Since launching our grantmaking activities in 2014, we have awarded over $21 million in support of our research priorities: access, affordability, and the value of legal education.
Awarded Grants
Grant Program
Grant Status
University of Pennsylvania
Dissertation grant awarded to Chad Losee, Ed.D. candidate in Higher Education Management at University of Pennsylvania, to better understand factors related to the aspirations to pursue a top-ranked graduate degree (e.g., MBA).
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
The project seeks to...
- Evaluate a replication on the State Bar of California’s July 2019 Bar exam of a Productive Mindset intervention that improved passage rates on its July 2018 exam.
- Examine predictors of bar passage in a data set compiled with over 7,000 takers across three years of California’s exams.
- Scale the Productive Mindset program to three new jurisdictions and examine predictors of passage in a multi-jurisdictional data set of over 10,000 takers of the July 2021 bar exam.
Hofstra University
The project will develop metacognitive teaching materials to be used within the law school curriculum and study the impact of this instructional intervention on bar passage. The project will use a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data, to examine whether students who are taught and prompted to engage in metacognitive skills develop stronger skills over time.
View grant outcomes.
Roger Williams University
The project seeks to identify law schools that consistently overperform—and underperform—on their expected bar exam passage rates, controlling for the quality of the students they accept. The project plans to examine which state bar exams law graduates take and the difficulty of those bar exams. The project will also determine the school-specific characteristics leading to overperformance among law schools that consistently beat their estimated bar passage rate by interviewing deans at these law schools.
Wayne State University
The Damon J. Keith Pre-Law Summer Institute program targets undergraduate students who are graduates of the Detroit Public School Community District (DPSCD) and interested in attending law school. It will provide participants with LSAT preparation, academic skills-building, law school application and admissions support, and mentors.
St. John's University School of Law
The Weekend Prep Program will support college graduates of diverse and/or disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of a law degree. Participants will receive resources on the law school admissions process, including a comprehensively designed LSAT Prep course, motivational and informational workshops, and individualized advisement. The program will last 24 weekends specifically targeting college graduates who work full-time and/or have family obligations, plus college seniors.
Syracuse University College of Law
The Summer Jump-Start Program (SJSP) is a 3+3 program that will target undergraduate students from Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University to connect them to the Syracuse University College of Law, offering them a direct path to and through law school. Program participants will have early access to, and information from, law students, alumni, professors, administrators, and staff, all while introducing and strengthening key analytical and logical reasoning skills through LSAT prep, first-year law school basics (briefing cases, writing skills), and education on law admissions requirements.
Read more about The Summer Jump-Start Program.
University of Denver
This grant, in partnership with the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Education and Prof. Deborah Merritt (Ohio State University Moritz College of Law), will develop a fair, evidence-based definition of minimum competence. The grant will build on existing research, including the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS)’ Foundations for Practice, and will use layered focus groups to deepen our understanding of minimum competence.
Read more here.
University of Cincinnati
The grant will conduct rigorous, multi-site analyses to develop a richer empirical model of bar passage and improve understanding through qualitative interviews of student graduates. The grant will use this information to extend existing literature and build research-practice partnerships that provide university partners with actionable insight into programmatic decisions, student interventions and supports, and advising.
View grant outcomes.