The Francis King Carey School of Law at University of Maryland–Baltimore

Law School Admissions

Application

Director of admissions Connie Beals
Application deadline April 1
Full-time program application fee $70
Part-time program application fee $70
Besides the fall semester, can enter in N/A

The Francis King Carey School of Law at University of Maryland--Baltimore

Admissions & Enrollment (Overall)

Acceptance rate 19.7% – Low
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.60
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 162

Admissions & Enrollment (Full-time)

Acceptance rate 20.3%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 156-163
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.31-3.71
Median undergraduate GPA for full-time program entrants 3.53
Median LSAT score for full-time program entrants 162

Admissions & Enrollment (Part-time)

Acceptance rate 15.5%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 153-162
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.3-3.83
Median undergraduate GPA for part-time program entrants 3.71
Median LSAT score for part-time program entrants 157

Law School Academics

Academic Program Details

Academic calendar Semester
Joint degrees offered
J.D./Ph.D. Public Policy J.D./M.A. Public Management
J.D./M.A. Public Policy J.D./M.S.W.
J.D./M.P.H. J.D./Pharm.D.
J.D./M.B.A. J.D./M.A. Community Planning
J.D./M.A. Criminal Justice J.D./M.S.N.
J.D./M.A. Liberal Arts J.D./ M.A. Government
Special programs offered to J.D. students (as provided by the school)
The law school offers specialty programs in: Business Law; Clinical Law; Environmental Law; Intellectual Property Law; Law & Health Care; Women, Leadership & Equality. It houses interdisciplinary centers for: Health and Homeland Security; Dispute Resolution; Tobacco Regulation, Litigation & Advocacy; Intellectual Property. The school offers a wide range of domestic and international externships.
Programs/courses offered in
appellate advocacy intellectual property law
clinical training international law
dispute resolution tax law
environmental law trial advocacy
health care law

Curricular Offerings (Overall)

Classroom course titles, beyond the first-year curriculum, offered last year 231
Seminars 76
Positions available in seminars 1,202
Positions available in simulation courses 721
Positions available in faculty-supervised clinical courses 387
Student activities (as provided by the school)
The school publishes 5 student journals: Maryland Law Review; Journal of Health Care Law & Policy; Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class; Journal of Business & Technology Law, and Maryland Journal of International Law. Our dynamic and varied advocacy programs include the Moot Court Board and National Trial Team. The school has over 40 student organizations covering a wide range of interests.

Curricular Offerings (Full-time)

Typical first-year full-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 76
Is there typically a full-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? Yes
Typical size of first-year “small section” 23
Positions filled in full-time program seminars 799
Positions filled in full-time program simulation courses 516
Positions filled in faculty-supervised full-time program clinical courses 348
Full-time students involved in field placements 234
Full-time students involved in law journals 178
Full-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 74
Full-time students enrolled in independent study 52

Curricular Offerings (Part-time)

Typical first-year part-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 73
Is there typically a part-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? Yes
Positions filled in part-time program seminars 173
Positions filled in part-time program simulation courses 87
Positions filled in faculty-supervised part-time program clinical courses 22
Part-time students involved in field placements 35
Part-time students involved in law journals 14
Part-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 2
Part-time students enrolled in independent study 13

Faculty Profile (Fall 2011)

Student-faculty ratio 11.7:1 – Low
Full- and part-time faculty 112
Full-time minority faculty 26.2%
Part-time minority faculty 9.8%
Total faculty 131
Total faculty (men) 55.0%
Total faculty (women) 45.0%
Total faculty (minorities) 19.1%

Class Size

Law School Ranking

#39 Best Law Schools

(6) Ranking by Specialties

#5 in Clinical Training
#11 in Environmental Law
#3 in Healthcare Law
#58 in Law Firms Rank Schools
#9 in Part-time Law
#8 in Trial Advocacy

Law Ranking Scores

Score 61
Peer assessment score (out of 5) 3.0
Assessment score by lawyers/judges (out of 5) 3.1
GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.31-3.75
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.60
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 156-163
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 162
Acceptance rate 19.7% – Low
Student-faculty ratio 11.7:1 – Low
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 83.7% – High
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 93.3% – High
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 86.1% – Medium
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar MD
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 79.8%

Law School Student Body

Student Body (Overall)

Total Enrolled 956

Student Body (Full-time)

Enrollment (full-time) 735

Student Body (Part-time)

Enrollment (part-time) 221

Attrition Rates for Full- and Part-time Students (2010-2011)

First-year students discontinuing law school 8.1%
Second-year students discontinuing law school 1.6%
Third-year students discontinuing law school 0.3%
Fourth-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Male students discontinuing law school 4.0%
Female students discontinuing law school 2.2%

Law School Cost

Financial Aid Contact Information

Financial aid director Marilyn Jones
Financial aid phone (410) 706-0873
Financial aid application deadline April 1

