Graduate Schools
Established in 1975, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law aims to provide a high quality legal education, encouraging students to think critically about the law and legal institutions as well as work for the improvement of the greater Little Rock community. In addition to a full-time day program, the Bowen School of Law offers a part-time evening program for students who work full time. With the school’s downtown location, students have ready access to Arkansas’s
legal, government, and business leaders as well as public service externship opportunities only available in the capital city.
An experienced group of caring teachers and scholars, Bowen School of Law faculty members share their expertise in areas as diverse as legal writing, alternative dispute resolution, communications law, and business law. Low tuition enables graduates to choose from a variety of employment opportunities without worrying about paying off an enormous debt, and the school utilizes both scholarships and academic support to encourage the success of traditional and non-traditional students.
The UALR Bowen School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. The school admits a small entering class of approximately 150 students; roughly one-fifth of those scholars come from out of state. The teaching faculty of 22 full-time professors and numerous experienced adjunct professors gives it one of the lowest student-faculty ratios of any law school: 14-to-1.
A wide variety of concurrent degree programs are available through partnerships forged between the Bowen School of Law and other educational institutions in the capital city. The only offering of its kind, a partnership between the School of Law and the Clinton School of Public Service allows students to earn both the Juris Doctor and Master of Public Service degrees at the same time.
The Bowen School also partners with UALR’s College of Business and Graduate Program of Public Administration, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and the UAMS College of Medicine for concurrent programs. The Bowen School’s curriculum emphasizes both theory and practice. Like most law schools, UALR requires a basic core of courses – like writing, research, and trial advocacy – but also offers numerous electives that teach skills such as interviewing and counseling, mediation
and negotiation, deposition of witnesses, drafting legal documents, and trying cases in court.
All students are required to take a lawyering skills course, where students argue a case and examine witnesses before a judge. The school offers a litigation clinic, where students in their last year of school represent actual clients, taking their issues to court. A second clinical program, the mediation clinic, gives students practical experience at alternative dispute resolution, and the third legal clinic allows students to focus on helping taxpayers resolve conflicts with the Internal Revenue Service. Each
of these experiences allows Bowen School of Law students the opportunity to serve the public interest while preparing for their future careers in law.
Located in the historic Choctaw Station (Sturgis Hall) next to the Clinton Presidential Center in Downtown Little Rock, the Clinton School of Public Service is the only graduate program in the country that offers a Master of Public Service (MPS) degree. One of seven presidential schools, the Clinton School offers a vision of world leaders who work with others to build healthy, engaged and vibrant communities. Its mission is to educate and prepare individuals for public service, incorporating a strategic vision,
an authentic voice and a commitment to the common good.
The rigorous curriculum is enhanced by dialogue with distinguished visitors and guest speakers. Among the many who have participated include: former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former FEMA Director James Lee Witt, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, former President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, former Senators Bill Bradley, Jack Danforth, Bob Dole, and John Edwards, Marta deFox, wife of the President Vincente Fox of Mexico, Congressman John Lewis, Author Joe Klein, and
David Gergen.
With its unprecedented curriculum and diverse public programs, the Clinton School is committed to making a global impact, building leadership in civic engagement and enhancing the capacity to work across disciplinary, racial, ethnic and geographical boundaries. To learn more, please visit www.clintonschool.uasys.edu
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, founded in 1879, is the state’s only comprehensive academic health sciences campus. As the center for health care education in Arkansas, the majority of the state’s physicians and other health care professionals are trained here.
The university’s six units – the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health-Related Professions and Public Health and the Graduate School – serve more than 2,650 students. UAMS faculty members conduct clinical and basic science research and have built a reputation as outstanding scientists. Research facilities on the UAMS campus include the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the T.H. Barton Institute for Biomedical Research,
the Bernice & Harvey Jones Eye Institute, the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute and the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. UAMS faculty members also staff the clinical and research programs at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and at the Little Rock and North Little Rock campuses of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.
Webster University, located in Suite 1500 of the Bank of America Building at Capitol Avenue, opened in Little Rock in 1986. Webster programs are designed to accommodate the working professional whose career advancement and professional growth require the skills and knowledge provided by a graduate degree. Webster University Little Rock Metropolitan Campus offers 10 master’s degrees including a Master of Business Administration. Webster University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a
member of the North Central Association.