Penn State Law Facts at a Glance

About The School

With a $150 million investment in new faculty appointments, signature facilities, and exciting new clinics Penn State Law is preparing its students to engage in a lifetime of advocacy, counseling, and service on both the national and international stages. Penn State Law students benefit from the interdisciplinary opportunities afforded by one of the top research universities in the world and joint degree opportunities with the top-ranked Penn State Smeal School of Business, the School of International Affairs, the Eberly College of Science, and a number of other highly-ranked programs. Law School graduates become part of the largest alumni network in the world — with 500,000 living graduates! The Law School was formed from a merger in 2000 of the Dickinson School of Law — founded in 1834 in Carlisle, PA — and one of the world's great research institutions, Penn State University. 

Profile of Entering Class — Fall 2012

Number of matriculants: 164
Number of applicants: 3,458
Gender Distribution:
Men: 92
Women: 72

Colleges and Universities: 119
Undergraduate Majors: 40
Average Age: 24
Range: 20-44
Minority Percent: 18%

LSAT

GPA

75%: 160
Median: 159
25%: 156

75%: 3.75
Median: 3.56
25%: 3.23

Geographic Distribution

Twenty-seven states plus District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands and four foreign countries:

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Saudi Arabia.

Career Planning & Development Services

Career Planning & Development (CPDO) serves students through individual counseling, more than two dozen workshops with accomplished speakers, networking events, and on- and off-campus recruitment events. Cutting edge technology connects students to employers anywhere in the world. CPDO maintains an extensive global job bank that includes information for 11,000 employers and 26,000 professionals.  (View recent Employment Data)

Facilities

Penn State recently invested $130 million in new facilities. The award-winning Lewis Katz Building was dedicated in 2007, and is located at the Penn State University campus in State College, PA. It includes the state-of-the-art Apfelbaum Courtroom and a 237-seat Sutliff auditorium. Lewis Katz Hall is located in Carlisle, PA, and has similarly appointed facilities and includes a legislative hearing room.

Joint Degree Programs

Clinics and Externships

J.D./Master of International Affairs
J.D./Master of Business Administration
   (Smeal College of Business)
J.D./Master of Forest Resources 
J.D./Ph.D. in Forest Resources of
   Wildlife and Fisheries Science 
J.D./Master of Education in College
    Student Affairs 
J.D./Master of Arts in Educational Theory
   and Policy 
J.D./Doctor of Educational Theory
   and Policy 
J.D./Master of Education in Higher
   Education
J.D./Doctor of Higher Education
J.D./Master of Educational Leadership
J.D./Doctor of Educational Leadership 
J.D./Master of Science in Human Resources
   and Employment Relations 
J.D./Master of Business Administration
   (Penn State Harrisburg)
J.D./Master of Environmental Pollution
   Control 
J.D./Master of Science in Information
   Systems
J.D./Master of Public Administration

Penn State Law Clinics:
Arts, Sports, and Entertainment Law Clinic
Center for Immigrants' Rights
Children's Advocacy Clinic
Civil Rights Appellate Clinic 
Community Law Clinic
Family Law Clinic
International Sustainable Development Projects Clinic
Rural Economic Development Clinic

Penn State Law Externships:
Federal Judicial Placements
Federal Government Placements
State Government Placements
Public Interest and Non-Profit Placements
Penn State University Placements
John C. Keeney Semester in Washington Program
Semester in Harrisburg Program
International Justice Externship Program
Summer Externships
 

Research Centers

Journals

Agricultural Law Resource and
   Reference Center
Center for Government Law
   and Public Policy Studies
Center for the Study of Mergers
   and Acquisitions
Center on Children and the Law
Center for Public Interest Law 
   and Advocacy
Institute of Arbitration Law 
   and Practice
Institute for Sports Law, Policy, 
   and Research
 

Penn State Law Review
Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs
The Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation