Roger Williams University School of Law
The information on this page was provided by the law school.
Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD Programs
Access. Connection. Experience.
"Our goal is to provide hands-on education and a student-centered experience, instilling trust that our graduates will become changemakers in their community."
- Michael Donnelly-Boylen
Associate Dean for Strategy, External Relations, and Enrollment
As Rhode Island’s only law school, Roger Williams University School of Law offers students a level of access, connection, and experience that few institutions can rival.
RWU Law's goal is to deliver a rigorous yet personalized and marketable legal education that is crucial to positioning our graduates to thrive in their early career.
Through a social-justice centered mission, guaranteed clinical experience, an affordable tuition, and the benefits of being the only law school in Rhode Island - experienced through unparalleled access to clerkships, internships, and career networking - RWU Law graduates go out into the world as changemakers in their selected areas of practice.
Access.
Affordable, private law school tuition: RWU Law is the lowest priced, private, ABA-accredited, law school in the Northeast, and one the best legal education values on the entire East Coast.
#Changemakers: RWU Law seeks and attracts students who are driven by their own experiences and individual stories to change the world. Our students are inherent changemakers who benefit from the legal education and training our faculty and staff provide.
Accessible Educators: Professors at RWU Law are not distant figures; they are practicing lawyers, deeply involved in their fields and a crucial part of our student support system. RWU Law attracts approachable, respected scholars with real-world experience, committed to a student-centered education. According to Princeton Review's data, our students rank our faculty as one fo the nation's most accessible and interesting. Apart from being educators, they are advisors, mentors, and future colleagues, guiding students through the complexities and mastery of legal education.
Connection.
Being the only law school in the state comes with an important privilege: the undivided attention of our state bench and bar. This, combined with exceptional clinic and externship programs, a world-class faculty, and a broad and accomplished alumni base, crease an invaluable network of career entry points.
In our hallways, it is not unusual for our students to regularly engage with US Senators and Representatives, federal and state judges, top statewide elected officials, and partners from leading law firms. Those individuals teach here as adjuncts, participate in state and regional conferences and events, judge our moot court competition (with the full Rhode Island Supreme Court presiding over the finals), and connect with students both in the classroom and at social events.
Experience.
During the first year, RWU Law students enjoy the peaceful environment of the main campus in Bristol - a classic New England village nestled on the shores of the Mount Hope Bay, providing a quiet sanctuary for traditional study. Bristol consistently ranks among the safest college towns in America. Meanwhile, the urban experiential campus in Providence offers 2Ls and 3Ls direct access to the dynamism and opportunity of Providence - Rhode Island's capital and the hub of its legal, business, and cultural communities.
Whether studying at our coastal campus in Bristol or getting real-world experience at our urban campus in Providence, RWU Law students enjoy insider access to experiences and opportunities that provide the experiential edge in launching their legal careers.
The JD Program
Our curriculum integrates intellectual theory, case analysis, and practical lawyering skills. The fundamental building blocks of effective lawyering constitute the first- and second-year curriculum. Students learn the skills of traditional legal analysis and the ability, which every lawyer must master, to elicit and convey information. Our Legal Practice program and other required courses prepare students to become problem solvers; to comprehend, analyze, and synthesize complex material; and to communicate their positions effectively. In the latter years of their education, students gain expertise in legal specialties through clustering elective courses in particular fields of interest.
RWU Law is one of the very few law schools nationwide to add a required, three-credit course on race and the law ot its core legal curriculum with the introduction of Race & the Foundations of American Law. RWU Law's innovative programming has been recognized under the Bloomberg Law's Annual Law School Innovation Program under the Changing Pedagogy category.
Clinics & Externships
Since its inception, RWU Law believed that lawyers should use their legal skills to serve their communities—and that introducing law students to social justice ideals can set the stage for a lifetime of valuable societal contributions. With its roots in public interest law, our Feinstein Center for Pro Bono & Experiential Education guides this mission. Every RWU Law student is required to provide a minimum of 50 hours of pro bono legal service prior to graduation, helping to increase access to justice while gaining valuable legal experience.
