Rutgers Law School

The JD Program

Introduction
Rutgers Law School, New Jersey's flagship public law school, combines the resources of a leading public research university with a longstanding commitment to access, public service, scholarly excellence, and experiential learning. With locations in Camden and Newark, Rutgers Law prepares students to become skilled lawyers, engaged citizens, and leaders in their communities. 

As part of Rutgers University, one of the nation's premier public research institutions, Rutgers Law offers students the opportunity to learn from nationally and internationally recognized scholars while gaining practical skills through clinics, externships, and other experiential programs. The law school's commitment to opportunity and social mobility has helped generations of students from diverse backgrounds pursue successful legal careers. 

Rutgers Law also continues to innovate in legal education through flexible pathways to a legal degree, including its new Online J.D. Program, which expands access to legal education for working professionals, caregivers, military service members and veterans, and others whose circumstances may make a traditional law school schedule difficult to pursue.

Location
Rutgers Law School offers students the advantages of studying in two dynamic legal markets through its campuses in Camden and Newark. These locations provide access to courts, government agencies, public interest organizations, law firms, corporations, and nonprofit institutions throughout New Jersey, the Greater Philadelphia Area, New York City, Delaware, and beyond.

The Camden and Newark locations provide modern learning environments, collaborative student spaces, and technology-enhanced classrooms that support both in-person and cross-campus instruction. Students benefit from the resources of a unified law school while becoming part of close-knit campus communities.

Both locations offer the traditional, three-year full-time J.D. program, while the Newark campus also offers a part-time, hybrid evening program, where classes are offered via in-person and online instruction.

The Online J.D. allows part-time students to learn from anywhere through live, interactive online coursework. The Online J.D. also requires periodic in-person residential experiences on the Camden campus/Philadelphia area. 

The Rutgers Law Library supports student and faculty research through extensive print and electronic collections, specialized research services, and expert librarian assistance. Library resources provide access to legal materials from New Jersey, across the United States, and around the world.

Faculty
Rutgers Law School's 160+ full-time faculty are nationally and globally recognized scholars, researchers, and teachers whose work influences legal thought, public policy, and professional practice. Faculty expertise spans a wide range of fields, including constitutional law, civil rights, criminal law, corporate governance, health law, taxation, immigration, intellectual property, family law, international law, and emerging areas of legal study. Rutgers Law School was ranked among the nation's leaders for scholarly impact in the 2026 HeinOnline rankings.

Students also learn from accomplished judges, practitioners, policymakers, and business leaders who bring real-world experience into the classroom. Together, the faculty provide a rigorous legal education that integrates theory, doctrine, and practical application.

Our faculty-led academic centers produce groundbreaking scholarship in a wide range of scholarly fields.  The 12 Centers are interdisciplinary, working with other faculty in the university.  They cover such topics as corporate law and governance; criminal justice, youth rights, and race; gender justice; immigrant justice; risk and responsibility; security, race, state constitutional studies; transnational law; inequality and metropolitan equity; information policy and law; law and philosophy; and advocacy.

Curriculum
The J.D. curriculum combines a strong foundation in legal doctrine, analysis, research, and writing with opportunities for specialization, experiential learning, and interdisciplinary study.

During the first year, students develop the core legal skills and analytical frameworks essential to effective legal practice. Upper-level students can choose from over 200 courses, seminars, clinics, simulations, and field placements that allow them to tailor their legal education to their interests and career goals. Students can also study abroad at various partner institutions.

Rutgers Law offers a variety of opportunities for focused study, including certificate programs in corporate and business law, criminal law and procedure, family law, immigration law, and intellectual property law. Students may also pursue dual-degree programs with 13 other Rutgers graduate and professional schools.

The law school's new Online J.D. Program, scheduled to welcome its first cohort in Fall 2027, will offer a part-time, mostly online pathway to earning a Rutgers Law degree. Online J.D. students will complete the same curriculum and learning outcomes as residential J.D. students and will be taught by the same Rutgers Law faculty.

