Georgetown University

Georgetown University Law Center was founded in 1870 and is located in Washington D.C. This proximity allows students to be near the center of the federal government. With nearly 2,100 students, Georgetown has many opportunities for individuals to get involved on and off campus to help enhance their legal education. Although the law school is a little bit bigger than some other programs, they maintain a fairly reasonable student to faculty ratio.

Aside from offering the traditional J.D. degree, Georgetown also provides students the chance to complete joint degrees. Some choose the J.D./Ph.D. in Government, while others select a J.D./M.B.A. with the McDonough School of Business or the J.D./M.P.H. with the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. There are also LL.M. programs in Taxation, Securities and Financial Regulation, and Global Health Law.

During their first year, Georgetown University Law Center students must choose between two curriculum plans. Curriculum A is similar to programs at other law schools, with students taking courses in contracts, constitutional law, torts, property, criminal procedure and legal research and writing. Curriculum B covers a wider variety of topics, including classes like “Bargain, Exchange and Liability,” “Democracy and Coercion,” “Government Processes,” and “Legal Process and Society.” About one-fifth of students decide to follow the Curriculum B path. All law students must complete a week-long seminar in international law between the fall and spring semesters. Georgetown University Law Center is perhaps most well-known for its programs in Environmental Law, Healthcare Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, Tax Law and Trial Advocacy.

Georgetown law students have the opportunity to get hands-on training outside the classroom. Over 300 students participate in one of the 19 clinics every year. Some example clinics include the Appellate Litigation Clinic, the Criminal Justice Clinic, and the Domestic Violence Clinic. Students also have access to more than 20 research centers and institutes, like the Sandra Day O’Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary and the Georgetown State-Federal Climate Resource Center. There is also a D.C. Street Law Clinic where students can teach members of the community about various aspects of the law.

Individuals can participate in one of the 11 student-run law journals or the newspaper, the “Georgetown Law Weekly.” Many choose to write for one of the journals, including the “Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy” and the “Georgetown Journal of Law and Modern Critical Race Perspectives.” Georgetown University Law Center has many extracurricular activities to offer as well, with dozens of organizations to choose from.

The Georgetown University Law Center community is a close one because of the specialized curriculum and the relationships students create with faculty members. While about 300 students live on-campus in the Gewirz Student Center, most choose to live off-campus. Students looking to attend a prestigious law school close to the center of the federal government should look into Georgetown’s history of academic excellence.