The DePaul College of Law has been cited for fostering an open classroom environment and for its Chicago location in the latest rankings by The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company.

The rankings are based on a survey of 18,000 students attending 167 law schools across the country.  

Conducted over three academic years between 2008 and 2011, the mostly online survey polled students about their school’s academics, student body and campus life. Findings are published in the guidebook, “Best 167 Law Schools: 2012 Edition.”

According to Princeton Review, DePaul law students reported that the law school was a place that has a strong feeling of community and where diverse opinions are accepted in the classroom.  Students also said that the law school’s “faculty was ‘incredible’ and ‘impressive’ in terms of teaching effectiveness and professional experience.”

Students praised the law school for its “excellent connections not just in Chicago, but internationally as well.”  Students also praised DePaul’s association with the Chicago law bar, saying “DePaul ‘definitely’ opens doors to almost any practice area imaginable within Chicago,” and “try finding any firm in the greater metropolitan area that doesn’t have a DePaul law grad.”

The law school’s Chicago location was touted by students as an excellent backdrop for the study of law.  According to the survey, students said “DePaul’s  location certainly helps to expand social horizons, as the easy access to non-DePaul activities and people means that ‘the school is not [in] the normal college bubble.’”

Established in 1912, the College of Law enrolled 1,031 students during the 2011-2012 academic year.   Its research centers and institutes focus on issues such as public interest law, family law, international aviation law, dispute resolution, criminal defense and intellectual property law.   Included among DePaul College of Law alumni are state and federal judges, municipal, county and state leaders and two generations of former Chicago mayors.