From Catholic to Baptist and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there are many universities in the United States that are affiliated with a specific religion.
A law school with a religious affiliation can provide support to those of the same faith while also providing a stellar education in law to all faiths. The best Christian law schools in the country are connected, recognized or deeply associate with specific faiths.
What's a Religious Affiliation?
An often asked question when applying to schools with a religious focus is, “What's a religious affiliation?” For some students, the religious aspect of a school provides support and a sense of community. Many of the Christian law schools in the United States don’t require participation in religious on-campus groups, events or activities while attending these premiere colleges.
At a Christian law school, students can receive hands-on learning experience through participation in law school publications, externships and competition teams among other interactive law-based programs. Student organizations are plentiful.
Liberty University School of Law
Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, Liberty University is a private not-for-private Evangelical Christian college. It has a bustling campus with nearly 30,000 enrolled students.
Liberty University offers 12 certificates of concentration. The certificates of concentration include constitutional law, advocacy and taxation.
Students can tailor their education with eight dual degrees that the college offers. These include such subjects as religion, corporate and small business. It also offers a few online degrees, including:
- Juris Master Degree
- Master of Laws
- Residential Juris Doctor
They allow the students to combine their interest in law with their faith, such as the Law Students for Life and Christian Legal Society. Tuition to attend this premiere institution of higher education is relatively low compared to other top-rated schools. The price to attend Liberty is a little under $10,000 a year.
Regent University School of Law
This top-rated law school offers a wide range of programs for students to earn a degree.
Regent University has an online or on-campus L.L.M. in Human Rights or American Legal Studies as well as a stellar on-campus J.D. program. Students can also acquire a master's in law online through Regent University.
It has just over 5,000 graduate students and has a wide range of scholarship and financial aid programs available. The students can delve deeper into their faith through chapel and worship services, campus ministries and Life Groups. Regent students also are highly involved with service outreach programs, such as Urban Plunge Mission Trip and the homeless ministry Love Light.
Ave Maria School of Law
This four-year graduate school in Florida offers a J.D. program with a wide array of hands-on learning opportunities. There is daily mass offered on campus and a plethora of student groups, including:
- Rosary Coordinator
- Adoration Group Member
- Schola Cantorum choir
Ave Maria also has an externship program, labor law practicum, moot court, legal internship and clinical program. The Christian law school boasts the second highest bar exam passage rate in Florida. It is often thought of a the most devout law school in the country.
Pepperdine University School of Law
More than 20 graduate-level, law-related programs are available at this California school of law. Pepperdine offers an accelerated two-year J.D. program along with several joint degree programs and an L.L.M. program.
There is also a top-rated Master of Legal Studies program and graduate certificates available to students online.
Pepperdine graduate students attend workshops, seminars and symposia on a number of law topics to gain clinical and legal practice skills.
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Kimberley McGee is an award-winning journalist with 20+ years of experience writing about education, jobs, business trends and more for The New York Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Today’s Parent and other publications. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from UNLV. Her full bio and clips can be seen at www.vegaswriter.com.