xcellence and opportunity. Access and inclusivity. Representation and community. Berkeley Law’s ambitious public mission encompasses all of these far-reaching values, and its surging financial aid program unites them all.

Over the last five years under Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, financial aid expenditures have nearly doubled. They accounted for 20% of last year’s operating budget, and the school returned half of its Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition (PDST) fees to financial aid — far more than the one-third amount required by the UC Regents.

“This has helped us improve the school in so many ways,” Chemerinsky says. “It has increased our diversity, enhanced our classroom learning environment, and lessened the debt for many students, giving them more opportunities to choose career paths they desire.”

Berkeley Law’s average student loan debt in recent years has been lower than virtually all of its peer law schools, including Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Virginia, and Northwestern. Importantly, more scholarships given, more money spent on them, and more types of prospective students reached have not come at the expense of other aid.

As Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Kristin Theis-Alvarez puts it, “They’re all ‘add’ rather than ‘instead of.’ We haven’t been making tradeoffs.”

While the figures are encouraging, it’s the lives they transform that enrich the Berkeley Law community, serve its core priorities, and motivate its leaders.

From all over the world, extraordinary students who could not have enrolled at Berkeley Law without a scholarship are excelling in and out of the classroom, boosting the school’s reputation along with their own career prospects. The litany of scholarships include reconsideration matches, when Berkeley Law matches a higher offer from another school, and funding sources like the Sonsini Strategic Recruitment Fund to help recruit top talent.

“Despite the financial hurdles we face, our commitment is to making a meaningful impact on our students’ lives, empowering them, and upholding our values of accessibility and opportunity,” says Financial Aid Director Lauren Kang.

Generous gifts from alumni and others have helped bring in remarkably strong classes amid the challenges of COVID-19, attract applicants interested in trial advocacy, target students who want to work in areas where law and the automotive industry connect, support undocumented students who otherwise qualify for very few resources, and much more.

“We need them — their vision, trust, commitment, and concern — more than ever,” Theis-Alvarez says of alumni supporters.

2L and scholarship recipient Anan Hafez calls Berkeley Law’s robust financial aid offerings wholly transformative.

“At Berkeley Law, I’ve found a community focused on social impact, intellectual rigor, and boundless opportunity. With the skills and network I’m building here, I know I can create meaningful change as a lawyer,” he says. “This law school was founded on the principles of access, inclusion, and justice. Scholarships uphold these values by creating opportunities for students from all backgrounds to develop into effective advocates and pursue their dreams without financial barriers.”

Beyond increasing its median awards across numerous scholarships, the school has added two notable aid initiatives over the past couple years.

The Military Promise Program provides $10,000 per year for three years to all active-duty U.S. military personnel and honorably discharged veterans. Berkeley Law will expand this program next year to provide even greater assistance to eligible students whose military benefits don’t fully cover tuition and fees.

For 1L Ryan Pinch, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who spent five years as a submarine officer on the USS Hartford, the scholarship and Berkeley Law’s growing veterans community gave him enormous peace of mind for his move west.

“The Military Promise Program scholarship provided me flexibility in funding my legal education, and I was impressed with the school’s outreach,” he says. “Within days of being admitted, I had two current students and one graduate reaching out to congratulate me and answer any questions I had.”

Pinch calls Berkeley’s veterans “as diverse as the military itself” and extols the vast programming of student organizations Military Veterans at Berkeley Law and Legal Obstacles Veterans Encounter.

“I’ve made great friends in the veteran community here, and they’re a great resource for any questions I have about class selection, summer jobs, and anything else I need help with,” he says. “My favorite part about being a veteran here is getting to share my experiences with colleagues and challenge their preconceptions about who serves in the military in the 21st century.”

Starting in fall 2022, participation in UC’s Native American Opportunity Plan (NAOP) produced a vital step forward in ensuring equitable access to education. This plan guarantees full coverage of in-state tuition and student services fees for California students enrolled in federally recognized Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native tribes — and Berkeley Law enhances this support by also funding the PDST.

“It would have been easier and less costly to just make UC’s program, which is a great step forward, part of our offerings rather than to extend it to cover law school PDST,” Theis-Alvarez says. “But the spirit of the program is a promise to cover ‘full tuition for qualifying students,’ and promises should be kept. So the decision to create this Berkeley Law-specific NAOP-plus program was an easy one, and we did it without waiting for the support of an outside donor because we thought it was that important.”

