School of Law uses a rolling admission process, reviewing applications in the order in which files are completed. Applications should be filed as early as possible after September 1 of the year preceding enrollment and before April 1. Applicants are encouraged to complete the application early; applications completed later may be at a competitive disadvantage. In addition, applicants are encouraged to visit the school, but interviews are not part of the admission process.
The law school is home to more than 35 active and diverse student-run organizations. Students enforce the law school's honor code, participate in inter- and intraschool advocacy competitions, and volunteer in the local community and around the globe. Students can further their writing and editing expertise by participating in one of the five student-edited scholarly journals or serving as a Legal Writing Center Fellow. The Office of Student Affairs provides group and one-on-one academic advising to students at all stages of their legal education, leadership education to student leaders, and financial literacy workshops for all interested students. A newly opened state-of-the-art university Student Center provides swimming, weight lifting, cardio, and other athletic and wellness programs. University housing near Maryland Carey Law includes residences for all the campus schools, providing wonderful opportunities for students to befriend people working in other professional disciplines.
The UM Carey School of Law offers a number of scholarships and traditional need-based financial aid assistance. All applicants are considered for the scholarship program based on the totality of the information available in the applicant's admission file and evidence of potential unique contributions to the academic and cocurricular programs, as well as student life. Such potential should be clearly described in the personal statement, résumé, and other admission documents. All admitted applicants must file the FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible in order to be considered for scholarships or need-based financial assistance.
Students at UM Carey Law benefit from the institution's national reputation and connections to alumni in the private and public sectors in Maryland; Washington, DC; and beyond. The Career Development Office offers students and alumni a range of professional resources to prepare them for launching their legal job search and obtaining employment.
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law's admission policy focuses on the academic potential of applicants coupled with a flexible assessment of applicants' talents, experiences, and potential to contribute to the learning of those around them. Each applicant is evaluated on the basis of all the information available in his or her file, including UGPA, LSAT score, a personal statement, letters of recommendation, résumé, advanced degrees, professional accomplishments, and other related information.