Widener University Delaware Law School

Widener University is a nationally-recognized, private university where academics, leadership, and service matter.

Founded in 1821, Widener is among the nation’s top universities for civic engagement.

We offer liberal arts and sciences and professional programs leading to associate’s, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

We have a long history of turning out leaders with a formula that works. At Widener, we believe that academic excellence, career preparation, and civic engagement lead to success.

Our close-knit community includes top-notch teachers, nationally renowned researchers, and students from 22 states and 26 countries who are passionate about learning, leadership, and making a difference.

When they are not engaged in experiential learning assignments, our students and faculty members lend a hand through community service projects in our hometown of Chester and in communities around the world.

In addition, with Philadelphia only 20 minutes away, we have a living laboratory where students earn practicalexperience through internships and co-op opportunities. 

Our beautiful 110-acre main campus in Chester is a great place to live, study, and have fun, and we have satellite campuses in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and in Wilmington, Delaware, too.

Since 1975, when our first class graduated, Delaware Law School has been a trusted resource in Delaware and throughout the region. We have educated nearly 12,000 alumni, many of whom have risen to positions of leadership on the bench and in the bar. They include current and past presidents of the Delaware, New Jersey, and Philadelphia bar associations; and more than 150 sitting judges, including one sitting Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.  We are Delaware's only law school, but we are not only Delaware's Law School.

In addition to conducting energizing classroom discussions, our faculty is known for scholarship, and their work is frequently cited nationally and internationally. These influential contributions are often collaborative, involving jurists, practitioners, and our students and alumni. They tackle interesting issues with innovative approaches, understanding that the law is an ever-evolving body of work that must meet the challenges of each new generation.

The only law school in the state, Delaware Law School is enmeshed in Delaware's unique legal culture which prizes civility and respect within the bench and bar. Delaware's preeminence in corporate law, bankruptcy, and intellectual property, combined with the Law School's influential presence in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, give students abundant opportunities for clerkships, externships, pro bono experiences, and permanent employment after graduation.

We emphasize applied learning and community engagement with a new curriculum and pedagogical model that gives every student frequent opportunities for expression and feedback. Our distinctive experiential and interdisciplinary signature programs give students additional opportunities to specialize in corporate law, environmental law, family and health law, and advocacy. We emphasize the tools students need to do what lawyers do best: help those who face legal challenges needing practical solutions.  We lead in public service, professional training, and continuing legal education.  We teach with purpose to make a real difference for our students, our alumni, and our extended legal community.

Professional Opportunities

By the time you graduate, you will have developed deep knowledge and valuable practical skills in corporate law, family and health law, environmental law, criminal advocacy, or any number of other practice areas. Your professional prospects will expand when you connect with networks of alumni and friends throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and elsewhere.

Location, Location, Location

Our Delaware campus is situated along the northeast corridor between Washington and New York. We are located just five miles from Wilmington, America’s “corporate capital”—the perfect place to focus on corporate and business law, intellectual property law, and business bankruptcy law. The prestigious courts in Delaware, combined with a thriving corporate practice environment, provide a range of opportunities for legal externships and employment, including an opportunity for select students to clerk for justices of the Delaware Supreme Court.

Cultural Offerings

Situated in the Brandywine River Valley, Delaware Law is close to a number of well-known cultural attractions, including Longwood Gardens, the Winterthur Museum, the Hagley Museum and Library, and the Wilmington Grand Opera House. Washington, D.C., New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore are easily accessible. Philadelphia offers a number of historic and cultural attractions, including Independence Hall, the Barnes Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Franklin Institute. Baltimore is also popular, with its charming neighborhoods and the Inner Harbor’s National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center.

Recreational Choices

If you are an outdoor enthusiast, you will love Delaware. Our state offers thousands of acres of parkland for fishing, boating, and hiking, plus miles of exceptional beaches. With no sales tax, shopping is always a bargain in Delaware, and the state also boasts a tempting restaurant scene. Both Philadelphia and Baltimore provide dazzling nightlife, top-notch concerts, and a host of professional sports teams, including Philadelphia’s Eagles, Phillies, 76ers, and Flyers, as well as Baltimore’s Ravens and Orioles.

At Delaware Law, knowledge comes from many sources. You will be immersed in a learning environment that welcomes diversity and considers a wide range of perspectives to be one of the school’s strengths. You will learn from a diverse faculty and a student community that appreciates intellectual curiosity and respects different points of view.

We value the interests and abilities that each student brings to our law school, the profession, and the broader society. To further demonstrate our commitment to diversity, Delaware Law supports the Law School Admission Council’s DiscoverLaw.org campaign and the Council on Legal Education Opportunity. Both initiatives seek to make a legal education more accessible for all students. We also offer a welcoming environment for first-generation law students.

Diversity Defined

Our Office of Multicultural Affairs defines diversity very broadly in supporting students who self-identify across a broad spectrum:

• age
• culture
• ethnicity/race
• first-generation college educated
• gender
• religion
• sexual Identity/orientation
• socioeconomic status

The Delaware Law Student Bar Association supports this goal by sponsoring organizations that encourage a diverse student body.

VETERANS RESOURCES

Widener Law offers a welcoming environment for men and women who have served or are currently serving in any branch of the United States armed forces.

Delaware Law provides personal and academic support, and guidance during the admissions and financial aid processes.

Delaware Law participates with educational benefit programs offered through the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Montgomery GI Bill and Post 9-11 Bill benefit programs are available to qualified veterans for attendance at Delaware Law. The school has also committed to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program, offering matching tuition assistance for up to ten J.D. students on each School of Law campus.

The Registrar's Office on your campus is the VA certifying official that can complete the VA required paperwork. Students will want to follow the enrollment checklist to assure all necessary paperwork has been received and completed for each academic year.

General consumer information in compliance with the Student Consumer Information Regulations of the US Department of Education and the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) can be found on the consumer information page of the Widener University website.

The following additional information is provided to law students and applicants to provide accurate and complete data about Delaware Law in compliance with ABA Standard 509:

1. Admissions data

2. Tuition and fees, living costs, financial aid, conditional scholarships, and tuition or federal aid refunds

3. Enrollment data and attrition/graduation rates (pdf)

4. Number of full-time and part-time faculty and administrators (pdf)

5. Curricular offerings, academic calendar, and academic requirements for three-year and four-year programs

6. Library resources

7. Facilities

8. Employment outcomes and bar passage data (pdf)

9. Transfer credit criteria

10. List of institutions with which the law school has established an articulation agreement

Delaware Law is ABA approved: Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark Street, 21st Floor, Chicago IL 60654. Phone: 312-988-6738.

Download a list of available state education agencies for consumer complaints (pdf).

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