Students attending George Mason may pursue full-time or part-time, evening study. Unlike many other law schools, the daytime and evening programs stand on equal footing. The courses taught in the day and evening divisions are identical and are taught by the same full-time professors. The same quality legal education is available to all our students, whether they choose to attend our day or evening division.
The School of Law makes the following extra efforts to ensure that both day and evening students have the same access to our resources:
- Faculty hold both day and evening hours.
- Both day and evening students are eligible for need-based financial aid as well as merit-based fellowships.
- Financial aid officers offer both day and evening hours.
- The Office of Career Services holds day, evening and weekend hours.
- All exams for classes in the evening division are given at night or on Saturdays.
- Students can register for classes and get grade reports through the University's online registration system.
- Both day and evening students are eligible for and participate in law review, moot court, and other student-run activities.
Day Division
In the day division, students take three years to complete the 89 credit hours required for graduation. Daytime students traditionally take 14 to 15 credits each semester. Daytime classes are held between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Evening Division
In the evening division, students take four years to complete the 89 credit hours required for graduation. Evening students will average 10 or 11 credit hours each semester. Evening classes are scheduled between 6:00 and 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Evening students should be prepared to attend class five nights a week for at least the first two years of law school.
Our evening program is very rigorous. We are extremely proud of this program and the respect it has gained in the legal community. Prospective employers know that graduates of our evening division are able to balance successfully the demands of employment, school, family, and other obligations. Evening students face particular challenges, but they perform on a par with their daytime counterparts.
Summer Term
George Mason University School of Law holds a summer term each year. Generally, summer term begins during the last week of May and ends during the third week of July. All summer courses are held in the evenings, during the hours of 6:00 and 10:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Both day and evening division students may take courses during the summer term. Many students take courses during summer to lighten their course loads during the academic semesters.