Welcome from the Dean

Congratulations on your decision to pursue legal education at Penn State University and thank you for considering Penn State Law in University Park. We are excited to share more with you about our J.D. program, which offers a rigorous, classic legal education enhanced with experiential learning opportunities both locally and away fromcampus to provide students with the lawyering skills needed to accomplish their professional goals. 

As you may be aware, Penn State University President Neeli Bendapudi announced her decision to reunite both of Penn State University’s law schools. The single law school will be called Penn State Dickinson Law and its primary location will be in Carlisle, Pennsylvania with a substantial presence at University Park. The reuniting process is expected to take several years, and the leadership of the two law schools together with the university and the American Bar Association (ABA) are defining that process. At this time, Penn State Law in University Park and Penn State Dickinson Law remain separately accredited law schools and will be accepting applications for fall 2024 admissions.

Penn State Law is dedicated to delivering a program of legal education that meets theexpectations of excellence held by our students, faculty, and staff. 

As a law student in University Park, you will have all the resources of a world-class public research institution with small classes taught by a faculty of prominent legal scholars and leading practitioners. You can choose to focus your studies in one of our many areas of strength, including advocacy and litigation; antitrust and competition law; arbitration, mediation, and negotiation; corporate law and practice; energy and environmental law; health law; intellectual property; international, foreign, and comparative law; law, science, and technology; national security, military, and veterans; and more.

We recognize the importance of learning by doing and treat the broader world as our classroom. Our 11 clinics and Manglona Lab for Gender and Economic Equity provide you with a wealth of opportunities to explore practice areas and help underserved communities. Our students have worked on real cases considered by the U.S. Supreme Court and have honed their advocacy skills through national and international moot court and trial competitions, including winning the 2019 world championship in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna.

Our home, the state-of-the-art Lewis Katz Building, allows you the freedom to explore the world virtually from our classrooms and interview rooms. Our innovative Externships Everywhere program lets you pursue career opportunities anywhere in the world while participating via our advanced distance-learning technology in classes in University Park.

We are committed to being a welcoming and inclusive environment for every member of our community, and to actively combat bias and inequality at the law school, Penn State, and our broader society.

With this location on Penn State’s University Park Campus in State College, Pa., you will find a place that is vibrant, safe, and diverse, with dozens of active law student organizations and hundreds of university-wide student groups and activities. You will study hard, but when you’re ready for a break, you can take advantage of NCAA Division I and intramural sports, convenient fitness facilities, outdoor activities, arts and cultural events, Penn State Berkey Creamery ice cream, and a welcoming environment of more than 46,000 enthusiastic and friendly Penn State students.

They don’t call it Happy Valley for nothing.

As a graduate, you will belong to the powerful Penn State alumni network of more than 740,000 strong all over the globe. I invite you to explore our program further here on our website (pennstatelaw.psu.edu) or in-person through a visit. We look forward to welcoming you.

Victor Romero
Interim Dean, Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs
Maureen B. Cavanaugh Distinguished Faculty Scholar, and Professor of Law