#CHANGEMAKERS WELCOME
WELCOME TO THE JOURNEY.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
At Roger Williams University School of Law you will find a vibrant and supportive community, dedicated to academic excellence and real-world advocacy. Our unique programs and experiences are designed to set you on the path to develop the skills, knowledge, and network that will enable you to make meaningful change. Your journey to become a #CHANGEMAKER STARTS HERE.
MAKE CONNECTIONS
CREATE POWERFUL COMBINATIONS
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”
– Ruth Bader Ginsburg
BE. GROW. BELONG. FIND YOURSELF HERE ADVOCATE. PRACTICE.
WELCOME TO THE JOURNEY.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
At Roger Williams University School of Law you will find a vibrant and supportive community, dedicated to academic excellence and real-world advocacy. Our unique programs and experiences are designed to set you on the path to develop the skills, knowledge, and network that will enable you to make meaningful change. Your journey to become a #CHANGEMAKER STARTS HERE.
Your journey at Rhode Island’s only law school will be transformative.
Our prime locations in Bristol and Providence will provide you with opportunities to make an impact—in the classroom, on campus, and within communities.
“Being the only law school in the state, RWU has a wide range of externship programs and deep connections with local law firms, courts, and universities.”
– Elisabeth D’Amelio L’24, M’24, Dual Juris Doctor and M.A. in Cybersecurity
CHARMING BRISTOL
RWU Law’s main campus is located on the picturesque coast of Mount Hope Bay in Bristol. In 2024, Bristol was ranked #5 among the 50 safest college towns in America by Research.com. Bristol’s small-town feel boasts all the amenities of a coastal community: waterfront dining, quaint shops, bike paths, and access to nature and nearby beaches.
DYNAMIC PROVIDENCE
Our experiential campus provides direct access to the excitement and opportunities of Providence—Rhode Island’s capital and the hub of its legal, business, and cultural communities. In 2024, CNN Travel ranked Providence #2 on its inaugural list of America’s Best Towns to Visit. Vogue magazine refers to Providence as the “charming East Coast creative capital to visit now.”
At RWU Law
“... everybody knows your name, whether it’s a librarian, your professor, or the dean.”
– Princeton Review, student quote
MONICA TEIXEIRA DE SOUSA, on first-generation students “Every year I have students who talk to me about being the first in their families to go to college, and about how difficult the law school experience is for them at times. I believe that law schools need to do more to support these students; to really make them feel welcome, that they belong.”
– Professor Teixeira de Sousa teaches Property, Family Law, Race and the Foundations of American Law, and Education Law
RESPECTED SCHOLARS, STUDENT-FOCUSED
RWU Law is a community that values connection; you will learn from and network with faculty that are approachable, respected scholars with real-world experience. According to Princeton Review data, our faculty are ranked highly by students for both accessibility and quality of teaching nationwide. Our faculty will challenge you, but they will also support you.
Nationwide rankings—in 2024, RWU tied for:
#10
#14 FACULTY ACCESSIBILITY QUALITY OF TEACHING
SUSAN HEYMAN, on mentorship
“As a faculty member, I’m not just an educator—I’m a mentor who cares about each student’s unique experiences and aspirations. With open office hours, individual meetings, and personalized feedback, I strive to create a collaborative and supportive environment. My goal is to ensure that each student feels valued, empowered, and connected to our community so they reach their fullest potential.”
– Professor Heyman teaches Contracts, Business Associations, Sales, and White Collar Crime
At
GUARANTEED CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
RWU Law guarantees every qualified student at least one substantial clinical experience. The majority of students take advantage by completing two or more of these real-world learning opportunities.
CLINICS
In-house
» Business Start-up Clinic
» Coastal Resilience Law & Policy Clinic
» Criminal Defense Clinic
» Immigration Clinic
» Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Clinic
» Veterans Disability Appeals Field Clinic
Pro Bono Clinics and Projects
» ACI Civil Legal Assistance
» Eviction Help Desk
» Expungement
» Street Law
» Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
In 2024, total pro bono hours equaled 17,000 hours. 50% of the class doubled their required pro bono hours.