Clinics
At our In-House Clinics, students in their last three semesters of law school handle their own clients and cases from start to finish under the supervision of faculty members. With a low case load, students learn to manage every aspect of a client’s case with the safety net of faculty oversight. Choose from the following programs:
- Business Start-up
- Criminal Defense
- Housing Policy
- Immigration
- Prisoners' Rights
- Veterans Disability Appeals Field Clinic
Clinical Externships
Through our Clinical Externships, students train outside the law school under the supervision of attorneys or judges, focusing on assigned projects that deepen their substantive knowledge and skill base while helping build their professional network. Students earn academic credit while working under the supervision of legal services lawyers, public defenders, prosecutors, government attorneys, corporate counsel, or judges in the local community, while making important professional connections and learning invaluable lessons about real-world practice. Choose from the following programs:
- Corporate Counsel Externship
- Environmental and Land Use Law Externship
- Government Externship
- Judicial Externship
- Prosecution Externship
- Public Interest Externship
Experiential Opportunities
The Feinstein Center also coordinates a vast network of other experiential opportunities, including:
- The Semester-In-Practice, which enables students to earn a full semester of credit working in New England; New York; Washington, DC; or anywhere in the world
- Alternative Spring Break, which allows students, as early as their first year, to spend spring break fully immersed in a local or national public interest legal service project
- The Pro Bono Collaborative (PBC), which mobilizes Rhode Island law firms, law students, and community organizations in a unique three-way partnership that provides desperately needed legal assistance for low-income communities
- The Rhode Island Center for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law center which works to protect legal rights to ensure justice for vulnerable individuals, families, and communities in Rhode Island and offers postgraduate fellowships open exclusively to recent RWU Law alumni
Joint-Degree Programs
A joint degree can confer many benefits—deepening and broadening the graduate’s education, professional skill set, and earning power—while also saving time and money by enabling the earning of two degrees simultaneously rather than sequentially. RWU Law currently administers five joint-degree programs, each offering unique and exciting benefits as well as a significant reduction in the time required to complete each degree separately:
- Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration (JD/MBA)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Marine Affairs (JD/MMA)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Criminal Justice (JD/MSCJ)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Cyber Security (JD/MSCS)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Preservation Practice (JD/MSPP)
- Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Labor Relations and Human Resources (JD/MSLRHR)
Marine Affairs Institute
RWU Law’s Marine Affairs Institute (MAI) is home to some of North America’s top experts on marine law and policy. In addition, as home to Rhode Island’s Sea Grant Legal Program, the MAI hires exceptional law students as Sea Grant Law Fellows to conduct legal research and analysis for government agencies, industry, and nonprofit organizations, acquiring hands-on experience to supplement and deepen classroom knowledge.
Institute for Race and the Law
To celebrate and reaffirm its values, RWU Law established the Institute for Race and the Law with the goals of transforming the landscape of legal education, driving justice reform through legal scholarship, and addressing root causes of systemic inequality. This innovative institute will further deepen RWU Law's social justice mission.
RWU Law is a national leader in teaching and scholarship around issues of race and the law including issues of doctrine and diversity. Because of this work, Bloomberg Law ranked RWU Law as a top law school for programs regarding Innovation and Justice.
Student Life
Student Activities
Beyond their academic and experiential pursuits, RWU Law students enjoy an engaging array of extracurricular groups and social activities. From Law Review to Moot Court to the Student Bar Association, and through dozens of student organizations, our students continually expand their network of friends, acquaintances, and legal associations.
There is plenty of fun to be had as well, whether stepping out in style for the annual Barrister’s Ball, playing softball with the Quahogs, or attending the many law school signature events that offer a glimpse into life as a legal professional and insights from teh academic, private practice, and judicial communities.
Career Placement and Bar Passage
Tuition and Aid
| Expense | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition |
$47,400.00
|
| Fees |
$1,690.00
|
| Expected Cost of Attendance |
$77,706.00
|
Merit-based scholarships of up to full tuition are available; no separate application is required. Federal and state governmental agencies, as well as private lenders, offer student loans at comparative rates and flexible repayment terms. Students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for federal loans.
Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers
The Admissions Committee reviews applications holistically in making admissions decisions.
The applicant's undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) and the LSAT score are two important factors in determining admission to the School of Law, in addition to the other required application components including: the personal statement, resume, letter(s) of recommendation, optional mission statement, and any addenda submitted with the application.
Also considered are other factors that indicate an ability to successfully complete the requirements for a Juris Doctor degree including: graduate degree, work experience, involvement in undergraduate extracurricular activities, rigor of undergraduate courses, community involvement, life experiences and other appropriate considerations. Each application is reviewed on an individual basis.
Admitted Applicant Profile
