Boston College Law School
The information on this page was provided by the law school.
Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD Programs
Introduction
For nearly 100 years, Boston College Law School has helped form the very best lawyers focused on shaping a better society through the rule of law. BC Law combines one of the best legal faculties in the country with a cutting-edge, academically challenging curriculum teaching the building blocks of a successful legal career—legal doctrine along with research, writing, and analysis—as well as a diverse set of over 200 elective courses and a wide range of options for immersive practical experience. The school educates distinguished lawyers and industry leaders—all located in a peaceful campus setting, just minutes away from one of the nation’s most historic and dynamic cities.
BC Law faculty foster collaborative relationships and encourage teamwork and support, both academically and personally. The curriculum is designed to help students develop the framework needed to become leaders who can adapt successfully to changes in society and the legal profession. The school’s nationally recognized research and writing and clinical programs, as well as its unique externships and advocacy programs housed within the Center for Experiential Learning, help prepare new lawyers for the real-world practice of law.
BC Law’s attention to mentoring relationships goes far beyond the classroom walls. The school’s 13,000+ alumni make up a deep and supportive network that will serve as the foundation of a graduate’s professional life for decades to come. BC Law graduates often refer to their time in law school as some of the best years of their lives, and their fondness for the school shows in their enthusiasm and support. That support, as well as one of the best career services operations in the country, helps new graduates land their dream jobs anywhere in the world.
Location
Founded in 1929, BC Law is located on an attractive 40-acre campus in Newton, Massachusetts, just minutes from downtown Boston, a thriving hub full of legal, corporate, and academic opportunities for current students and graduates. Boston is one of the country’s leading centers for major law firms and corporations—including many high-tech and biotech companies—as well as government agencies and nonprofits. The school’s clinical and externship programs take full advantage of these opportunities to immerse students in the kinds of experiences that help them learn what it means to practice law (see Experiential Learning and Special Programs). Once they graduate, BC Law alumni can take advantage of one of the strongest and most loyal alumni networks in the country to help them begin their careers.
The JD Program
Faculty and Curriculum
BC Law is well known for the quality of its teaching. The faculty are published scholars and leaders in the profession, recognized nationally and internationally for their expertise and as leaders and mentors in the classroom. Their dedication is illustrated by the time spent with students long after office hours have ended. The faculty believes in the importance of a legal education designed to enable graduates to adapt to the rapidly evolving demands of law practice, supported by a strong skills-based approach that gives students real-world experience in the practice of law. Areas of particular focus include administrative and government law, business and corporate law (including intellectual property, philanthropy, securities, start-ups, and tax), constitutional law, criminal and civil litigation, dispute resolution, environmental law, ethics and professional responsibility, family law, health law, human rights and immigration, international and comparative law, labor and employment law, law and technology, legal history, and public policy.
In the first year, all students take Critical Perspectives: Law, Context and Professional Identity, Civil Procedure, Contracts, Property Law, Criminal Law, and Torts. In addition, an intensive, two-semester legal reasoning, research, and writing course called Law Practice is required. In the spring semester, students are allowed to take either Constitutional Law or defer that to 2L year in favor of a 1L elective. These typically include courses such as International Law or Evidence, as well as skills-based courses such as Immigration, Mergers & Acquisitions, or Community Economic Development, among others. Over 200 courses are offered in the second and third years.
Experiential Learning and Special Programs
BC Law students are encouraged to participate in a variety of experiential learning opportunities, from traditional clinical programs and long- or short-term externships, to skills-based courses and advocacy programs. BC Law houses its clinical and externship programs within the Center for Experiential Learning.
Clinical programs include
- Amicus Brief
- Civil Litigation: Housing Justice
- Civil Rights
- Community Enterprise
- Criminal Justice Program (Prosecutors and BC Defenders)
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation Clinic
- Federal Courts
- Housing Court Lawyer for the Day
- Immigration
- Innocence Program
- International Human Rights
- MA Attorney General Civil Litigation
- Compassionate Release and Parole
- Project Entrepreneur
- Youth and Family Rights
The school has a robust Semester in Practice (SIP) immersive externship program that gives our students the opportunity to work 4-5 days per week in the field, while retaining the crucial seminar component for reflection on their experiences and for faculty guidance. Students can work locally or around the world in diverse settings and practice areas and learn on the job from experienced lawyers—many of them BC Law alumni—who are committed to helping our students succeed. The school also offers part-time externships that balance coursework with 2-3 days per week placements.
Global Learning Opportunities
The Law School’s primary offerings abroad are semester-long non-degree exchange options. We also offer full-year dual-degree options. BC students may apply for designated spots for a semester’s study as well as full-year dual-degree options at one of the law schools listed below with which BC Law has an exchange agreement.
- Bucerius Law School (Hamburg Germany)
- ESADE (Barcelona, Spain)
- National University of Singapore (NUS)
- Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá, Colombia)
- Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, Ireland)
- University of Paris Nanterre (Paris, France)
- University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne (Paris, France)
Dual Degree Programs
- JD/MBA
- JD/MSW
- JD/MEd or MA in Education
- JD/MA or JD/PhD in Philosophy
- JD/MPH
- JD/MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
- JD/MA in Environmental, Energy, Land, or Food Law
Student Journals and Advocacy Programs
Selected students have the opportunity to participate in BC Law student journals, including the prestigious Boston College Law Review. Boston College Law School also supports nearly a dozen different internal competitions, including negotiation, client counseling, moot court, and mock trial. In addition, selected students may compete in national and international moot court competitions judged by faculty, state and federal judges, and practicing attorneys. These competitions allow students to enhance negotiation, counseling, and oral advocacy skills. BC Law students consistently outperform their peers. Teams have won a number of national competitions, including the Frederick Douglass, Immigration Law, European Law, National Moot Court, and Religious Freedom competitions.
Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy
BC Law has an extensive track record in training public policy leaders locally and nationally. The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy provides educational programs, career mentoring, and financial support to law students interested in government and public policy. The center focuses on public policy issues affecting Greater Boston and Massachusetts and houses both the popular Rappaport Fellows Program in Law and Public Policy, which provides 12 paid summer internships to talented law students from seven Greater Boston law schools, and the Rappaport Distinguished Public Policy Series at BC Law, which conducts scholarly research and hosts lectures, debates, and roundtable discussions on public policy issues with the region’s leading policymakers and thought leaders. The center also brings in Rappaport Distinguished Visiting Professors and Senior Fellows. Visiting Professors teach a special course and participate in various public and private lectures and events during the year. Senior Fellows are in residence for three days at BC Law, and deliver a Community Address, participate in a Rappaport Center program, and engage with the BC and Rappaport communities.
Public Interest
Home to the John and Mary Daly Curtin Center for Public Interest Law programs, BC Law has a long, celebrated tradition of public service. The Office of Career Services has a dedicated director of public interest programs who helps coordinate the school’s various efforts (including the Public Interest Designation Program, Pro Bono Program, immigration-focused projects, and service to areas of need such as New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina) and advises students pursuing careers in public service. BC Law’s public interest scholarships assist students with tuition, and the school’s Francis X. Bellotti Loan Repayment Assistance and Forgiveness Program (LRAP) assists with debt relief for graduates working in public interest-related positions. The Public Interest Law Foundation Program (PILF) at BC Law also funds student summer stipends each year.
Student Life
Student Life and Community
BC Law is a unique community focused upon the development of the whole person, nurturing students not just academically, but socially and spiritually as well. The school has a vibrant social life. The Law Student Association (LSA) and 40 other active student groups host many scholarly events during the year, including distinguished speakers and lecturers, relevant film screenings and discussion panels, and jointly sponsored events. The school holds a welcome reception in the fall, as well as dean’s office-hosted events, such as Oktoberfest and Harvest Desserts, town meetings, and mentoring programs with faculty and alumni. BC Law has an extensive Academic Success Program, as well as a Public Interest Designation Program and a Pro Bono Program that centralizes activities and encourages students to explore pro bono opportunities, with participants acknowledged at graduation.
BC Law has an associate dean for community and belonging who focuses on assisting students in acclimating to law school and the legal profession through special events and workshops as well as programs with law firms, corporations, and nonprofits. For more information, visit https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/law/about/diversity-inclusion.html.
Housing
The dedicated staff at the Boston College Office of Residential Life’s Off-Campus Housing Office provides services and resources to all graduate students in their housing search. Each year, the Office of Residential Life hosts a housing fair to help in the search for housing in local neighborhoods. The Roommate Finder and Roommate Locator are online databases for students seeking roommates to occupy a current or new apartment. For more information about housing for law students, please contact the Off-Campus Housing Office at 617.552.3075 or visit http://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/student-life/housing.html.
Library and Physical Facilities
The BC Law campus is designed to foster the growth of community and to provide a learning environment that allows for both formal and informal interaction among faculty, students, and staff. The law library encourages individual or group study, with its desk and lounge areas, computer centers, audiovisual resource rooms, and private study rooms. With its soaring atrium entry and light-filled spaces, the East Wing includes classrooms and faculty offices, administrative offices for a career services center and a career resources library, two conference rooms, and the John J. and Mary Daly Curtin Center for Public Interest Law (a suite of offices for student groups working on public service projects). The East Wing’s brick exterior complements the law library and the Stuart House administration building, as well as the Barat House building, home of the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy. The three buildings form an attractive courtyard for outdoor use by the law school community. The school’s Center for Experiential Learning is housed in the Smith Wing and provides a central location for students, faculty, and clients working together on clinical and externship programs. All academic, administrative, library, and service facilities are accessible to persons with physical disabilities. View a virtual tour here: http://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/law/admission-aid/visiting-bc-law.html.
Career Placement and Bar Passage
Tuition and Aid
| Expense | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition |
$75,280.00
|
| Fees |
$400.00
|
| Expected Cost of Attendance |
$104,818.00
|
All prospective students admitted to the Law School are considered for merit scholarships. Each year, nearly 90 percent of incoming students receive scholarships as part of their financial aid awards, which may also include federal and private educational loans administered by Boston College’s Graduate & Law Financial Aid division. Select students are named dean’s scholars, and other entering students receive full-tuition public service scholarships because of their demonstrated commitment to public interest law. Scholarships awarded for the first year will be automatically renewed for the second and third years provided that students make satisfactory academic progress. The Law School also offers a loan repayment assistance program for graduates who pursue careers in legal services, government, and not-for-profit organizations.
Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers
The Law School evaluates many factors during the admission process. Academic achievement and LSAT scores are significant considerations, but professional experience, college and volunteer activities, the quality of recommendations, and the personal statement also play an important role in the decision-making process. BC Law has no minimum cutoff either for GPA or LSAT score. When evaluating the undergraduate record, the committee considers class rank and courses taken. If the LSAT has been taken more than once, all scores are considered in the review process.
2025 Class Profile
