The U.S. News & World Report 2015 law school rankings are out. The University of Arkansas School of Law is ranked in the top tier of law schools for the sixth consecutive year, increasing 7 points over last year. It is now tied for 61st place overall and 33rd among public law schools. It has moved up 47 places in the overall ranking since 2008, and 12 places in the public ranking since 2011.
“Our outstanding career placement and bar passage rates speak to the quality education our students receive,” said Stacy Leeds, Dean of the School of Law. “Our national standing and low tuition reinforce our reputation as one of the best values in legal education.”
The U.S. News ranks law schools based on a peer assessment score, an assessment by lawyers and judges, the student/faculty ratio, bar exam passage rates, post-graduation employment rates, and other measures.
Two other graduate programs at the University of Arkansas showed impressive gains in the rankings in U.S. News and World Report’s 2015 edition of Best Graduate Schools.
The College of Education and Health Professions’ graduate education programs moved up nearly 50 places in the overall rankings; the Sam M. Walton College of Business M.B.A. program moved up 11 places in the rankings, but even more notable, it continued to lead the nation in the number of full-time Master of Business Administration graduates employed at graduation.
“This progress in the recognition of University of Arkansas graduate programs is very impressive, and truly a mark of the hard work that is being done on our campus,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “Strong graduate school programs are one of the hallmarks of any great public research university, and these rankings are proof that we are steadily moving toward our goal, to be recognized as a Top 50 public research university.”
Achieving the Top 50 goal would mean that the University of Arkansas ranks among the top 8 percent of all public research universities in America.
"This is a testament to the entire university's commitment to graduate education," said Todd Shields, dean of the Graduate School and International Education. "Programs in three distinct areas are climbing at significant rates, which happens only through the hard work of many people. Deans Smith, Leeds and Jones should be very proud of the accomplishments shown here."
The full University of Arkansas Press release is available on UA Newswire.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Accelerated JD Program now accepting applications via LSAC
Application season for the Accelerated JD for Foreign-Trained Lawyers Program is well under way, and more efficient than ever thanks to the incorporation of LSAC as an application option. Applicants may now submit their materials directly to the UA School of Law, or, through their existing LSAC account.
Our application process is simple and straightforward. We do not charge an application fee, nor do we require an LSAT score. Applicants may apply online via the Law School Admission Council, or by submitting the documents below following the instructions found here.
Our application process is simple and straightforward. We do not charge an application fee, nor do we require an LSAT score. Applicants may apply online via the Law School Admission Council, or by submitting the documents below following the instructions found here.
- Evaluated Transcripts from all institutions attended (even if a degree was not received) through AACRAO. Applicants must submit a course by course evaluation, not a basic evaluation;
- Proof of English Language Proficiency (see requirements below);
- A current resume or curriculum vitae (CV);
- Two letters of recommendation (we suggest that at least one letter be from a member of the applicant’s law faculty and that at least one be from a judge or practicing lawyer); and
- A personal statement explaining your background, interest in studying law in the United States, and career goals.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Maryna Kavaleuskaya: Advocating for the rule of law in Belarus
Today, Maryna Kavaleuskaya joined our Rule of Law Colloquium taught by Professor Christopher Kelley via Skype to talk about practicing human rights law in Belarus and the crisis
in Ukraine.A Harvard Law Record article about Maryna is available here. Maryna lives in Washington, D.C. with her son and husband, who is completing his master degree at Georgetown. Last December, she co-taught negotiation at the European Humanities University, a Belarusian university "in exile" in Vilnius, Lithuania with Professor Kelley. Her presentation was fascinating and well received.
Among other topics, Maryna discussed the nearly insurmountable challenges she faced during her representation of a jailed presidential challenger as a young Belarusian lawyer.
Maryna also provided an excellent synopsis of the current situation in Crimea and reiterated the importance of Rule of Law. A short video discussing the appearance of armed soldiers in Crimea is below.
Rule of Law in Ukraine
The video and article below are a reposting from Voice of America (VOA). In it, Mlada, a Ukrainian law student, talks about her desire for the rule of law in Ukraine.
KYIV — Ukraine is a very different country than it was just a week ago, following a protest movement led by young people who overthrew the Russian-backed government. They now want to take the country in a new direction.
At the Ukrainian Education Ministry, where university students now are in charge, the sign reads "Students Welcome." Just show an ID card and walk right in. Everyone else is expected to stay out, for now.
Inside, students study the portraits of past education ministers, with the newly-ousted minister dubbed "The Destroyer of Ukrainian Education."
The students are organized. A force of mostly young men is ready to defend the building. There is a command center in an auditorium where students meet to discuss issues, or just to hang out. Strict rules forbid smoking, drinking and the destruction of anything. To help ensure that, the students have blocked off whole sections of the building.
"My name is Anton Savidi. I am a student of Lviv University," said one young man in the university.
On the grand hallway outside the minister's office, students have put makeshift seals on all the doors.
"We don't want any documents that can say something to us about corruption to disappear from here," said Savidi. Stopping corruption
The students say they will open the doors later, with investigators and TV cameras present.
