Motto Champion What Matters School type Private Dean Camille A. Nelson Dean Camille A. Nelson | Parent school American University Phone +1 202-274-4000 Founded 1896 | |
Established 1896 (as independent institution) and 1949 (merger with American University) Location Washington, D.C., United States Enrollment 1,678 (1503 JD, 160 LLM, 15 SJD) Address 4300 Nebraska Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA Founders Ellen Spencer Mussey, Emma Gillett Notable alumni Robert Byrd, Alice Paul, Judy Sheindlin, Gerald Bruce Lee, Rick Lazio Similar American University, Georgetown Law, George Washington University, Antonin Scalia Law School, Columbus School of Law Profiles | ||
American university washington college of law admissions
American University Washington College of Law (WCL) is the law school of American University. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of Northwest Washington, D.C., one block south of the Tenleytown-AU Metro station. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association, and a member of the AALS.
Contents
- American university washington college of law admissions
- American university washington college of law new tenley building
- Early beginnings
- Continuing growth
- Move to Tenley Campus
- Academic reputation
- Costs and student debt
- Employment outcomes
- Enrollment
- Degrees offered
- Clinical program
- Study abroad programs
- Campus and facilities
- The Pence Law Library
- Programs and centers
- Publications
- Notes and recognition
- Notable current and former faculty
- Federal
- State
- International
- National
- Education Business Media and Entertainment
- References
WCL is ranked 71st in the nation in the Best Law Schools by U.S. News & World Report. Begun in 1896, it was the first law school to be founded by women, the first with a female dean, and the first to graduate an all-female class.
According to WCL's 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 45.6% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
American university washington college of law new tenley building
Early beginnings
Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett began teaching in Mussey's law offices in 1898 after they were approached by three women who wished to study with them. Not originally intending to create a full-fledged law school, they requested the law school of Columbian College to accept the six women for their final year. When Columbian refused the request on the ground that "women did not have the mentality for law", the two women became determined to complete the students' education themselves and to found a co-educational law school that was specifically open to women. Although Gillett was a graduate of Howard University School of Law, Washington College of Law only accepted white applicants.
With its first graduating class, the Washington College of Law became the first law school to be founded by women, the first with a female dean, and the first law school to graduate an all-female class. A year later, Mussey's male law clerk enrolled in 1897, making the school officially coeducational.
Continuing growth
Washington D.C. incorporated WCL in 1898. After several temporary locations, the school moved to the Le Droit Building on 8th & F Streets in 1900. Enrollment rose to 55 students by 1908 and doubled in five years to 128 students. Dean Mussey secured a lease in 1909 in the Chesley Building on New York Ave, until the school outgrew the six-classroom lease. The school moved to its first permanent home in 1920; the former residence of Robert G. Ingersoll on K Street. Continually growing, WCL moved in 1924 to the former home of Oscar Underwood, and former residence of Archibald Butt. WCL merged with American University in 1949 and graduated its first African American student in 1953.
The Women & the Law Program was launched in 1948, to promote the integration of women's rights and gender studies into legal education, practice and doctrine.
After years of work by Dean Myers, the John Sherman Myers Law School building was constructed on the American University main campus and dedicated in 1963 by Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren. In the same year, Senator Robert Byrd graduated from WCL after ten years of night study classes, the first time a sitting member of Congress had begun and completed a law degree while serving.
By 1988, WCL had grown to over 1,000 students. Dean Milstein pushed for a new building, and in 1996 WCL moved less than a mile to The John Sherman Myers and Alvina Reckman Myers Law Center on Massachusetts Avenue in the American University Park section of Northwest Washington, D.C.. The building was two and a half times larger than the previous Myers building, and included the new Pence Law Library.
Move to Tenley Campus
In April 2012, the D.C. Zoning Commission approved the plans for American University Washington College of Law to relocate from Spring Valley to American University's Tenley Campus. The approval of plans for further processing and zoning variances for the law school was handed down after American University's full campus plan was approved in March. Construction began in the summer of 2013, with relocation of the law school to the new campus completed in early 2016. Spring 2016 semester classes began at the new campus on January 11, 2016.
