Awarded Grants

This project will identify students’ knowledge gaps about the law school admissions process, negative views of Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), and financial barriers that lead to fewer application submissions, and fewer offers of acceptance.

Research grant awarded to Krista Soria, Director of Student Affairs Assessment at the University of Minnesota, to better understand the roles of financial factors (e.g., funding sources, debt, financial stress, and food and housing insecurity) in graduate, professional, and law students’ mental health, time to degree completion, and career interests.

Research grant awarded to Kelly Rosinger, Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Education, to examine how LSAT-optional admissions policies impact diversity (e.g., the share and number of Black, Latinx, and Native American students enrolled) and selectivity (e.g., the number of applicants, acceptance rate, and the LSAT scores of enrollees) at adopting U.S. law schools.

Research grant awarded to Willis Jones, Associate Professor at University of Kentucky’s College of Education, to study variation in cost of living estimates among U.S. law schools.

Research grant awarded to Nicholas Bowman, Professor at University of Iowa’s College of Education, to examine factors that predict changes in enrollment and graduation of students from marginalized racial groups at U.S. law schools.

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).

This grant will comprehensively evaluate whether the adoption of rgw Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) has positively influenced enrollment and Bar passage rates of underrepresented and minority students in law schools located in participating states. It will also measure the extent to which (a) tuition and fees costs and costs of living, (b) interstate employment mobility, and (c) overall employment prospects of graduates from participating schools and states varied given the adoption of UBE.

The grant will examine approximately 30 first-generation law students enrolled at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law using both surveys and in-depth interviews to identify critical: pre-law school experiences, psychoemotional/educational needs of enrolled first-generation law students, and personal qualities associated with first-generation students’ law school success.

This grant will pilot a seven and a half-week online course teaching standard contracts and foundational skills in case-reading and analysis to 250 aspiring JD students. The course is intended to expose students to the materials and methods of legal education and better prepare them for success in JD programs. A more valid and reliable predictor of student performance in law school will be developed using factors beyond standardized test scores and undergraduate grades.