District of Columbia -- Georgetown University Law Center -- Accreditation: Full ABA -- Year Founded: 1870

Georgetown University Law Center, also called Georgetown Law or GULC, is Georgetown University's law school, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown Law is one of the elite law schools in the nation, commonly referred to as a T-14 school, meaning that it is one of the 14 schools that are consistently ranked at the top of U.S. News and World Report's annual rankings of law schools.

In the 2010 edition of U.S. News & World Report, Georgetown Law was ranked the #14 law school in the nation overall, #1 in clinical programs, #6 in environmental law, #5 in trial advocacy, #7 in healthcare law, #3 in international law, #2 in tax law, and #1 part-time J.D. program. Law School 100, a ranking scheme that purports to use qualitative rather than quantitative criteria, ranks Georgetown Law 7th overall, tied with Cornell, Virginia and others.

The second largest law school in the United States, Georgetown Law often emphasizes the advantages of its close proximity to federal agencies and courts, including the Supreme Court.



Admissions

Georgetown Law is one of the most selective law schools in the country. It receives over 10,000 applications every year, more than any other law school in the U.S. Out of the nearly 11,000 applications received for the 2008–2009 academic year, about 21% were offered admission. Of those who were offered admission and enrolled, the median LSAT score was 170 and the median GPA was 3.67. During the 2009-2010 academic year, the school's full-time enrollment totaled 1,628.

Curriculum

Georgetown Law's J.D. program can be completed over three years of full-time day study or four years of part-time evening study. The school offers LL.M. programs in Taxation, Securities and Finance Regulation, and Global Health Law, as well as a general LL.M. curriculum for lawyers educated outside the United States. Georgetown launched a Master of Studies in Law (M.S.L.) degree program for professional journalists in the 2007–08 academic year. It also offers the doctoral degree in law (J.S.D.)

Students are offered the choice of two tracks for their first year of study. "Curriculum A" is a traditional law curriculum similar to that taught at most schools, including courses in contracts, constitutional law, torts, property, criminal procedure, civil procedure, and legal research and writing. Three fourths of the day students at Georgetown receive instruction under the standard program (sections 1, 2, and 4).

"Curriculum B" is a more interdisciplinary, theoretical approach to legal study, covering an equal or wider scope of material but heavily influenced by the critical legal studies movement. The Curriculum B courses are Bargain, Exchange and Liability (contracts and torts), Democracy and Coercion (constitutional law and criminal procedure), Government Processes (administrative law), Legal Justice (jurisprudence), Legal Practice (legal research and writing), Legal Process and Society (civil procedure), and Property in Time (property). One fourth of the full time JD students receive instruction in the alternative Curriculum B program (Section 3).

Students in both curricula participate in a week-long introduction to international law between the fall and spring semesters.

JD, JSD, LLM programs

• Administrative law and government regulation
• Alternative dispute resolution
• Antitrust law
• Clinics
• Commercial and advanced contract law
• Communications law
• Constitutional law and government
• Corporate law and securities regulation
• Criminal law and criminal procedure
• Employment and labor law
• Environmental law
• Family law
• Health law, policy and bioethics
• Intellectual property, entertainment and technology law
• International and comparative legal studies
• International/national security law
• Jurisprudence
• Law and other disciplines
• Legal history
• Legal profession/professional responsibility
• Legal scholarship and writing
• Litigation and the judicial process
• Public interest law
• Real estate, land use and urban development
• Taxation
• Trusts and estates

The Georgetown University Law Center campus, viewed across I-395 looking east. From left to right, the Edward Bennett Williams Law Library, McDonough Hall, and Gewirz Student Center.

Contact Information

Office of Admissions
McDonough Hall, Room 589
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Phone: (202) 662-9010
Fax: (202) 662-9439
Web: http://www.law.georgetown.edu

JD Admissions E-mail: admis@law.georgetown.edu
Graduate Admissions E-mail: llmadmis@law.georgetown.edu
MSL Admissions E-mail: msladmis@law.georgetown.edu