Academic reputation
WCL's Master of Laws (LL.M.) program ranks 13th nationally in the 2012 AUAP rankings. The Brian Leiter Law School rankings placed the WCL 47th in the 2012 Top 70 Law Faculties in Scholarly Impact. National Jurist ranked WCL the fifth best law school for Hispanic students in 2008. It ranked WCL the fourth best public interest law school in the nation.
U.S. News & World Report ranks WCL 71 in the nation among the 145 ranked schools. WCL is also well known for its clinical training, international law, intellectual property, and part-time programs, which are ranked 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 16th in the nation respectively.
The school is well known for its strong programs in both human rights and public interest law. WCL's Equal Justice Foundation (EJF) provides scholarships to students who obtain unpaid summer internships with public interest organizations.
Costs and student debt
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at WCL for the 2014-2015 academic year is $73,002. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $272,373. According to U.S. News & World Report, the average indebtedness of 2013 graduates who incurred law school debt was $158,636 (not including undergraduate debt), and 88% of 2013 graduates took on debt.
Employment outcomes
According to WCL's official 2013 ABA-required disclosures, 45.6% of the Class of 2013 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation. WCL's Law School Transparency under-employment score is 28.6%, indicating the percentage of the Class of 2013 unemployed, pursuing an additional degree, or working in a non-professional, short-term, or part-time job nine months after graduation.
Enrollment
WCL receives over 5,000 applications annually for its full-time program. For the 2013 admissions cycle, WCL received 5264 applications. It enrolls 1,646 students, 55 percent of whom are female.
The 2013 incoming class had a median undergraduate GPA of 3.42 and a median LSAT of 157 (out of 180).
There was 31% minority representation in the 2011 entering class with representation from 42 States.
Degrees offered
WCL offers the Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.) in either international or constitutional law, and Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degrees.
Additionally, students can enroll in one of several dual degree programs:
Clinical program
WCL's clinical program is one of the most comprehensive in the nation. The school was one of the first law schools to develop a modern clinical legal education program. With over 200 students participating in the 11 clinics every year, the program is one of the largest in the country.
The clinic serves a variety of clients including immigrants and refugees, victims/survivors of domestic violence, juveniles, criminal defendants, low-income taxpayers, individuals seeking help with family law, consumer, disability, and intellectual property issues, community groups and nonprofit organizations.
Clinics include the General Practice Clinic, Community and Economic Development Law Clinic, Criminal Justice Clinic, DC Law Students in Court Clinic, Disability Rights Law Clinic, Domestic Violence Law Clinic, Janet R. Spragens Federal Tax Clinic, Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic, Immigrant Justice Clinic, International Human Rights Law Clinic, and Women and the Law Clinic.
Study abroad programs
WCL's study abroad program is considered to be among the best in the country, with 30% of the student body studying abroad every year. In 2012, the National Jurist recognized it as one of the "most robust study abroad programs out of the 200 U.S. Law Schools."
Students are able to study law for a semester in over 18 countries. WCL also offers summer abroad programs in Chile, Europe (London, Paris, Geneva and The Hague), Turkey, and Israel.
Campus and facilities
The Washington College of Law is located on American University's Tenley Campus at 4300 Nebraska Avenue NW. in northwest edge of Washington, DC, approximately 1 mile from the Maryland state line. Construction on the Tenley Campus was completed in early 2016, and includes three primary buildings:
The law school campus is less than a mile from the main American University campus, however a shuttle system is available for students and staff to travel between the two locations. The campus is accessible to students and faculty 24/7 with the use of an AU ID card.
The Pence Law Library
The Pence Law Library is 54,000 square feet, with more than 600,000 volumes, access to multiple databases, 14 group-study rooms and seating for over 600. The library is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to students and faculty with the use of an AU ID card.
The library collection includes European Community and US government depositories and the Baxter Collection in International Law. Students and faculty also have access to the university's library, the Library of Congress, specialized agency libraries, and other area law libraries electronically.
The National Jurist placed WCL's Library 41st out of 199 in its Best Law Libraries ranking.
Programs and centers
WCL participates in several popular study abroad and student exchange programs with universities around the world, including a semester-long program with the School of Law at City University of Hong Kong.
In 2002, the Jessup Moot Court Team was the top ranked team in the United States and third in the World.