Below are the details of the Willamette University College of Law scholarship policies as of October 1, 2023.
Scholarships awarded by WUCL are governed by the principles and process described below. Scholarship awards are reported as an annual award, and assume that students are enrolled on a full-time (15-credit-per-semester) basis. If a student attends only one semester in a given year, the relevant scholarship amount is prorated accordingly. Scholarships for part-time students (those enrolled for 5 to 9 credits in a semester) are also prorated (i.e., a student enrolled in 5 credits in a semester would receive 1/3 of the total scholarship they would receive if they were registered as a full time student in that semester).
Scholarships are available only for regular term tuition (fall and spring semesters), and cannot be applied to Intersession or Summer classes. If a student withdraws for any reason, scholarships awarded by WUCL will be prorated according to the rules regarding withdrawal posted here. Scholarship renewal for the following year is subject to the conditions specified in the initial written scholarship grant (usually the admission letter), unless the terms of the scholarship have been specifically modified in written communications with the Administration of the College of Law.
Requirements for Scholarship Renewal
- Students who hold durable scholarships (including all those matriculating in Fall 2022 and after, unless their admissions letter specifically notes otherwise) are subject to a good standing requirement and must maintain good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 2.30 or higher) in order to maintain their scholarships. Students who are permitted to continue or restart after losing good standing forfeit the scholarship they were awarded at their initial matriculation.
- Students may not be in good standing if they are found responsible for violations of the WUCL Honor Code or other University conduct standards. Based on recommendations by the Honor Code Committee and the College of Law Administration, such students may have their scholarship reduced or eliminated.
- These requirements apply (absent specific written language to the contrary) to any scholarship award made to a student, whether those awards are characterized as Merit Awards, awards based on an early an Early commitment to the College of Law, or other factors.
- During a student’s time at the College of Law, the school may also identify particular endowed scholarships that are appropriate to assign to a given student. Students identified as recipients of these scholarships may be asked to briefly connect with donors in order to help steward those gifts. Unless otherwise noted, these donor-specific scholarship awards do not increase the total amount of a student’s scholarship award as stated at the time of admission.
- Students with Yellow Ribbon veterans scholarships must be in good academic standing (cumulative GPA of 2.30 or higher) to maintain the Yellow Ribbon portion of their scholarship. Questions regarding veterans scholarships should be directed to either the University Registrar’s Office or the Financial Aid Office.
- Students who hold scholarships pursuant to a conditional requirement (in general, this refers only to those initially awarded scholarships before Fall of 2022) must have a cumulative GPA of 2.90 or above at the close of each Spring Semester, and (for first year students) successfully complete Lawyering I and II by the end of the spring semester of their first year.
Scholarship Amounts
Scholarship amounts are fixed at the time of admission. For that reason, students who receive a scholarship award upon admission should not expect the amount of the award to be increased in future years even if the student performs exceptionally well academically. Similarly, unless specifically stated to the contrary, scholarship amounts will not be adjusted in the event of university-approved tuition increases. Students may not petition for an adjustment in their award.
Loss of Scholarship
A scholarship recipient who fails to meet specified academic requirements loses the scholarship. The loss of scholarship is permanent and not subject to an appeal. The scholarship shall not be reinstated, even if in subsequent semesters the student earns a GPA that exceeds the one specified in the initial scholarship grant.
Time Limits
A student will generally complete law school over the course of three full years of courses, and scholarships will generally last only for that period of time. That said, as long as students continue to meet the terms of their scholarship (i.e., maintaining “good standing”) and make progress toward their degree their underlying scholarship will remain in place - even if a student moves to a part-time schedule (with a prorated scholarship) or takes an approved leave of absence (where the scholarship is prorated based on the semesters in which the student is present at the University). However, if a student has applied a full-time scholarship award toward more than 96 credits and has not yet graduated, their scholarship will be prorated to cover only those classes necessary to complete their graduation requirements. Note that the ABA (see Standard 311(b)) and the Willamette Law Student Handbook require that students complete their program no more than 84 months after matriculating (i.e., 7 years of study).