For those who have earned a law degree abroad and practiced law internationally for at least one year, Rutgers Law offers the Foreign-Trained Lawyer Program. This program allows students to get up to 28 advanced standing credits and achieve a J.D. degree by completing 56 credits at Rutgers Law School. Once a participant in the Foreign-Trained Lawyer Program receives a J.D., they are qualified to sit for the bar exam in any American jurisdiction.

Students and Student Life
Rutgers Law enrolls over 1,400 students across both campuses, who contribute diverse academic, professional, cultural, and life experiences to the law school community. The law school seeks to create an inclusive environment in which different perspectives enrich classroom discussion and strengthen the educational experience.

The law school's Minority Student Program, founded in 1968, provides academic support, mentoring, professional development, and networking opportunities for students who have overcome socioeconomic or educational barriers or who come from groups historically underrepresented in the legal profession.

Students can engage with the law school community through over 50 student organizations and nine journals, including the Rutgers Law Review, first published in 1915, and the Women’s Rights Law Reporter, founded in 1970 by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice and former Rutgers Law professor Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Rutgers Law School also offers top-ranked National Trial Teams and Moot Court Teams, numerous pro bono opportunities, funding for public service/public interest pursuits, and many interdisciplinary programs across Rutgers University. 

Clinics, Externships, and Public Service
Experiential learning is a hallmark of a Rutgers Law education. Through clinics, externships, and public service opportunities, students gain practical experience while serving clients and communities. 

Rutgers Law is a pioneer in clinical education, offering more than 20 clinics across the Newark and Camden campuses to provide students with experience working on real cases. The clinical training program is consistently ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Clinics are available in areas like immigration, entrepreneurship, constitutional rights, housing justice, veterans advocacy, child advocacy, intellectual property, tax law, and many other areas. Under close faculty supervision, students develop the professional skills necessary for effective and ethical practice.

Students may also participate in externships and field placements with federal and state courts, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, corporate legal departments, and law firms. These experiences allow students to build professional networks while applying classroom learning in real-world settings.

Public service remains central to the law school's mission, and students are encouraged to engage in pro bono work and other service initiatives throughout their legal education. Various fellowships and funding opportunities are available to make public interest opportunities available to students, such as the Maida Public Interest Fellows Program, which supports summer and post-graduate fellowships.

After graduation, Rutgers Law School offers a one-year residency program called Rutgers Law Associates, which is inspired by medical school residencies and is the only program of its kind in the U.S. During this program, recent graduates work full-time under close supervision and guidance from an established attorney, offering legal services to New Jersey residents with low to moderate incomes. Rutgers Law Associates typically manage dockets of 10-20 cases on family law, consumer protection, employment law, bankruptcy, estate planning, and will contests. 

Admission
Rutgers Law seeks talented students from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. The admissions process employs a holistic review of each applicant, recognizing that academic achievement, professional experience, leadership, community engagement, resilience, and other personal accomplishments all contribute to a student's potential for success in law school and the legal profession.

Each applicant’s file is considered individually and recognizes non-numerical indicators, including educational and employment experiences, community service, socioeconomic background, and extraordinary family circumstances, as well as numerical indicators (LSAT and UGPA), as predictors of success.

A single application allows applicants to express a preference for either campus location or neither. This choice is not binding and will have no bearing on the admission decision.

Housing
Students attending Rutgers Law have access to housing options and residential communities associated with Rutgers University in both Camden and Newark. Housing opportunities vary by location and may include university-operated residences, graduate housing, and private housing options in the surrounding communities.

Prospective students should consult Rutgers University housing resources for the most current information regarding availability, amenities, and application procedures.

Career Development
The Center for Career Development (CCD) has offices in both Camden and Newark. It is comprised of a professional staff of attorney counselors to help you achieve your professional goals while you’re in law school and after you graduate.  

The 24,000+ Rutgers Law alumni network provides mentorship, guidance, and employment connections across a broad range of practice settings. Career services include individual counseling, skills workshops, interview preparation, employer outreach, networking opportunities, recruitment programs, and online career resources.

Graduates pursue careers in private practice, government, public interest organizations, federal and state judicial clerkships, business, compliance, and other sectors of the legal profession.