In compliance with ABA Standard 509, the following information about Cumberland School of Law and its J.D. program is provided to current and prospective students. The Standard 509 Information Report is compiled from the latest information submitted in the annual ABA questionnaire.
- Academic Calendars
- Academic Requirements
- Curricular Offerings
- Bar Passage (2023)
- Standard 509 Information Report (2022)
- Equal Opportunity
About Cumberland School of Law
Cumberland School of Law is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association, 321 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60654, 312-988-6738.
Transfer Credit Details
Employment Data
American Bar Association (ABA)
Admission
The law school seeks a diverse student body that will make a contribution to the law school and the legal profession. To that end, every applicant’s file is thoroughly reviewed for admission. In addition to the LSAT and GPA, difficulty of major, personal challenges overcome, graduate work completed, scholarly achievements and volunteer and work experience are also considered. Applications are evaluated on a rolling basis, so it is important to apply early.
Fall 2023 Entering Class Profile
Median LSAT: 155
75th percentile LSAT: 157
25th percentile LSAT: 152
Median GPA: 3.61
75th percentile GPA: 3.79
25th percentile GPA: 3.33
Total students: 156
Female: 58%
Male: 42%
Underrepresented Racial Groups: 25%
Undergraduate colleges/universities: 61
In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Conditional Scholarship Data
Fall 2021
157 entered with conditional scholarships; 33 conditional scholarships were eliminated
Fall 2020
149 entered with conditional scholarships; 0 conditional scholarships were eliminated
Fall 2019
156 entered with conditional scholarships; 0 conditional scholarships were eliminated
Cumberland School of Law’s scholarship retention policy was first implemented with the fall 2011 entering class. Conditional scholarships are suspended for those recipients who are not in good scholarship standing. Good scholarship standing requires recipients to maintain a cumulative law school GPA of 2.6 or higher at the conclusion of each spring semester. Scholarships will be considered for reinstatement for a subsequent academic year where a recipient restores his or her GPA to be within the academic requirement.
Generous merit-based scholarship assistance is awarded to Cumberland School of Law’s entering and current law students annually. In addition, numerous other scholarships are provided to those students who distinguish themselves academically, make outstanding contributions through leadership in the law school, or demonstrate financial need.
Tuition and Student Budget
Cumberland School of Law's student budget chart, including all tuition and fees, may be found here.
Cumberland School of Law Student Budget
For a detailed Flex-Time budget, contact Samford University's Office of Financial Aid.
Tuition costs are subject to change. Costs associated with one term only of the academic year subject to change.
The cost of attendance, the total estimated amount it will cost a student to complete one year of law school, is determined using rules established by the U.S. Congress. Contact the Samford University Office of Financial Aid if you have any unusual expenses that might affect your cost of attendance.
Refund Policy
All seat deposits paid during the admission process are nonrefundable. If a student enrolls, all seat deposits will be credited toward the fall tuition of the entering admission year.
Joint Degree Programs
Courses taken prior to matriculation in the law school’s J.D. program may not be counted toward the J.D. degree requirements. A student participating in a joint degree program will not be permitted to count the credit hours for courses taken in the other degree program toward the J.D. requirements until the other degree is awarded following completion of all applicable requirements.
Joint Degrees Offered
- J.D./M.B.A.
- J.D./M.Acc.
- J.D./M.S.E.M.
- J.D./M.Div.
- J.D./M.T.S.
- J.D./M.P.H.
- J.D./M.P.A.
- J.D./LL.M.