Rewarding Excellence with Generous Scholarships
Each year the College of Law awards as many as 85 scholarships to incoming law students. Award amounts range in value from full tuition to one quarter of tuition and are renewable for the recipient's full tenure at the College of Law. Scholarship awards generally are communicated in conjunction with the letter of acceptance or shortly thereafter. As the Admission Committee considers every admitted candidate for scholarship assistance, there is no form that is required for consideration.
Students who are not provided scholarship assistance upon their entrance to the College of Law may qualify for a scholarship award following their first year of study. In most years, students who achieve a grade-point average of 3.80 will qualify for a full-tuition scholarship. Students who earn between a 3.60 and 3.79 have, in past years, been provided scholarship assistance that covers one-half or more of tuition.
The Scholarship Program makes the value of an MSU legal education that much more robust. Past recipients of awards, being free of significant debt, have been able to consider a wider range of post-graduation employment opportunities.
Scholarships Available to Incoming Law Students
Dean Charles H. King Full-Tuition Scholarship
The Dean Charles H. King Scholars Program is awarded to 20 incoming students who have established outstanding academic records at the undergraduate level and whose performance on the Law School Admission Test places them in the top 15 percentile of test takers nationally. Criteria for consideration include a UGPA of 3.75 and an LSAT score of 161.
In addition to being provided a full-tuition scholarship, King Scholars participate in a variety of special events and courses that add breadth, depth, and increased opportunities for professional development. For additional information on the King Scholars Program, please see The King Scholars Program at MSU Law (PDF).
Faculty Full-Tuition Merit Scholarship
The Law College awards as many as 15 full-tuition scholarships to incoming students whose credentials suggest that they will excel in their legal studies at MSU Law. Criteria for consideration of these awards include a UGPA of 3.50 and an LSAT score of 160.
Academic Excellence Scholarships ($25,000 and $17,500)
As many as 25 Academic Excellence Scholarships are given to incoming students who have established records of academic accomplishment with corresponding performance on the LSAT. Criteria for consideration of Academic Excellence awards include a UGPA of 3.40 and an LSAT score of 158.
Alumni Merit Scholarship ($8,500)
The Alumni Merit Scholarship is given to incoming students whose credentials suggest that they have the ability to achieve significant academic performance in their legal studies at MSU Law. The Alumni Merit Scholarship is given to as many as 15 incoming students and is frequently awarded by the College of Law to individuals whose prior academic performance does not necessarily serve as an indicator of the recipient's full potential for academic success at the Law College. Criteria for consideration of Academic Excellence awards include a UGPA of 3.20 and an LSAT score of 158.
Trustee Full-Tuition and Partial Tuition Scholarships
Trustee Scholarships are provided to a select number of incoming students whose personal and professional backgrounds will contribute to a richer diversity within the student body and, as attorneys, to the legal profession.
Prospective students should note that the stated criteria for consideration of these awards represent the Scholarship Committee's best effort to communicate likely numerical criteria for consideration. However, as the competition for admission varies from year to year, there may be upward or downward adjustments made to the stated criteria.
Most College of Law scholarships require the recipient to achieve a minimum law-school GPA of 3.00 at the end of the academic year. Renewal of scholarship assistance is the norm.