Purdue Global Law School will add a full-time J.D. program option to its existing part-time J.D. program following a unanimous vote in June by the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners.
This provides Purdue Global law students the flexibility to graduate in as little as 32 months — approximately one-third faster than the current 48-month part-time program.
Purdue Global Law School is part of Purdue Global, the public, nonprofit, online school for working adults backed by Purdue University. Founded in 1998, Purdue Global was the first to offer students a traditional law school program in an affordable, online format.
Prospective law students may begin enrolling in the new full-time option 90 days after approval, starting Sept. 19. The first full-time cohort will begin classes in January 2025.
Martin Pritikin, dean of Purdue Global, said this is an historic moment for the law school.
“Four years ago, we became one of the first online law schools to be fully accredited in California,” he said. “Now we’re the first online law school to be approved to offer a full-time J.D. program in addition to our existing part-time J.D. program.”
While campus-based law schools have long been permitted to offer full-time programs, this marks the first time a fully online law school has obtained such approval from California.
“There may be many people — from recent college graduates to empty nesters and retired civil servants — who can devote themselves to their studies full time, but who want or need the flexibility to study online due to geography, budget or other life circumstances,” Pritikin said.
Allowing an online law school to offer the same program options that campus-based law schools offer furthers the goals of making legal education accessible and affordable, which helps make legal services accessible and affordable as well, he said.
While Purdue Global is accredited by the State Bar of California, the American Bar Association does not yet accredit fully online law schools.
California is home to 18 operating ABA-accredited law schools, but the State Bar of California also accredits law schools. Graduates of either can sit for the California Bar Exam, as well as those that attended distance-learning or correspondence law schools that are unaccredited by the ABA or the state.
Purdue Global’s recent first-time bar pass rate in California ranked as the highest reported first-time pass rate of any California-accredited school.