Clinical Externships
» Corporate Counsel Clinical Externship Program
» Environmental and Land Use Clinical Externship Program
» Government Clinical Externship Program
» Judicial Clinical Externship Program
» New York Pro Bono Scholars Program
» Prosecution Clinical Externship Program
» Public Interest Clinical Externship Program
Our innovative Semesterin-Practice Program enables you to train full-time—either in one of our pre-established local placements, our Washington, DC Semester–in-Practice, or in a new remote placement of your choosing.
JOINT DEGREES
» Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration
» Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Criminal Justice
» Juris Doctor/Master of Arts in Cybersecurity
» Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Historic Preservation
» Juris Doctor/Master of Science in Labor Relations and Human Resources (in partnership with URI)
» Juris Doctor/Master of Marine Affairs (in partnership with URI)
MAKING LEGAL EDUCATION FINANCIALLY ACCESSIBLE
Building on our 30-year legacy as Rhode Island’s only law school, as well as our mission to advance social justice and the rule of law, RWU Law is committed to making law school accessible to more people. We are the best-priced, ABA-accredited, private law school in the Northeast. In addition, RWU Law offers scholarships to qualified students up to and including full tuition to qualified applicants.
“At
RWU Law, we mentor and train the changemakers of tomorrow. Our students and graduates work to make the world a better place—one client and one project at a time. They harness the law’s transformative power to pursue and achieve justice.”
– Dean Gregory W. Bowman
YOU BELONG
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
At RWU Law, we work hard to live our mission. We are far from perfect, but we continuously strive to build a community where students feel valued. When you join us you will have an opportunity to contribute to our community and become an agent of change. Your voice will matter here.
BELONG HERE.
“ It’s important to me to be in a diverse environment where I can be myself. What I found at RWU Law was an environment that wants people to feel comfortable and that is willing to do all it can to help students succeed.”
– 2L Ruth Dimanche
STUDENTS LEADING THE WAY
RWU Law’s Student Bar Association is focused on the student experience by representing all law students. All students, as early as their first year, have a chance to run for a position within SBA or within one of the over 30 students groups that are currently active in the community.
CLASS PROFILE
BY THE NUMBERS*
Bloomberg Law recognized our “Race and the Foundations of American Law” course as a top-scoring program in Innovation + Justice
SOCIAL JUSTICE IS IN OUR DNA
Social Justice has been a central part of our school’s mission from its inception. It is embedded into our curriculum and core programming. Whether you plan to be a corporate attorney or a public defender, you will learn how the law impacts the world and the individual communities within it.
RACE AND THE LAW
RWU Law is one of only a few law schools in the United States to have reformed its core legal curriculum, requiring all students to take the same foundational course on Race and the Foundations of American Law. You will engage deeply in these topics and build a shared understanding of how our legal system was created, how it truly works, and how it can be changed.
LEADING THE WAY
Representatives from over 94% of ABA law schools have participated in RWU Law’s monthly webinars on incorporating diversity issues into their curriculum.
OUR ALUMNI
RWU Law alumni are #CHANGEMAKERS. With the foundation of a strong legal education and hands-on experience, they excel in the field of their choice. We invite you to join their ranks and become a changemaker at RWU.
“One of the great things about working with NOAA is the diversity of the issues we handle. It pairs my love of the ocean with my background in science and law. There are lots of big issues out there; we are not going to solve all of them today—but we are having a significant impact and it’s work that I can feel proud of.”
Jackie Rolleri L’11
Special Counsel to the General Counsel National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA) Oceans and Coasts Section
“All roads of my remarkably rich journey as a legal professional lead back to the extraordinary training that I received at RWU Law. The faculty’s commitment to high academic standards, coupled with a culture of compassion and respect, gave me the confidence to aim high and dream big dreams.”
Hon. Melissa DuBose L’04
US District Court for the District of Rhode Island
“One of the best parts of my RWU Law experience was the exposure I received to the criminal justice system; the real-world legal experience showed me how incarceration impacts people’s personal and financial lives. I learned how to help.”
Brett Beaubien L’16
The Law Office of Brett V. Beaubien, LLC
“There was no full-service, pro bono legal or policy center for Indigenous rights east of the Mississippi. At RWU Law, we began asking faculty questions around Indian law and were met with curiosity and openness.”
Taino J. Palermo L’22 and Raymond Two Hawks Watson L’22 Co-founders
The Center for Indigenous Peoples Rights (CIPR)
