Creighton University School of Law recently received another award, as it was listed among Princeton University’s “172 Best Law Schools”, but this time, it was student-driven.
The Princeton Review rankings were based upon comments made by the student. As Marianne Culhane, Dean of the Law School explained, “It’s a student opinion survey.”
She touted the Law School’s small class sizes, as driving the Law School to be very student-oriented. The current total number of Law students, 390, is actually one of the smallest class sizes they have had in a few years.
According to Eric Pearson, Assistant Dean of the Law School, this also allows for increased student-faculty interaction outside of class, one of the things that students mentioned favorably in the Princeton Review survey. Third-year Law student Erica Goven agrees.
“One of the biggest factors that made me select Creighton over other law schools was the sense of community. Creighton as an entire university places an emphasis on building relationships between the faculty and students, and this is also present in the law school,” said Goven.
As Pearson explained, increased student-faculty interaction is just one way Creighton Law students are challenged and encouraged outside of the classroom.
“We want them to be competent, ethical attorneys, able to engage in a variety of pursuits,”
Pearson said.
The Law School offers many programs and classes to make sure this happens, according to Pearson and Culhane. First of all, the Law School makes sure to emphasize the wide variety of job opportunities available to students with a law degree. The Law School offers many opportunities for students to work in clinics, as well as an annual service trip to the Dominican Republic.
Another popular program that is available to students is the Government Organization and Leadership program, or GOAL. GOAL is a program for students earning both a master’s and a law degree, which helps train students to be able to work in a government center after graduation. The program also includes a semester-long internship in Washington, D.C.
What also sets Creighton Law School apart is, according to Culhane, “an overriding concern for ethics.”
“I think in the classroom, we talk about what lawyers may do, and what lawyers should do,” Pearson added.
One of the Law School’s big goals for the future is to try expanding their 3/3 program. Currently, the 3/3 program allows students in the College of Business to earn their undergraduate degree in three years, and then move on to earn their law degree in three years. Culhane and Pearson hope to soon allow students in the College of Arts & Sciences to complete a
similar program.
As for Goven, the only changes she hopes the Law School makes are facilities-based.
“The law school is an older building which could use some updating, but over the past year and a half the facilities have begun to get facelifts,” Goven said.