Yale Law School to Offer Tuition-Free Scholarships for Students With Financial Needs

Yale Law School has announced it is allocating significant funding to launch the Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program this fall, providing some 45–50 full-tuition scholarships to eligible students in the J.D. program. 

According to a media release issued by Yale Law School, the Robert Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program is expected to remove tuition for J.D. low-income students.  

Students who meet the financial requirements will receive the scholarships for the next three years, the allocation of which is expected to start with the classes of 2023, 2024, and 2025 to continue in the future, Erudera.com reports.

Dean Heather K. Gerken said that Yale Law is committed to opening doors to students who will have the most to give to the world, despite their financial situation. 

“The Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program will free students with the greatest need from financial worry during law school and open up a world of possibilities so that they can be a powerful force for change in society,” Gerken said. 

Under the Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program, grants will be allocated to students in J.D whose family income is below the federal poverty guidelines and assets are below $150,000.

Yale Law highlights that students who meet the requirements will receive more than $70,000 per year, which amount will cover tuition, fees, and health insurance.

Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Yale Law School, Miriam Ingber ’04, said that the program is an important step for the school, which raises hope for the transformation of the academic experiences for those studying under the program. 

“Even with significant need-based financial aid awards and our loan repayment program, the financial burden for these students weighs heavily, and many students fear debt knowing that they are responsible for their families’ financial well-being as well as their own,” Ingber said.

The program will be supported by a fundraising campaign that is underway to build out the program, aiming to expand the eligibility requirements in the future in order to reach a higher number of students.

Yale Law School is one of two law schools in the country to offer financial support to low-income students. According to data, 73 percent of students received scholarships during the 2020/21 academic year,

As a result of schools’ assistance programs, Yale Law students complete their studies having the lowest debt amount among their peer schools. Yale says that since 2016, it has admitted six of the most diverse law classes in its history.

The program is funded by Yale Law alumna Soledad Hurst and her husband, Robert, a former vice chairman at Goldman Sachs who donated $20 million and other funding from David and Patricia Nierenberg and Gene and Carol Ludwig.