3L and NAOP recipient Kelsey Lutgen says outreach to and from Indigenous students fueled her decision to attend Berkeley Law, where she has co-chaired its Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) chapter, directed the student-led Native American Legal Assistance Project, and served on the American Indian Graduate Student Assembly.

An Oglala Lakota Nation member, she also worked to get Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognized as a schoolwide holiday, expanded NALSA-hosted events, and helped NALSA become the top donor recipient of all Berkeley Law student organizations during the university’s annual one-day “Big Give” event in spring 2023.

“When I was applying to law school, Berkeley wasn’t even on my radar,” Lutgen says. “It wasn’t until I spent a week on campus that I experienced firsthand how dedicated the staff, faculty, and students were to cultivating and supporting a thriving Indigenous student community. Seeing those students’ commitment was especially inspiring.”

Calling scholarship funding “a deal breaker and game changer,” Lutgen adds that the more financial resources Berkeley Law can provide students, the more opportunities people from backgrounds like hers gain to imagine themselves at such an “elite” school.

“I think the lived experience of under-resourced people and the realness it provides to classroom discussions benefits everyone,” she says. “The law so often turns a blind eye to class and the role that money plays in peoples’ lives, so having people who can reframe and contextualize what the law willfully ignores is an important supplement to what’s on the page of a casebook.”

Aiming to combat the legal profession’s nagging lack of demographic representation, the Berkeley Law Opportunity Scholarship (BLOS) — a three-year, full tuition award for first-generation college graduates — has bolstered the school’s rise in students of color and other underrepresented groups. After 26 students obtained the scholarship over its first six years, 31 have received it over the past three years.

Recognizing that BLOS students bring a vital perspective, Berkeley Law cultivates their leadership potential while fostering inclusivity. Marvel Studios Counsel Daniel Lopez ’18 was among the first class of recipients.

“One of the major obstacles in diversifying the legal field is providing resources to individuals from underrepresented communities so they can invest their time into becoming a lawyer,” he says. “Actually becoming a lawyer is a long, costly, and difficult process, and programs like BLOS go a long way for students who feel underrepresented in the legal community.”

The school’s First Generation Professionals Group holds programs that help demystify on-campus interviewing, internships, the bar exam, and other aspects of the legal profession. Lopez calls it a telling example of how Berkeley Law helps underrepresented students throughout their law studies — not just in admitting them.

“The school has such a vibrant first-gen community, which is supported by the faculty and staff,” he says. “It provides a space for first-gen students to come together, share in our collective experiences, and provide useful information for a profession we were unfamiliar with.”

These days, Lopez extends that work volunteering with the Orange County Coalition for Diversity in the Law, which recently named him a Top Young Lawyer of the county. Born to immigrant parents, he advises on all aspects of Marvel’s motion picture development and production process and also negotiates talent agreements for its upcoming projects.

For 2L and current BLOS recipient Leslie Sepulveda, the scholarship enabled her to pursue wide-ranging interests in Berkeley Law’s journal, tech law, and business ecosystems. She is on the editorial board of the California Law Review and the Latine Journal of Law & Policy and active in the Startup Law Initiative and the New Business Community Law Clinic.

“This scholarship allows me to connect with other first-generation college and law students,” she says. “These connections have created a lasting support network, and the guidance from other students has made the law school experience feel less daunting and more manageable.”

acKenna Alvarez was living the American Dream. Her immigrant father and her mother, both first-generation high school graduates who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, owned a home in Orange County and had successful careers in real estate and interior design.

But when the 2008 global financial crisis hit, Alvarez’s family lost their home, life savings, and way of life. After the foreclosure they filed for bankruptcy, had their wages garnished, and struggled to make ends meet.

“We were on food stamps and had our water and electricity shut off multiple times because we couldn’t pay our bills,” she says. “It felt like all the progress my family had made to get out of poverty — all of their hard work and sacrifices — had been completely undone with one swoop.”

Those experiences fueled a career focus on economic inequality and helping low-income Latine families like hers achieve upward social mobility and economic security. After graduating from New York University and working as a middle school history and English teacher in Brooklyn, she eyed a career in education and economic policy.

Berkeley Law’s Public Interest Scholars Program — a three-year scholarship covering full tuition and fees for J.D. students dedicated to public interest work — made it possible.

“I always knew Berkeley was where I wanted to be because of its genuine public service culture,” says Alvarez, now a 2L. “I wanted a school where pro bono was the norm, not the exception.”

