George Mason University

Law School Overview

U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category

Rank Category Name #41 Best Law Schools

Specialties #4 in Part-time Law

Law School Overview

The School of Law at George Mason University has an application deadline of April 1. Its tuition is full-time: $24,623 per year (in-state); full-time: $39,561 per year (out-of-state); part-time: $879 per credit (in-state); and part-time: $1,413 per credit (out-of-state). The student-faculty ratio is 14.4:1. The School of Law at George Mason University has 189 full- and part-time faculty on staff.

With the George Mason University School of Law’s close proximity to Washington, D.C., law students have year-round opportunities for employment in different areas of government, federal agencies, and private law firms. The George Mason School of Law offers day and evening programs for J.D. candidates, as well as one joint degree program, a J.D./Master of Public Policy. Law students can pursue curricular concentrations and tracks to specialize in areas such as patent law, intellectual property law, or homeland and national security law.

Legal clinics, such as the Law and Mental Illness clinic and the Clinic for Legal Assistance to Servicemembers, give students further experience with specific areas of law practice. There are about 40 student organizations to get involved with, as well as several legal journals, including the George Mason Law Review, the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy, and the Civil Rights Law Journal. Another journal at George Mason, the Green Bag, is a quarterly publication that aims to provide entertaining and useful legal writing. Students cannot live on the law school’s campus, which is located in Arlington, Va. near a stop on Washington, D.C.’s major public transportation system, the Metro.

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Year founded	1980
Public/private	Public
Law school designation	National

Admissions

Application deadline	April 1
Full-time program application fee	$0
Part-time program application fee	$0
Admissions Phone	(703) 993-8010
Admissions E-mail	lawadmit@gmu.edu
Web site	http://www.law.gmu.edu

Academics

Full- and part-time faculty	189
Student-faculty ratio	14.4:1
Total faculty	201

Student Body

Enrollment (full-time)	442
Gender distribution (full-time)
J.D. candidates graduating in 2011-2012	220

Cost

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $24,623 per year (in-state) Full-time: $39,561 per year (out-of-state) Part-time: $879 per credit (in-state) Part-time: $1,413 per credit (out-of-state)
Room and board	$16,710

Careers

Employed at graduation 2	49.4%
Median private sector starting salary	$75,000
Median public service starting salary	$62,467

Library

Total volumes and volume equivalents

476,900

* Law School Overview details based on 2012 data