Charleston School of Law

By | March 2, 2019

Law School Admissions

Application

Director of admissions John S. Benfield
Application deadline March 1
Full-time program application fee $50
Part-time program application fee $50
Besides the fall semester, can enter in N/A

Charleston School of Law

Admissions & Enrollment (Overall)

Acceptance rate 52.0% – High
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.13
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 152

Admissions & Enrollment (Full-time)

Acceptance rate 51.1%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 150-155
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 2.91-3.42
Median undergraduate GPA for full-time program entrants 3.20
Median LSAT score for full-time program entrants 153

Admissions & Enrollment (Part-time)

Acceptance rate 39.6%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 145-151
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 2.5-3.3
Median undergraduate GPA for part-time program entrants 2.84
Median LSAT score for part-time program entrants 147

Law School Academics

Academic Program Details

Academic calendar Semester
Joint degrees offered N/A
Special programs offered to J.D. students (as provided by the school)
The School of Law offers an extensive externship program providing students with practical experience in more than 120 placement sites. All students are required to complete a minimum of 30 hours of pro bono work prior to graduation. As of May 2011 students have provided more than 170,000 of pro bono legal services to the underserved.
Programs/courses offered in
appellate advocacy intellectual property law
dispute resolution international law
environmental law tax law
health care law trial advocacy

Curricular Offerings (Overall)

Classroom course titles, beyond the first-year curriculum, offered last year 114
Seminars 21
Positions available in seminars 498
Positions available in simulation courses 614
Positions available in faculty-supervised clinical courses 0
Student activities (as provided by the school)
The Charleston School of Law publishes the Charleston Law Review, the Federal Courts Law Review, Resolved – Alternative Dispute Resolution Journal, and MALABU, the Maritime Law Bulletin. Students participate in moot court competitions. There are more than 30 student organizations, including the Student Bar Association, the Black Law Students Association, and Women in Law.

Curricular Offerings (Full-time)

Typical first-year full-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 63
Is there typically a full-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? No
Typical size of first-year “small section” N/A
Positions filled in full-time program seminars 238
Positions filled in full-time program simulation courses 340
Positions filled in faculty-supervised full-time program clinical courses 0
Full-time students involved in field placements 92
Full-time students involved in law journals 96
Full-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 29
Full-time students enrolled in independent study 6

Curricular Offerings (Part-time)

Typical first-year part-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 50
Is there typically a part-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? No
Positions filled in part-time program seminars 86
Positions filled in part-time program simulation courses 94
Positions filled in faculty-supervised part-time program clinical courses 0
Part-time students involved in field placements 67
Part-time students involved in law journals 7
Part-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 6
Part-time students enrolled in independent study 5

Faculty Profile (Fall 2011)

Student-faculty ratio 16.9:1 – High
Full- and part-time faculty 58
Full-time minority faculty 21.7%
Part-time minority faculty 2.9%
Total faculty 74
Total faculty (men) 54.1%
Total faculty (women) 45.9%
Total faculty (minorities) 9.5%

Class Size

Law School Ranking

Rank Not Published Best Law Schools

(1) Ranking by Specialties

RNP in Part-time Law

Law Ranking Scores

Score N/A
Peer assessment score (out of 5) 1.4
Assessment score by lawyers/judges (out of 5) 2.1
GPA (25th-75th percentile) 2.8-3.38
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.13
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 148-154
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 152
Acceptance rate 52.0% – High
Student-faculty ratio 16.9:1 – High
Graduates known to be employed at graduation N/A
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 69.7% – Low
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 76.9% – Low
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar SC
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 79.7%

Law School Student Body

Student Body (Overall)

Total Enrolled 709

Student Body (Full-time)

Enrollment (full-time) 518

Student Body (Part-time)

Enrollment (part-time) 191

Attrition Rates for Full- and Part-time Students (2010-2011)

First-year students discontinuing law school 0.8%
Second-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Third-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Fourth-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Male students discontinuing law school 0.3%
Female students discontinuing law school 0.3%

Law School Cost

Financial Aid Contact Information

Financial aid director Michael Parrish
Financial aid phone (843) 377-4901
Financial aid application deadline April 1