Active in Berkeley Law’s close-knit First Generation Professionals group, she credits the school for supporting underrepresented students — and its thriving consumer law ecosystem.

“It perfectly encapsulated everything I wanted to do in my career regarding economic inequality,” she says. “Everyone is a consumer, and consumer law covers every financial transaction that has the potential to worsen or improve someone’s financial situation.”

When three classmates described having their apartment rental applications denied without explanation, Alvarez shared her own similar experiences. They learned that a hefty portion of Bay Area rentals are managed by large corporate landlords who use popular algorithms to screen and potentially discriminate against applicants. Many such algorithms are made for a national scale, she discovered, and don’t always follow the given city and locality tenant screening ordinances.

Alvarez promptly co-founded the Algorithmic Justice Project, which investigates how algorithmic decision making harms prospective tenants and submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Group leaders hope to soon hold client intake sessions for people whose rental applications were similarly denied.

Working in the private sector this fall near her family in Los Angeles, Alvarez envisions eventual plaintiff-side work focusing on consumer protection and antitrust and a government job protecting consumers. She calls her Berkeley Law scholarship truly life-changing.

“Very few schools actively encourage students to pursue careers in public interest, let alone make it financially feasible for them to do so,” she says. “I would have never been able to afford and attend law school had it not been for the Public Interest Scholars Program.” — Andrew Cohen

Scholarship growth and increased financial, advising, and programmatic support are strengthening Berkeley Law’s commitment to public interest students and graduates. The Public Interest Scholars Program, launched in 2021, provides a three-year scholarship covering full tuition and fees for J.D. students dedicated to public interest work.

Recipients join a cohort of faculty and staff who share their passion for public interest lawyering.

“Providing opportunities for students from all backgrounds to come to Berkeley Law is absolutely essential to upholding our public mission,” Chemerinsky says. “In addition, by lessening their debt, we make it more feasible for those who wish to pursue public service careers.”

By reducing the financial barrier law students face when deciding whether to seek out such careers after graduation, and not requiring post-graduation qualifying public interest employment, the program recognizes that there are many ways to advance and increase access to justice.

More funding up front means that students have the freedom to explore their interests and pursue impactful but less lucrative careers in nonprofit and public service spaces.

“But students need more than just financial aid — they need support throughout and after law school, too,” says Amanda Prasuhn, director of public interest financial support. “Berkeley Law helps students stay on the public interest path by providing guaranteed summer funding for those working for nonprofits, government offices, and judicial chambers, and has steadily increased the amount and size of summer fellowships. Students also build community with other public interest-minded peers through student organizations, pro bono work, and journals, and receive targeted career and financial aid counseling.”

The Career Development Office offers support with fellowship, clerkship, and job applications, and some students receive post-graduate funding through the year-long Public Interest Fellowship and the shorter Bridge Fellowship.

Public interest alumni with student loans can participate in Berkeley Law’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program to receive yearly awards aimed at reducing out-of-pocket loan expenses. The school regularly enhances the program to respond nimbly to alumni needs, improving its funding formulas and increasing its income cap so more graduates obtain greater support.

The Financial Aid Office also works with alumni until their loans are paid off or forgiven through the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, maintaining contact and support for up to a decade after graduation.

“The scholarship I received will allow me to continue pursuing the best avenues of advocacy at Berkeley Law,” says 2L Quinn Ferrar. “Scholarships open doors to students like myself, and the generous community that supports us can count on our support in return.”

ligning student enthusiasm with some of Berkeley Law’s strongest offerings, the school has repackaged certain gift aid into a new set of scholarships — developed in consultation with faculty — many of whom will mentor and collaborate with recipients.

This leverages some of the school’s dynamic research centers and institutes and the Ph.D.-granting, interdisciplinary Jurisprudence & Social Policy Program. They include the Berkeley Law & Society Scholars (aimed at students interested in domestic and international policy), Berkeley Builders Fellowship (business and corporate law), Berkeley Scholars in Law (legal scholarship and academia), Berkeley Justice Fellows (social justice), and Berkeley Innovation Scholars (intersection of law, technology, and society).

“We went into this with a recognition about what our admitted students are most interested in and most committed to and what some of Berkeley Law’s incredible strengths are — and where the two could meet in the middle,” Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Kristin Theis-Alvarez says. “That seemed like a win for everyone.”

Offered to students admitted this school year, the scholarships begin at $45,000 per year and can extend up to full law school tuition and fees, which are $62,567 for California residents and $74,995 for out-of-state students.

