Boston College. Law School
Historical Note
Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Although Boston College’s original 1863 charter included provisions for a law school, BC Law was formally established in 1929 under the leadership of John B. Creeden, SJ, and Dean Dennis A. Dooley.
Classes began on September 26, 1929, in the Lawyer’s Building across from the Massachusetts State House. From a pool of nearly 700 applicants, 102 students were admitted to the day and evening divisions. The Law School quickly achieved American Bar Association accreditation in 1932, and Association of American Law Schools membership in 1937. Women were admitted by 1940, when enrollment exceeded 350.
After World War II disrupted enrollment, the school moved briefly to 18 Tremont Street before relocating to a new facility, St. Thomas More Hall, in Chestnut Hill in 1954. Admission requirements became more rigorous during this period, with the faculty mandating a bachelor’s degree for entry and instituting the LSAT under Dean Robert F. Drinan, SJ. The night program was phased out by 1966, and the degree designation changed from LL.B. to J.D. in 1969.
In 1975, BC Law moved to its permanent home on a 40-acre campus in Newton, following Boston College’s acquisition of Newton College of the Sacred Heart. The campus today includes academic buildings, conference spaces, dining facilities, and the Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book Room within the Law Library.
BC Law currently enrolls approximately 650 students taught by 80 full-time faculty members. It offers a traditional first-year curriculum and specialized programs in human rights, public interest law, business law and innovation, and international legal studies. Study abroad opportunities are available through partnerships with institutions in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The Law School’s primary journal, the Boston College Law Review, ranks among the top legal journals nationally.
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
Boston College Law School records
Composed of annual reports, correspondence, photographs, press clippings, publications, recordings, and other items relating to the Law School and Law School Library.
Collection is closed until processed.
William J. Murphy, SJ, President's Office records
The William J. Murphy, SJ, President’s Office Records contain correspondence, memos, student applications, contracts, notes, brochures, and pamphlets documenting Murphy's term as the nineteenth president of Boston College. Murphy's presidency coincided with World War II, and these records also document the war's effects on campus military programs and funding.
Collection is open for research.
Michael P. Walsh, SJ, President's Office records
Collection is open for research. Series I. Admissions is closed in its entirety due to privacy restrictions, and is stored off-site. A small amount of material in other series is also closed due to privacy restrictions.
Robert F. Drinan, SJ pre- and post-congressional papers
Papers document Robert F. Drinan's career as an academic, lawyer, Jesuit, and social justice advocate. Materials cover his years before Congress as a faculty member and Dean of Boston College Law School, and his post-congressional years as a faculty member at Georgetown University Law Center.
Collection is open for research. Audio and video recordings are not available for playback due to format impermanence and can not be reformatted by Burns Library at this time. Please let Burns Library Public Services know of your specific interest; when it becomes possible we will schedule reformatting.