Expenses

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $36,674 per year
Part-time: $29,466 per year
Room and board $10,800
Books $1,250
Miscellaneous expenses $7,200
Is the tuition the same for first-, second-, and third-year students? Yes
Does the university offer housing restricted to law students? No
Does the university offer graduate student housing for which law students are eligible? No
Does the university offer a public-interest scholarship program to current J.D. students? No

Grants (Full-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 41.1%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 0.6%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 0.0%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.0%
Median grant amount $7,500
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $5,000–$10,000
Full-time students receiving grants 41.7%

Grants (Part-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 8.9%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 0.0%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 0.0%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.0%
Median grant amount $5,000
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $4,000–$5,000
Part-time students receiving grants 8.9%

Indebtedness

Average indebtedness of 2011 graduates who incurred law school debt $129,125
Proportion who borrowed 86.2%
Does the school offer a loan repayment assistance program for 2011 J.D. graduates? No

Law School Library

Library Information Resources

Print titles (excluding nonbook titles) 4,743
Microform titles 0
Electronic titles 531,606
Other non-book titles 312
Total titles 618,823
Volumes (excluding microforms) 30,507
Volume equivalent microforms 0
Total volumes and volume equivalents 30,507
Number of volumes in the collection that are stored off site and are systematically retrievable 0
Library’s online catalog or website includes links to electronic titles or databases made available by another campus library or consortia Yes

Library Schedule of Operation

Number of hours per week library is open on a regular schedule 104
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty on a regular schedule 82
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on a regular schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on a regular schedule 23
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on a regular schedule 72
Number of weeks per year library operates on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours per week library is open on an abbreviated schedule N/A
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty are on an abbreviated schedule N/A
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule N/A
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on an abbreviated schedule N/A
Number of weeks per year library operates on expanded schedule 6

Information Technology

Department(s) responsible for the law school information technology operations law school information technology department, law school library
Approximate number of full-time-equivalent information technology staff (excluding hourly students and other temporary staff) 5
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in the law library (excluding computer labs) 4
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in classrooms 0
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in computer labs 0
Number of open, wired network connections available to students elsewhere in the law school 3
Does the law school have a wireless network? Yes
Wireless network is available in the law library, in classrooms, in administrative/faculty offices and work areas, elsewhere in the law school
Does the school require entering students to own a computer? Yes

Physical Library Facilities

Net square feet of space assigned for library purposes 25,388
Total seats available for library users 438
Details about the library and other facilities (as provided by the school) The law library, located in an historic 1857 railroad warehouse, houses a state of the art wireless network that provides access to a collection that includes more than 600,000 electronic and print titles. In addition to Lexis and Westlaw, the library offers digital collections of books and journals from Thomson Gale, NetLibrary, ebrary, Greenwood Press, Matthew Bender, HeinOnline, and JSTOR.

Law School Careers

Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2010 administrations)

State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar SC
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 76.9% – Low
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 79.7%

Class of 2010 Graduates

Total graduates 185
Graduates known to be employed at graduation N/A
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 69.7%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Graduation

Graduates whose employment status is unknown N/A
Graduates whose employment status is known N/A
Graduates known to be employed at graduation N/A
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program N/A
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work N/A
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work N/A

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Nine Months

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 8.1%
Graduates whose employment status is known 91.9%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 69.7%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 6.5%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 12.4%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 3.2%

Starting Salaries of Graduates Employed Full-time (Class of 2010)

25th percentile private sector starting salary $40,000
Median private sector starting salary $50,000
75th percentile private sector starting salary $60,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information 33%
Median public service starting salary $39,160

Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2010)

Employment Location (Class of 2010)

Graduates employed in-state 71%
Graduates employed out-of-state 28.7%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 1%
Number of states where graduates are employed 15
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 0.0%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 0.8%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 0.0%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 0.0%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 90.7%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 1.6%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 0.8%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 1.6%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 3.9%
Employment location unknown 0.0%

Career Services

(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)

Career services operations The Office of Career Services provides a wide range of career development services for all students. Services and programs offered include individual career counseling, programming on career related issues, mock interviews, and resume writing assistance. The school participates in national and regional career fairs.

Job Type

Bar admission required/anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) 76.7%
Bar admission required/anticipated – percent employed in full-time positions 97.0%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) 11.6%
J.D. preferred – percent employed in full-time positions 73.3%
Professional other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse) 8.6%
Professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 90.9%
Non-professional other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path) 3.1%
Non-professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 25.0%