Penn State Dickinson Law

Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly known as the Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Established in 1834 by Judge John Reed as the law department of Dickinson College, it is recognized as the oldest law school in Pennsylvania. The school was named after John Dickinson, a Founding Father of the United States, and was originally part of Dickinson College before becoming an independent institution in 1890. Its affiliation with the college officially ended in 1917, marking the beginning of its separate identity as a law school. In 1949, a Pennsylvania Historical Marker was placed near the law school building on South College Street, commemorating its status as the oldest law school in the state and honoring its founder, John Reed, as well as one of its earliest graduates, Andrew Curtin, who later served as Pennsylvania’s Civil War governor.In 2000, Penn State University and the Dickinson School of Law completed a merger that had begun three years earlier. From 2006 to 2014, the merged law school operated as a single entity with two campuses, one in Carlisle and the other in University Park. However, in 2014, the American Bar Association granted approval for the two locations to function as distinct law schools: Penn State Law in University Park and Dickinson Law in Carlisle. Both schools continued to share the historical legacy and accomplishments of the original Dickinson School of Law. In November 2022, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi announced a plan to reunify the two institutions into a single law school, with the primary campus to be located in Carlisle. Today, Penn State Dickinson Law offers Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, hosts visiting scholars, and continues to uphold its long tradition of legal education and scholarship.