The Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University was started in 1893 as a night law school and continues to offer both full and part-time programs to students. Students at the Chase College of Law participate in two skill-based programs, the Transactional Law Practice Center and the Center for Excellence in Advocacy. Chase also offers a JD/MBA program for students interested in earning a master's in business administration in addition to a Juris Doctor. Northern Kentucky University is in Highland Heights, Kentucky near Cincinnati, Ohio. NKU has about 600 full- and part-time law students.
The University of Kentucky College of Law was started in 1908 when it effectively took over the program started by Transylvania University in 1799. UK's College of Law became a member of the Order of the Coif, a legal honorary scholastic society in 1931. In 1973 the school also started the state's first Continuing Legal Education program. The college's law clinic allows third-year students the chance to advise and counsel needy clients. The University of Kentucky is in Lexington, Kentucky. UK's law school accepts between 135 and 145 students per year and generally has a student body of around 400.
The University of Louisville's Brandeis School of Law was established in 1846 and is the state's oldest law school in continuous operation. U of L's school of law also allows for many different dual degree programs ranging from a Juris Doctor/master of arts in political science, to JD/master of science in bioethics. U of L was one of the earliest law schools to require public service as part of their curriculum. Each student is given opportunities to complete their minimum of 30 hours in such areas as legal clinics, assisting in death penalty litigation, domestic violence issues, court advocacy for children or dealing with environmental issues. The University of Louisville is in Louisville, Kentucky.
The price of graduate education is always significant. Chase College of Law provides an annual cost of attendance estimate, which includes tuition, fees, books, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses. For 2009-2010 the estimate was $31,648 for in-state and $49,104 for out-of-state students. UK's estimate of student expenses for 2009-2010 was $31,100 for in-state and $42,900 for out-of-state students. UK's estimate includes a student's tuition, fees, room and board, books, and loan origination fee. U of L's estimate for a student's tuition, room and board, books and other expenses are $31,262 for in-state and $45,802 for out-of-state students. Each school offers students extensive financial aid from federal, state, and school-based programs.
All three schools are located in metropolitan areas and offer students opportunities for public service and externships. Each school has its own extensive legal library with electronic resources. University of Kentucky and U of L's libraries each contain more than 400,000 volumes. University of Louisville's law library contains the Louis D. Brandeis and John Marshall Harlan collections, which contain the legal papers of the two Kentuckians, who served as U.S. Supreme Court justices.