Harvard Law School: How to Pursue Law at Harvard University?

Did you know Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in the world and also has the world’s largest law library? Every year the school enrols roughly 1,990 students including 1,750 JD, 180 LLM, and 60 SJD students. The law faculty at Harvard consists of more than 100 lectures and  150 visiting professors. Over 260 courses are offered at Harvard Law School, spanning a wide range of classic and developing legal topics. With an acceptance rate of only 13%, admissions at the prestigious Harvard Law School are highly competitive. If you are planning to pursue law at Harvard University then here is everything you need to know to start your application.

University Type	Private
Location	Massachusetts, Cambridge
Year of Establishment	1817
LSAT score	170-175
Acceptance Rate	13%
Total Enrollment	1,737
Academic Calendar	Semester
Campus Accommodation	Available
Financial Aid and Scholarships	Available

Harvard Law School Rankings

According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023, According to US News and World Report, Harvard Law School is the third-best law school.

• #1 in Business/Corporate Law
• #1 in Constitutional Law
• #2 in International Law
• #2 in Criminal Law
• #7 in Environmental Law
• #7 in Health Care Law
• #8 in Tax Law

Why Choose Harvard University Law?

• The size of Harvard is a significant source of strength. It allows having a truly varied student body that comes from all around the country and the world. It also provides students with a worldwide alumni network, an unrivaled course catalog and library collection, and a vibrant faculty engaged in teaching and research across a wide range of fields.
• Harvard students have the option of choosing a broad and diverse curriculum or a focused degree in one field of law, such as human rights, intellectual property, commercial law, or nearly anything else, when it comes to courses and academic experiences.
• Harvard’s pro bono program assures that students complete at least 50 hours of unpaid public service before graduation. Most HLS students accomplish a great deal more. The average Harvard graduate last year put in more than 500 hours of community service during their time there.
• In the end, Harvard Law School is just as good as you make it. You get to make the decision. Your three years at Harvard will be unlike any other three years you’ve spent at Harvard. Dip your toe in and pick a specialty, or simply connect and allow the ideas – and possibilities – to come to you.

Also Read: Harvard’s 5 New Free Online Courses for Programmers

Types of Harvard University Law Courses

Harvard University offers a plethora of law courses such as JD, SJD, and LL.M programs. They have different specializations such as Criminal Justice, Law and Business, Law and History, Law and Science and Technology, Law and Government, and Law and Society.

There are also joint degrees available with Harvard Business School (J.D./MBA), Harvard Graduate School of Design (J.D./MUP), Harvard Kennedy School of Government (J.D./MPP or MPA/ID), Harvard School of Public Health (J.D./MPH), Cambridge University Faculty of Law (J.D./LL.M. ), and Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (J.D./PhD)

Harvard Law School Admission Process

• The Law School Admissions Council, or LSAC, has an electronic application that must be completed. In the fall of each year, the application is made available on the LSAC website. You can submit your application electronically along with the application cost, or you can print the certification page, sign it, and return it to the school together with a check for the application money.
• Register with LSAC for the Credential Assembly Service and pay the fees. This service allows you to submit your transcripts, additional documents, and letters of recommendation once and have them forwarded to the schools you’re applying to from LSAC. Ensure that LSAC receives all of your undergraduate and graduate transcripts. Request that your letters of recommendation be sent to LSAC by your recommenders.
• Submit your application, resume, and personal statement to LSAC once you’ve completed your Harvard Law School application. When the organization receives all of your documents, it will forward them to Harvard Law School. Pay the 85 USD (6,206 INR). application fee, and check the status of your application online. A checklist is provided by Harvard Law School to ensure that you stay on track throughout the application process.

Documents Required at Harvard Law School

• Official academic transcripts
• Resume – 1 to 2 pages in length
• Personal statement – (two pages using a minimum of 11-point font, 1-inch margins, and double spacing)
• LSAT test score
• Submitted through the LSAC Credential Assembly Service 
• Two letters of recommendation
• Financial aid application
• TOEFL iBT/IELTS scores

Also Read: Check Out the Celebrities who went to Harvard

Admission Deadline

Program	Deadline
LL.M Program	December 1, 2022
S.J.D. Program	April 1, 2023
J. D Program	September 15, 2023

Fees & Funding for Law at Harvard University

Year	Average Fees (per academic year)
Tuition Fees	67,953 USD (5083063 INR)

Harvard Law School Scholarships and Financial Aids

Grant assistance at Harvard Law School can be substantial for deserving students, although no student receives a “full-ride” grant award. About half of all J.D. student aid applicants are eligible for Law School grant funding. Many organizations looking for Harvard Law School applicants will contact the Student Financial Services Office directly. The following are some of the scholarships at Harvard:

Scholarship	Grants(in USD)
Trial lawyer Scholarship	10,000(736,475 INR)
Lemon Law Experts Scholarships	1000(73,647 INR)
Buckfire & Buckfire Legal Diversity Scholarship	2000(147,295 INR)
Don H. Liu Scholars Program	15,000(1,104,712 INR)
Emery Reddy Legal Studies Scholarship	2,500(184,118 INR)

Online Law Courses at Harvard University

Harvard University also offers free online courses. Here are some of the popular courses you can consider:

Course Name	Duration	Fees	Subject
Computer Science For Lawyers	10 Weeks Long	Free*	Computer Science
Cs50 For Lawyers	Self-Paced	1,800 USD(132,565 INR)	Social Sciences
Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies For Interventions	7 Weeks Long	Free*	Education & Teaching
U.S. Political Institutions: Congress, Presidency, Courts, And Bureaucracy	4 Weeks Long	Free*	Social Sciences
American Government: Constitutional Foundations	4 Weeks Long	Free*	Social Sciences

Harvard Law School Campus and Accommodation

Harvard Law School college students have an extensive variety of interests, lots of which might be pursued via the greater than ninety on-campus people organizations, groups, and activities. Every HLS student is required to accomplish at least 40 hours of pro bono, or volunteer, work. It is a private university under the parent school of Harvard University. Check out Harvard Law School Campus and Accommodation.

Harvard Law School Alumni

Harvard graduates have made substantial and creative contributions to society, the arts and sciences, business, and national and international politics for more than three and a half centuries. Eight US presidents, 188 surviving billionaires, 79 Nobel laureates, seven Fields Medal winners, nine Turing Award laureates, 369 Rhodes Scholars, 252 Marshall Scholars, and thirteen Mitchell Scholars are among Harvard’s alumni. Harvard students and graduates have won ten Academy Awards, 48 Pulitzer Prizes, 108 Olympic medals (including 46 gold medals), and founded a slew of prominent businesses around the world.

Name	Notability
Sophia Akuffo	Ghana’s Chief Justice
Solomon Areda Waktolla	Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and Deputy Chief Justice of Ethiopia’s Federal Supreme Court.
Mary Arden, Lady Arden of Heswall	Judge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Richard Reeve Baxter	Justice of the International Court of Justice
Kwamena Bentsi-Enchill	Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana
Harry Blackmun	Supreme Court Justice of the United States
Peter Blanchard	Supreme Court Justice of New Zealand
Louis Brandeis	Supreme Court Justice of the United States
William J. Brennan	Supreme Court Justice of the United States
Stephen Breyer	Supreme Court Justice of the United States

Harvard Law School Placements

More than 500 employers recruit on-campus at HLS every year. Upon graduation, kind of 60–65 % of HLS graduates input personal practice, approximately 20 % input judicial clerkships and approximately 10–15 % input public hobby or authority work, commercial enterprise and industry, academia, or different precise pursuits.

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