According to a press release, the University of Massachusetts School of Law has announced that it is going to freeze tuition and mandatory law school-related student fees for the next three years at their current levels. During the freeze, the annual tuition rates and law school fees will stay at the following levels:
$23,068 for a full-time student in state
$30,760 for a full-time student out of state
$24,936 for a full-time student regional/proximity
$17,300.88 for a part-time student in state
$23,069.88 for a part-time student out of state
$18,702 for a part-time student regional/proximity
The news of the tuition freeze comes on the heels of other major news from the law school, which recently earned provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association. This will allow students to take the bar exam in any state in the country. The other major news from the law school is that CUNY School of Law Associate Dean and Professor, Mary Lu Bilek, has been appointed the dean of UMass Law School. The application deadline at the law school has also been extended to July 30.
“As the Commonwealth’s first public law school, we have a mission to provide individuals with the aspiration, talent and will to succeed as citizen lawyers the opportunity to achieve their dream,” said UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack. “Freezing fees at this moment in the law school’s history, given the significant base resources that the school has started with, and recognizing that we are just beginning our journey, is the right and smart thing to do.”
“Last semester alone, our law students donated 5,500 hours of legal services to the community,” Chancellor MacCormack said. “That is a testament to our students’ public service ethic and to the power of UMass Law to have a positive impact on society. We want to do all we can to open the doors of UMass Law to such citizens.”
“The establishment of UMass Law is about mission, not money,” said UMass President Robert Caret. “I want to commend Chancellor MacCormack, Dean Hillinger and the law school team for staying true to the University’s mission to provide a quality and affordable law school option within the Commonwealth. UMass Law is off to a great start.”
Bilek will begin her career as the dean of the school during the first week of July. Bilek said, “A public law school has a special obligation to provide accessible legal education and to graduate lawyers who are civic-minded. By controlling the cost of their education, we open up many more options for them. Graduating from UMass Law, they will be able to consider using their skills for public and civic purpose because they will not be as heavily burdened by debt. I am proud to have been chosen to lead a school that not only says it has a mission of access and public service, but has taken action to achieve it.”