Cost of Attendance

Budget and Expenses

2011-2012 Tuition Rates:
Entering Students | Continuing Students

TUITION FOR ENTERING STUDENTS

Please Note: Tuition rates are effective with the commencement of the 2011-2012 academic year for entering students in all programs (J.D. and LL.M., including transfer and visiting students). Tuition and fees are subject to change.

Beginning with the 2011-2012 entering class, all J.D. candidates (entering first-year or transfer students) will be charged tuition on a flat rate basis rather than per unit basis, based on their program, for the Fall and Spring terms (this includes the January Intersession) or in the case of SCALE students, for their periods. During the Summer, entering students will be charged on a per unit basis. While tuition for Summer 2012 has not yet been set, it can be assumed that it will be more than the Summer 2011 per unit tuition of $1,370 per unit. Winter Intersession and Summer Law Program costs are determined by the program and charged accordingly.

Click here to jump to details on Residency Units, Flat Rate Tuition Charges and Summer Attendance Requirements.

J.D. Program

SCALE Program

Other Tuition Rates

Residency Units

In addition to the 87 units necessary to graduate, students must satisfy the residency requirements. All students are required to earn six residency units in order to graduate. They are earned as follows:

• Traditional Day students earn one residency unit for each fall or spring semester completed satisfactorily.
• Traditional Evening and PLEAS students earn 0.75 (three quarters) of a residency unit for each fall or spring semester completed satisfactorily.
• SCALE students earn 0.67 (sixty-seven hundredths) of a residency unit for each term or grading period completed satisfactorily. SCALE students attend nine terms or grading periods during their program.
• Residency units are not earned for any Summer Session, Summer Law Program or Winter Intersession Program.

Flat Rate Tuition Charges

During the Fall and Spring semesters, tuition will be charged to entering traditional and transfer students on a flat rate basis. Students classified as Day Program students must pay the full-time flat rate tuition and students classified as Evening or PLEAS Program students must pay the part-time flat rate tuition. Students must pay the flat rate tuition charge based on their particular classification even though they may be enrolled in fewer than the minimum number of units required.

Summer Attendance Requirements

SCALE students are required to complete at least 4 units during the summer. Most part-time students will enroll in two Summer Sessions during their time at Southwestern. While the number of summer units taken by part-time students varies - students have at times taken as few as three and as many as fifteen units in Summer Session. While it is common for Traditional Day students to enroll in summer courses, these students are not required to take summer courses to graduate within the three years.

Tuition Refund Policy

Students who withdraw before the first day of the semester, Summer Session, January Intersession or SCALE period receive a 100% credit of charged tuition. Those students withdrawing on or after the first day of classes will incur a prorated non-refundable tuition charge.* Once 60% of the semester, Summer Session, January Intersession or SCALE period is completed, the student will be charged 100% of tuition. The Hawaii Winter Intersession and Southwestern's Summer Law Programs have their own refund policies, which are printed in the brochure for each program.

*The prorated non-refundable charge is calculated by continuing the number of calendar days starting with the first day of the term and ending with the last date of attendance. That result is divided by the number of calendar days in the term. The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the original tuition charged to determine the prorated non-refundable charge.

TUITION FOR CONTINUING STUDENTS

Please Note: Traditional Programs' rates effective with the Summer Session; SCALE Program rates effective with the commencement of Period 1 (for SCALE 1) or Period 4 (for SCALE 2) in June. Tuition and fees are subject to change.

J.D. Program

Tuition for the Traditional J.D. Programs is $1,370 per unit.* For the first year, that equates to:

*The tuition for course units in excess of the minimum number required for graduation (currently 87 units) is set at $100 per unit.

SCALE® Program

$55,708 flat rate (charged/disbursed over four quarters). SCALE students are no longer charged a separate books/materials fee; students are now responsible for purchasing books/materials individually for each class.

LL.M. Program

Tuition for the LL.M. program will be at the per unit rate established by Southwestern for J.D. students (and in Summer Law Programs sponsored by the law school). Students enrolled in the LL.M. program are eligible for financial aid (federal financial aid programs and private student loans).

Tuition Refund Policy

Students who withdraw prior to the first day of a semester, Summer Session, January Intersession, or SCALE period receive a 100% credit of charged tuition. Non-refundable tuition will not be charged during the add/drop period of each semester if a student drops units but still remains enrolled. Those students dropping courses after the add/drop period will incur a non-refundable tuition charge. Students will be charged 100% of the tuition for changes in total units after they completed 60% of the semester. The amount of the refundable tuition* is determined by the date of the last day the student attended classes. The date of receipt of any withdrawal notice is not used for calculating the amount of refundable tuition.

*Ibid