School of Law

Overview

North Carolina Central University School of Law was founded to provide opportunities for African Americans to become lawyers.  Embracing our heritage, our mission is to provide a high quality, personalized, practice-oriented, and affordable legal education to historically underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds in order to help diversify the legal profession.  We empower all of our graduates to become highly competent and socially responsible lawyers and leaders committed to public service and to meeting the needs of underserved communities.  In fulfilling our mission, we will help create a more just society.

In achieving this mission, the Law School subscribes to the following joint statement of the American Bar Association, the Association of American Law Schools, and the Law School Admissions Council:

[A] Student body that is diverse with respect to sex, ethnicity and race, and economic, educational and experiential backgrounds is essential to a quality legal education.  Ours is a diverse society, and thus law students, before entering the legal profession, must obtain both a wide range of perspectives concerning the impact of law on various segments of our population, and a deeper understanding of law and justice in this increasingly complex society.

This statement is particularly poignant for a law school founded to educate African-Americans.  In keeping with its historical role, an important aspect of the Law School’s mission is to attract capable persons from diverse backgrounds who are committed to public service and to meeting the needs of people and communities that are under-served by or that are under-represented in the legal profession.

The School of Law offers two programs leading to the Juris Doctor degree:  a full-time day program and a part-time evening program.  While the Day Program can be completed in two and one-half years, including summers, most Day Program students spend six semesters or three academic years at the School of Law.  The Evening Program is a four-year, year-round program that offers a unique opportunity for motivated professionals to pursue a legal education while maintaining their current daytime work commitments.