A Message from Our Dean

Welcome to our new law school website! My staff and I have decades of experience at other law schools. However, when we were given the opportunity to help build a program for the School of Law at Wilmington University, we committed to being something different – to create a law school that didn’t repeat what every other law school was doing. We are using our experience to avoid the mistakes of the past and to start something better – preserving the best of the old while meeting the new demands of modern law practice and law students.

If you take the time to learn more about the Wilmington University School of Law, you will discover our uniqueness. We intend to remain small – we are targeting a first-year day class of 50 and a first-year evening class of 15. Our tuition is $838 per credit, which equals $24,000 per year in the full-time day and $18,000 per year in the part-time evening program. We also offer scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 per year. The scholarships are for three or four years for those who remain in good academic standing, and your tuition will never increase until you obtain your law degree.

Our entire perspective is student-centered. Our faculty will have extensive practice experience and be teaching-oriented. We will only hire faculty who want to make a difference in a student’s life. Our curriculum will be completely required for the first two years in the day or three in the evening. We will therefore provide you with the background necessary for any practice area. Your final year will leave you with many options – classes in your specific areas of interest, experiential learning through externships for credit, or a combination of the two. We also will provide you with an education in taking legal examinations. All of our required classes will assess students with closed-book essays and multiple-choice questions.

The School of Law’s values reflect those of Wilmington University – student-centered, affordable tuition and a curriculum that prepares students for future employment. We also share the University’s commitment to our Delaware community. No matter where our students ultimately intend to practice, they will be an active part of our home state while enrolled. We also embrace the University’s commitment to diversity and to graduating lawyers who reflect the communities they serve.

If you are excited by the prospect of being part of something truly innovative, please consider looking at us in greater detail. We believe that decades from now, you will look back on your alma mater with pride, knowing you helped create something extraordinary.

Sincerely,
Phillip Closius, J.D.
Dean, School of Law