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The most interesting piece of history about Howard University School of Law is how they began to offer classes in 1869. Classrooms as we know them did not exist for these law students. Classes for the first six beginning law students were officially held in homes and offices of the part-time faculty who taught for the Howard School of Law part-time and at night in the first years.
The school was rooted in 1869 and increased in size. It eventually became the ''embodiment of legal activism.'' The school was called a ''clinic'' teaching justice and injustice in America. Howard University School of law was dubbed a ''clearinghouse'' for filtering information during the civil rights struggle. The Howard Law School produced alumni who were empowered to act for social change in its past 140 years in America. The highly honored Attorney Patricia Harris, who had a magnificent career in Public Service and Human Rights, was an honored faculty member and Dean during her life time at Howard Law School.
The university today has a mixed nationality of students and faculty. The main campus of Howard University is in northwest Washington, and the law school is located about 15 minutes from the main campus where they occupy a separate property. Eight law graduates in 1871 were hired the day after graduation to work in the District of Columbia.
At that time the Law School Program was only two years in length. In 1900 the school changed its Law School Program to encompass three years to obtain the LL.B. degree.
In 1974 the Dunbarton College at 2900 Van Ness Street, N.W. became the Law School’s final location after purchasing the property. The School of Law was originally created to offer legal education to minorities, including African Americans who were normally excluded from the legal world. Today the mission of the School of Law is expressed in the following 3 statements published by the Howard University School of Law.
- ''Educate and enable students to develop their highest capabilities and skills as lawyers;
- Engage as an institution in the active pursuit of solutions to domestic and international legal, social, economic and political problems that are of particular concern to minority groups; and
- Imbue its students with dedication to excellence and commitment to the solutions to those problems.''
The Howard University School of Law holds a their 3 ranking for Law Schools in the U.S. and tuition for a full-time student per year is just under $24K and 451 students are enrolled each year in the School of Law. The total tuition per year for housing, books, and law school tuition is $44K. Admission requirements are at least a 154 score on the LSAT and a UGPA of 3.4. Howard School of Law provides scholarships based on LSAT and UPGA scores from $5K to full tuition. The school offers only full-time classes and they still provide one of most valued legal education in Political Rights today.
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