University of Tennessee - College of Law

Located in beautiful Knoxville, the University of Tennessee College of Law offers a great education at an affordable price. Students find the program “mentally stimulating” and leave confident in their “abilities to practice law after graduation.” The university boasts “small class sizes,” which make “learning more personable and focused.” Students benefit not only from small class sizes, but big-name lecturers: The university has hosted lectures by three U.S. Supreme Court justices in the past five years. Students roundly praise the “practical skills classes that allow” them to “practice what they learn in theory.” The clinic program—which is longest running clinical program in the country—”allows for real-world experience,” and may be “one of the greatest things about UT.” The university also offers a wealth of additional practical experience including externship opportunities, moot court, mock trial and Tennessee Law Review, which are “invaluable.”
UT is known for its “great community” and “supportive and kind atmosphere,” which offer a wealth of opportunities for students. Students say faculty and staff are “top notch.” Professors “come from all over the country” and “have diverse experiences and teaching styles.” However, students note that the university “could work on finding more ethnically diverse professors.” That said, the “professors are all extremely qualified and have practical experience in the courses they teach.” They are “dedicated educators first and foremost.” There is an emphasis on “classroom dialogue, debate, and interaction” that “leads to a better learning experience.” Students find their professors to be “accessible at most hours and are prompt in getting back to you.” As one student notes: “Professors regularly volunteered to listen to oral arguments for moot court teams and offer their critiques, generally had an open-door policy for questions after class, and were happy to just stop and chat in the halls.” The “staff, faculty, and students all provide a collegial atmosphere which facilitates outstanding legal scholarship,” and the school encourages its students to give back, emphasizing “the importance of pro bono” work.
The administration is also “very accessible and open,” and they “are willing to help in any way they can.” Considerate of its students’ financial needs, the financial aid office emails students regularly about “scholarship opportunities” as well as “graduate assistant positions” that may cover a student’s “entire tuition.” Students find the Career Center “very helpful.” The “Career Center actually helps you find a job (unlike many schools’ career centers),” notes one student.
The university also “does a great job with the type of student it admits.” “There has never been a time that I have felt like I could not ask a classmate for help or an outline,” says a current student. The culture at the university is “supportive, friendly, helpful, and not competitive and cruel.” As one student notes, “the school did a wonderful job of preparing me for practice, and they were invaluable in the job search process.” In today’s tight job market, an engaged and active career center and alumni network is essential. As one student notes, many of her “colleagues opened their own practices during the tough job market,” and getting the first-hand, practical experience UT offers “allows one to do that.”

Known for its great sense of community, students say school friends at UT are essentially a “second family.” They also note the “incredible” “ school/life balance.” “UT is the place where you can get a top-notch quality education,” notes one student, “but still have a life and actually enjoy your time.” Another student says that she is “constantly reminded to be thankful” when she hears what it is like for “law students at other schools.” The university also boasts “superb facilities” with “modern technology incorporated throughout,” and students call it an “ideal place to learn.”