Northeastern University School of Law offers an innovative approach to legal education that attracts a well-rounded student body whose educational and cultural diversity enriches the process of learning about law. We offer you a variety of opportunities to find out more about the law school through the eyes of our current students.

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Diversity at NUSL  
At Northeastern University School of Law, we believe the legal profession must reflect the society it serves. To that end, we are committed to enrolling students from a variety of racial, ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds; diverse educational and work experiences; varied geographical backgrounds; differing political ideologies; and diverse gender identities and preferences. Together our students learn to find their voices, reflect on laws and how they should evolve, and bring a vibrancy to dialog in the classroom.

We have a diverse faculty and student body: almost half our students come from outside Massachusetts; students of color represent almost 30 percent of our students; more than half our students and faculty are women; 25 percent of our faculty are of color; and we have a large percentage of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people in our community. In addition, we have many students who come from working class backgrounds, who have worked for two or more years after college, who are first generation Americans, and who come from a variety of religious and political backgrounds. In the classroom and in the community, we all gain from the insight and ideas exchanged in a diverse environment.

Our commitment to diversity goes far beyond admission decisions and statistics. We believe in the immense value that diversity brings to society and education. We strive to incorporate these ideals into our teaching, governance, and overall law school experience. A national leader in public interest law, the law school has built its reputation on producing lawyers who look to make a change in society and give a voice to those too often underrepresented in the judicial system.

The law school has made a commitment to support these values through the curriculum and Co-op Program offered to our students. One example of this is the mandatory first year course, Legal Skills in Social Context. This class helps students  understand the complex issues of difference and focus on societal and professional values that support the structure and practice of law.

A natural compliment to Legal Skills in Social Context is the Public Interest Requirement. This unique  aspect of the curriculum requires that students successfully complete a public interest co-op, an approved clinical program, a 30-hour pro-bono public interest project, or a special credit public interest independent study project in order to graduate. This program continues to stretch students to think about the power of the legal profession in giving underrepresented people a voice.

There are many student groups at the law school that represent a large variety of special interests. These groups offer encouragement and support to their members, provide opportunities for education and fun for the law school community, and assist in many decisions made at the School of Law.

A message from some of the students at the law school sums up what many in our community feel about their pursuit of law: "Legal education challenges our commitment to gaining a place in the profession while simultaneously instigating its change. It gives us tools to confront a system that has historically denied opportunities to [underrepresented populations]."

The links below will help you find out more about the many ways we think about diversity at the law school.
            
             Quick Facts                            Public Interest Commitment