Welcome from Dean David Getches
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Dean's Welcome to Class of 2010 (pdf)
The University of Colorado Law School is distinguished by the extraordinary quality of its students and faculty. Our students rank in the top tier statistically, come from more than one hundred undergraduate institutions, represent a rich blend of geographic and ethnic backgrounds, and bring experiences of leadership, career achievement, and community service. Although competitiveness among students with such elite qualifications is typical, at Colorado Law collegiality comes first.
The same attributes that we value in our students are reflected in our faculty. They have succeeded in their chosen fields and have been engaged in an impressive array of professional and civic activities. Many of them are nationally and internationally recognized for their scholarly work and collectively they are among the most productive law faculties in the nation for books and articles. But for all of us, our highest calling is interacting with students in and out of the classroom. So we have kept our student-faculty ratio low, about 14:1, which is among the most favorable anywhere.
Selecting a law school to attend is a momentous decision. Students who choose Colorado generally seek the very best all-around legal education that can be attained in combination with other factors that are important to them. Among those factors are:
- Our brand-new, “green” Wolf Law Building, the most technologically advanced law building in the country, providing students with the best learning environment possible
- One of the top environmental and natural resources law programs in the nation, 4th in U.S. News and World Report
- Ten clinics, two centers, and three special programs that allow students hands-on “practice” experience focused on areas of strength, including natural resources and environmental law, American Indian law, juvenile and family law, business law, telecommunications law and policy, and sustainable energy law
- A new law library, one of the largest in the country, including an instructional computer lab, distributed computer stations, and comfortable study areas and rooms for group study
- Dual-degree programs in business, environmental science, medicine, telecommunications, and public affairs that enable students to pursue interdisciplinary work
- An impressively high first-time bar passage rate, especially compared to the state and national averages
- An employment rate of 97 percent at nine months following graduation
Beyond the educational experience, we recognize that the choice of a law school is influenced by practical concerns such as cost, and intangibles such as location. Although tuition is rising everywhere, we are striving to keep our resident tuition comparable to the best publicly supported law schools. Virtually all nonresidents are eligible to become residents after their first year.
The opportunity for recreation during precious leisure time is important to most professionals. Boulder offers the range of cultural and educational activities expected of a large research university and its surrounding community. The campus is beautifully located at the base of the Rocky Mountains, allowing students to pursue skiing, hiking, climbing, kayaking, or just a quiet walk near the campus. Graduates of Colorado Law School are leaders in the profession, in business, and in their communities across the country. They fulfill our goal of instilling a strong capacity for analyzing and solving problems, guided by a commitment to ethical service and public interest work.
David Getches,
Dean and Raphael J. Moses
Professor of Natural Resources Law