At a news conference, their spokesmen said they want input into the selection of the new minister, and reform of the education system.
And long-term, 23-year-old law student Mlada Kachurets said she wants much more.
"This is my real hope, really, to have changes and better life, not by changing faces, but by changing the system, to build a country where the human rights and the rule of law are the most important things," she said.
Those are ambitious goals, though Kachurets said she thinks the nation's young people are better able to achieve them than the older generation has been.
"There is a problem in all the post-Soviet countries - all those older people, they lived inside the Soviet system. This generation, that now are students, they have been growing up in the independent country, in the open world," said Kachurets. "That's why they may propose some new approaches to the system."
Kachurets said she wants her children to grow up in a country where they won't be killed in the streets just because they disagree with the government, what she calls "a normal, civilized country, without fear."
At the Ukrainian Education Ministry, where university students now are in charge, the sign reads "Students Welcome." Just show an ID card and walk right in. Everyone else is expected to stay out, for now.
Inside, students study the portraits of past education ministers, with the newly-ousted minister dubbed "The Destroyer of Ukrainian Education."
The students are organized. A force of mostly young men is ready to defend the building. There is a command center in an auditorium where students meet to discuss issues, or just to hang out. Strict rules forbid smoking, drinking and the destruction of anything. To help ensure that, the students have blocked off whole sections of the building.
"My name is Anton Savidi. I am a student of Lviv University," said one young man in the university.
On the grand hallway outside the minister's office, students have put makeshift seals on all the doors.
"We don't want any documents that can say something to us about corruption to disappear from here," said Savidi. Stopping corruption
The students say they will open the doors later, with investigators and TV cameras present.
At a news conference, their spokesmen said they want input into the selection of the new minister, and reform of the education system.
And long-term, 23-year-old law student Mlada Kachurets said she wants much more.
"This is my real hope, really, to have changes and better life, not by changing faces, but by changing the system, to build a country where the human rights and the rule of law are the most important things," she said.
Those are ambitious goals, though Kachurets said she thinks the nation's young people are better able to achieve them than the older generation has been.
"There is a problem in all the post-Soviet countries - all those older people, they lived inside the Soviet system. This generation, that now are students, they have been growing up in the independent country, in the open world," said Kachurets. "That's why they may propose some new approaches to the system."
Kachurets said she wants her children to grow up in a country where they won't be killed in the streets just because they disagree with the government, what she calls "a normal, civilized country, without fear."
Friday, February 21, 2014
For our Friends in Ukraine
This is a reposting from the LL.M. Program in Agricultural & Food Law Blog at the University of Arkansas School of Law.
The following video has been viewed over 4.5 million times. Our hearts go out to the good people of Ukraine and to the friends and family of all of those killed in the violence this week. At least 70 protestors were killed today and hundreds injured when security forces fired into the crowd.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Accelerated J.D. for Foreign Trained Lawyers Program Now Accepting Applications
Applications are now being accepted for admission to the 2014 Accelerated J.D. program. Visit us on the web for more information. The University of Arkansas School of Law ranks second in the U.S. in The National Jurist’s annual ranking of “Best Value Law Schools.” This marks the third straight year the School of Law has been named a top 20 “Best Value.” The law school moved up 12 places from 14th last year.
“We are particularly pleased to be recognized for delivering excellent results at an extraordinary value,” said Stacy Leeds, dean of the School of Law. “Our graduates pass the bar exam, find employment, and enter the job market with significantly less debt than students at most other law schools.”
According to The National Jurist the ranking is determined by a formula that uses “the percent of graduates who pass the bar exam, employment rate, tuition, cost of living, and average indebtedness upon graduation.”
For a detailed report of the law school’s bar passage, placement rates, and tuition and fees, please visit law.uark.edu/509.
UA Law Professor returns to Vilnius to teach Negotiation
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Visiting Ph.D. Candidates from Kazakhstan
This fall, we welcomed Aigerim Ozenbayeva and Daniya Nurmukhankyzy to the Law School. Aigerim and Daniya are Ph.D. in Law Candidates at Zhetysu State University named after I. Zhansugurov in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan. Daniya and Aigerim have been awarded a government scholarship to do research for their dissertations in the U.S., for a little over one month. Professor Christopher Kelley serves as their foreign adviser. They are researching topics in Agricultural and Environmental Law. Professor Kelley first met Daniya and Aigerim last summer during a teaching trip to Zhetysu State University where both women are pursuing their Ph.D. in Law. Professor Kelley lead three courses in Negotiation, Legal Writing in English, and Agriculture & the Environment over a two week period. He writes about his trip in a previously published post, "A Letter from Kazakhstan".
Our guests arrived to a noisy but festive atmosphere, as their arrival coincided with the annual Bikes Blues and BBQ festival, an event that reports an attendance of nearly 400,000. They spent their first days exploring the campus, with the kind assistance of Professor Kelley, who treated our guests to lunch and a shopping excursion. They have already seen much of the U.S. during their brief stay, visiting NYC and joining Professor Kelley in Washington D.C., to tour the Nations Capital.
Both Daniya and Aigerim wish to extend their thanks to Professor Kelley, and to the School of Law.
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