Law Schools

Oldest Fully Online Law School Plans To Add Full-Time JD Program

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Businesswoman_working_on_laptop_in_office copyWhen it comes to graduate school, law isn’t known for being cheap. And if the cost isn’t enough, accepted students often have to move long distances to attend their classes in person. COVID shocked our systems and prompted many schools to move their lessons to virtual classrooms, but there was a general understanding that this was a temporary fix until things returned to normal. And while “normal” has yet to arrive, most schools pretended that it did and went back to the brick and mortar model. Purdue Global law school was not one of them. They’ve stuck with the online model and are offering even more in the way of learning law come January. ABA Journal has coverage:

Purdue Global Law School, described as the oldest wholly online law school, received approval from the California regulators to add a full-time online JD program in January 2025 to its part-time program. Purdue Global is accredited by the State Bar of California. While the ABA does not accredit fully online law schools, the council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions is examining what standards would be necessary to do so.

This is great news for lawyers intending to practice in California that place a premium on an affordable education. For everyone else, you’d probably be better off waiting to see what standards the ABA might adopt that could qualify Purdue for accreditation. Hard to call it a global law degree if you can only put it to use in California. We know that teaching and administrating exams is possible online (again, COVID), the move now is to ensure its quality.

Purdue Global Will Add Full-Time JD program, While 2 Small California Law Schools Will Close [ABA Journal]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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