Increasing access to legal education isn't simply a value we adopted—it's why Suffolk Law exists.
In 1906, Gleason Archer founded this law school to open doors for students who were shut out of other institutions because of who they were or where they came from. He created evening classes so working people could pursue a legal education. He welcomed immigrants and their children at a time when many law schools would not.
That founding mission remains at the heart of everything we do. Today, nearly 25% of our students are the first in their families to attend college—let alone law school—and we recently enrolled the most racially and ethnically diverse student body in our history. We continue to attract students from across the socioeconomic spectrum, giving promising future lawyers access to an outstanding legal education.
We have also created concrete pathways to make a Suffolk Law education accessible. Our First-Generation College Student Scholarship guarantees significant support to first-gen graduates of dozens of colleges throughout the United States. The Thaddeus Alexander Kitchener Scholarship—named for the first student of color to graduate from Suffolk Law in 1913—offers full-tuition awards to graduates of historically Black colleges and universities. And our Summer Pre-Law Achievers Network provides a free, immersive program designed to help students from nontraditional backgrounds prepare for law school.
Once here, students find a community that supports them: more than a dozen affinity groups, the Progress-to-Success Peer Mentoring Program, courses focused on diversity and social justice, and a community committed to ensuring the success of every single one of our students.
These efforts are not new for us. They are part of our founding mission of ensuring that outstanding young people can pursue their professional aspirations regardless of their background or circumstances. These commitments are an integral part of our history, our present, and our future.
Andrew Perlman
Dean & Professor of Law