Part Time Law Schools

Are Part Time Law Schools Right For You?

Georgetown’s part time program has a 5.1% acceptance rate!

There are a lot of reasons why someone might prefer to go to law school part time. Part-time law schools tend to have evening classes, allowing students to earn a JD while maintaining daytime work and family commitments. Part-time programs may be easier to pay for, with tuition and other costs being spread out over four or more years rather than the three years of a traditional, full-time program. Older applicants may also find that part-time program admissions put more weight on their professional experience and accomplishments and less on factors like LSAT scores and GPAs.

However, part time law schools have inherent limitations. A part-time JD program represents an enormous time commitment, especially for anyone who continues to work full time. Meeting the demands of both a daytime job and part time law school for four years may be more difficult than making the sacrifices necessary to commit to three years of full-time study. Part-time students may also miss out on important opportunities that full-time students have, such as internships and law clinics.

A major consideration in deciding whether to consider part time law schools is that few top schools offer part-time JD programs. Only a handful of the law schools included in our law school rankings offer part time law school programs.

That said, part time law schools are the best option for some people. As a service to those prospective students, we offer the following list of part-time law programs. It is by no means a complete list. It includes top law schools that do offer part time JD study, as well as the names of some additional, well-regarded law schools located in cities where the top law schools only offer full time programs.

Part-Time Law School Programs (in alphabetical order)