The categories are broad by design, to provide room for what Berkeley Law students often excel at: stretching the boundaries of traditional thinking, studying, and lawyering. This could include everything from examining how science is transforming evidence law to how sports law is balancing business, labor and employment, and racial justice issues.

“We want people here who are approaching things from a different angle,” Theis-Alvarez says. “And we also want a kind of cross-pollination. Our students have generated a lot of ideas that advance the school. We want to encourage them to spur the next wave of innovation, both here and in the legal profession.”

For students like 2L Kennedy Edwards, a Henderson Center for Social Justice Scholar, that approach holds great appeal.

“Berkeley Law offers numerous certifications, classes, clinics, and mentorship opportunities, like the dual certifications in Race & Law and Public Interest & Social Justice,” says Edwards, an Admissions ambassador, co-president of the school’s Law Students of African Descent, and managing editor of its Berkeley Journal of Black Law & Policy. “I’m currently working on fulfilling these requirements and am sure that the knowledge and experience I gain from them will more than prepare me for my future.”

Professor Andrew Bradt, faculty liaison to Admissions, enjoys seeing Berkeley Law help debunk the myth that an increase in scholarships leads to a decrease in collective academic rigor. This year’s 1L class has the highest median LSAT score since the school began tracking such data, a 3.87 median undergrad grade point average, and other sterling credentials.

“As a teacher, I can see the benefits every day I’m in the classroom,” Bradt says. “Our students — and the simultaneous care and excitement with which they approach legal problems of dizzying complexity — energize me constantly. That’s been true throughout my time at Berkeley but it feels especially true lately as our entering classes, bolstered by our aid policies, seemingly get more impressive with each passing year.” — Gwyneth K. Shaw & Andrew Cohen

With a steady decline in state funding — just 8% of this year’s operating budget comes from public money — the hurdles to sustaining these scholarship offerings are significant. This year, UC also ended a fund that provided $1.8 million annually to Berkeley Law’s public interest summer and post-grad fellowships in exchange for letting it raise fees.

The school has covered this gap from its own funds without reducing fellowships, but faces various factors that can impact its scholarship capacity.

“The scholarships we administer depend heavily on available funds,” Kang says. “Any constraints from limited budgets or state funding reductions can potentially result in unmet financial needs for some deserving students. In addition, the demand for financial aid often exceeds the available resources. With a growing number of students seeking assistance due to rising tuition costs and living expenses, meeting the needs of all qualified applicants within these constraints remains an ongoing challenge.”

As the gap between budgeted and endowment funding spent on scholarships continues to grow, Chemerinsky calls private support critical to maintaining robust aid offerings.

“Berkeley Law has a duty to be accessible to all regardless of their financial circumstances,” he says. “Meeting this duty depends on the commitment and generosity of our alumni to support these scholarships. My hope is that those who graduated when tuition was vastly lower will help this generation have what they did: a Berkeley Law education without crushing debt.”

Theis-Alvarez says that for Berkeley Law to be at the cutting edge of academic and community offerings, it must be just as innovative with its aid programs.

“The institution can change tactics and redeploy our resources, but donors play a vital role in our ability to innovate and improve,” she says. “Alumni gifts make such a difference. Annual gifts and class gifts have a major cumulative effect. Endowments let us really plan and build. Unrestricted gifts let us respond flexibly … Every year and every class is different.”

The Financial Aid Office is pursuing new approaches to secure alternative funding sources, creating strategies to maintain accessibility and affordability, and reassessing its methodologies to serve a broader spectrum of students. That includes a new program where students can report changes in their financial situation, thereby potentially qualifying for increased need-based aid.

“This feedback loop enables us to tailor our assistance more effectively, address the diverse needs of our student body, and promote equity in higher education,” Kang says.

Current scholarship recipients convey deep thanks for alumni support.

“It’s wonderful to be a part of such a generous community,” 3L Rocco Pallin says. “Berkeley Law is a special place … I’m very grateful for the financial support and the school’s close, encouraging, and cohesive environment.”

Says classmate and fellow scholarship recipient Eric Wright, “Investing in students is a force multiplier. You’re contributing to those who will create change in the community for years to come.”

The number of students in the entering J.D. class receiving full tuition and fees awards.

The number of students in the entering J.D. class receiving gift aid totaling up to half tuition and fees.

The percentage of students in the entering J.D. class borrowing student loans.