» Scholarship Policies and Conditions for Retention

• All scholarships are applied to the fall and spring terms only and cannot be applied to summer or interterm courses, study abroad programs or courses taken at another university. All Chapman scholarships combined cannot exceed tuition charges.
• Tuition scholarships for full-time JD students can be applied to 12-16 units per term (8-11 units per term for part-time JD students) and do not cover over-limit fees.
• Change of Enrollment - Students who move from the JD full-time program to the part time program after completing one year or less will have their scholarship eligibility extended to four years and will receive the remainder of their scholarship promise divided over their remaining terms.
• Students who move from the JD part-time program to the full-time program after their first year will have their remaining scholarship promise applied to their remaining terms.
• Leave of absence: If a student is granted a leave of absence, the student’s scholarship and/or fellowship shall continue upon the student’s return to the law school, unless the maximum number of semesters that the scholarship and/or fellowship can be applied has already been exhausted, in which case their scholarship and/or fellowship will not continue upon their return to law school. Please see the Student Handbook for additional information and policies related to scholarship retention during a leave of absence.
• Probation: JD Students - First year students placed on academic probation at the conclusion of the fall semester will retain their scholarship and/or fellowship for the spring term.
• Dismissal - Students who are academically dismissed will lose their scholarship and/or fellowship. If they appeal the dismissal and are reinstated, their scholarship and/or fellowship is not reinstated.  
• Ranking Policy for JD Students - Ranking of all students occurs once a year at the end of the spring semester. Ranking is done in accordance with the Fowler School of Law's policies.
• Certain scholarships and fellowships are eligible to be retained/renewed for more than one academic year. Conditions for renewal are detailed below.
• Violations of the Law School's Honor Code can result in the termination of a student's scholarship and/or fellowship.
• To review additional scholarship/fellowship policies in effect for the current academic year, please refer to the Fowler School of Law Student Handbook. Please also refer to the information provided to recipients at the time a scholarship or fellowship was initially offered.  

Earning a JD Merit Scholarship 

Students who did not qualify for an entering merit-based scholarship are eligible to earn a scholarship if they rank in the top 15% of their cohort group at the end of their 1L year. Students who qualified for a partial scholarship upon matriculation are eligible for a scholarship increase, if they rank in the top 15% of their cohort group at the end of their 1L year, and the amount earned is greater than their current scholarship.  Merit-based scholarships earned (or increased) at the conclusion of the 1L year will be applied during the student’s second year and may be renewed for the student’s third year provided that the student maintains a cumulative GPA of 2.900 or higher at the end of their 2L spring semester. 

Cohort groups will be determined by the Fowler School of Law Registrar in accordance with published policies.

Retaining a Conditional Scholarship

Conditional scholarships awarded by the Fowler School of Law include tuition merit-based scholarships, First Generation Scholarships, and Distinguished Student Fellowships.  Conditional scholarships awarded upon admission to the JD program can be renewed provided a student maintains a cumulative GPA of 2.900 or better at the end of the first academic year and each subsequent academic year thereafter. For full-time students, conditional scholarships are limited to a maximum of three years of study. 

Part-time students may renew their conditional scholarship for their second, third and fourth years as long as they remain in the part-time program and maintain a GPA of 2.900.  Part-time students who move into the full-time program are limited to three years of scholarship eligibility only; no scholarships will be offered for the fourth year of courses.

Conditional scholarships may be granted either as a percentage of tuition or in a flat amount. When renewed, scholarships initially granted as a percentage of tuition will be applied as a percentage of the tuition for the year in which it is awarded. When renewed, conditional scholarships initially awarded as a flat amount will be applied consistently in the amount initially offered to the student at the time of admission, regardless of any changes in the cost of tuition.  

JD Conditional Scholarship Retention Statistics

Below is a chart that sets forth the number of entering students who received conditional awards and the number whose awards have since been reduced or eliminated.

*These figures are determined as of October 5.

**2.9 Required cumulative GPA at the end of the first academic year and each subsequent academic year thereafter.

N/A = Data not available at this time.

For students matriculating in Fall 2022: one student earned a conditional scholarship; two increased their conditional scholarships.

The conditional scholarships offered by the Fowler School of Law include Merit-Based Scholarships, First Generation Scholarships, and Non-tuition Fellowships. 

LL.M. Tuition Scholarships

LL.M. scholarships are awarded upon admission.  Students awarded a tuition scholarship upon admission to the LL.M. program may use their tuition scholarship during the fall and spring semesters for up to 27 units in the Tax LL.M. or up to 24 units in all other LL.M. programs.  In addition, students must remain enrolled and in good standing to retain their scholarship.  Please see other general scholarship policies included above on this page.