Expenses

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $25,405 per year (in-state)
Full-time: $36,684 per year (out-of-state)
Part-time: $19,440 per year (in-state)
Part-time: $27,899 per year (out-of-state)
Room and board $19,350
Books $1,725
Miscellaneous expenses $7,583
Is the tuition the same for first-, second-, and third-year students? Yes
Does the university offer housing restricted to law students? No
Does the university offer graduate student housing for which law students are eligible? Yes
Does the university offer a public-interest scholarship program to current J.D. students? Yes

Grants (Full-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 53.9%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 11.0%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 0.5%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.0%
Median grant amount $4,000
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $3,869–$6,000
Full-time students receiving grants 65.4%

Grants (Part-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 46.6%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 1.8%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 0.0%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.0%
Median grant amount $4,000
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $4,000–$4,000
Part-time students receiving grants 48.4%

Indebtedness

Average indebtedness of 2011 graduates who incurred law school debt $108,849
Proportion who borrowed 76.4%
Does the school offer a loan repayment assistance program for 2011 J.D. graduates? Yes

Law School Library

Library Information Resources

Print titles (excluding nonbook titles) 124,235
Microform titles 18,475
Electronic titles 28,529
Other non-book titles 1,020
Total titles 172,259
Volumes (excluding microforms) 383,495
Volume equivalent microforms 150,282
Total volumes and volume equivalents 533,777
Number of volumes in the collection that are stored off site and are systematically retrievable 0
Library’s online catalog or website includes links to electronic titles or databases made available by another campus library or consortia Yes

Library Schedule of Operation

Number of hours per week library is open on a regular schedule 105
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty on a regular schedule 70
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on a regular schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on a regular schedule 31
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on a regular schedule 70
Number of weeks per year library operates on an abbreviated schedule 6
Number of hours per week library is open on an abbreviated schedule 74
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty are on an abbreviated schedule 60
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 14
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on an abbreviated schedule 60
Number of weeks per year library operates on expanded schedule 6

Information Technology

Department(s) responsible for the law school information technology operations law school information technology department, law school library, university information technology department
Approximate number of full-time-equivalent information technology staff (excluding hourly students and other temporary staff) 10
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in the law library (excluding computer labs) 385
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in classrooms 718
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in computer labs 87
Number of open, wired network connections available to students elsewhere in the law school 106
Does the law school have a wireless network? Yes
Wireless network is available in the law library, in classrooms, in computer labs, in administrative/faculty offices and work areas, elsewhere in the law school
Does the school require entering students to own a computer? Yes

Physical Library Facilities

Net square feet of space assigned for library purposes 72,174
Total seats available for library users 509
Details about the library and other facilities (as provided by the school) Completed in 2002, the School of Law occupies 170,500 square feet and is designed to encourage student-faculty interaction. State-of-the-art technology is integrated throughout. A large clinic wing has faculty offices, student practice areas and space for client meetings. The law library of over 72,000 sq. ft. contains over 533,000 volumes, including an extensive array of electronic resources.

Law School Careers

Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2010 administrations)

State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar MD
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 86.1% – Medium
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 79.8%

Class of 2010 Graduates

Total graduates 283
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 83.7%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 93.3%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Graduation

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 2.1%
Graduates whose employment status is known 97.9%
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 83.7%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 2.1%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 8.1%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 3.9%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Nine Months

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 1.4%
Graduates whose employment status is known 98.6%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 93.3%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 1.8%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 0.4%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 3.2%

Starting Salaries of Graduates Employed Full-time (Class of 2010)

25th percentile private sector starting salary $50,000
Median private sector starting salary $70,000
75th percentile private sector starting salary $125,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information 77%
Median public service starting salary $50,000

Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2010)

Percent employed in academia 2.3%
Percent employed in business and industry 14.4%
Percent employed in government 23.1%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships 13.6%
Percent employed in law firms 36.4%
Percent employed in public interest 9.8%
Percent employed in an unknown field 0.4%

Employment Location (Class of 2010)

Graduates employed in-state 64%
Graduates employed out-of-state 34.0%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 2%
Number of states where graduates are employed 19
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 1.0%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 4.0%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 1.0%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 1.0%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 88.0%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 0.0%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 1.0%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 1.0%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 1.0%
Employment location unknown 0.0%

Career Services

(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)

Career services operations Personalized attention to students’ career goals is the hallmark of the law school’s Career Development Office (CDO). Capitalizing on the law school’s location and alumni in other states, the CDO helps students find legal employment in the private sector and launch careers in public service. Its recruitment programs allow students to obtain jobs with leading employers from across the U.S.

Job Type

Bar admission required/anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) 78.0%
Bar admission required/anticipated – percent employed in full-time positions 85.4%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) 8.0%
J.D. preferred – percent employed in full-time positions 71.4%
Professional other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse) 14.0%
Professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 78.4%
Non-professional other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path) 0.0%
Non-professional other – percent employed in full-time positions N/A