Samford University's Cumberland School of Law is a private law school in Homewood, near downtown Birmingham. Its daytime JD and flex-time option accompany advocacy training and clinics covering veterans' legal needs, health care, housing, and immigration.
This guide walks you through how to get into Samford Cumberland Law.
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1. Samford Cumberland Law Admissions Numbers and Statistics
Samford Cumberland Law Class of 2029:
- LSAT: Median: 157
- GPA: Median: 3.70
Samford Cumberland Law Class of 2028:
- LSAT: 75th: 160 | Median: 156 | 25th: 154
- GPA: 75th: 3.84 | Median: 3.63 | 25th: 3.42
The fall 2026 entering class has 182 students, up from 170 in fall 2025. Both medians increased: one LSAT point and 0.07 GPA points. The newer class therefore presents a stronger numerical benchmark than the previous entering class, even as the number of enrolled students grew.
Aim to be at or above at least one median to be competitive. Above both puts you in a stronger position. Below both medians, this is a prayer, not a reach.
For context on how medians affect your strategy, see How to Build a Smart Law School List.
2. Samford Cumberland Law Application Essays
Personal Statement (required)
Cumberland requires a personal statement. Its application-materials overview describes a two- to three-page, double-spaced essay.
The school's instructions:
“Please share your motivation for pursuing a legal education, highlighting what drives your passion for law. You may wish to reflect on significant life experiences, personal challenges you’ve overcome, leadership roles, community involvement, or other attributes that demonstrate your potential to enrich Cumberland’s intellectual and cultural environment. You may also explain how your background equips you for success in the study and practice of law or describe how you plan to use your legal education to serve the public good. Your personal statement should be clear, concise, and well-organized, serving as a sample of your writing ability. It will help us evaluate your potential to succeed at Cumberland School of Law and in the legal profession. Your statement should not exceed three typed and double-spaced pages and should be carefully proofread.”
For more on how to write a personal statement, see my Personal Statement Examples and Personal Statement Guide.
For more on making your whole application work together, see my Cohesive Narrative Guide.
Addenda and Character & Fitness Resources
I'll be publishing a guide to addenda and character and fitness.
3. Samford Cumberland Law Resume Requirements
A resume is required, with a two-page maximum. Include dates and descriptions for education, employment, leadership, and service, and identify full-time versus part-time employment. Make the responsibilities clear rather than relying on titles alone.
For more on preparing your resume, see my Resume Examples and Resume Guide.
4. Samford Cumberland Law Letters of Recommendation
Cumberland requires two letters and accepts up to four. Use one academic letter from your major unless a military or work substitute applies. Direct-from-college applicants should use a second academic letter; others may use a character reference. Family letters do not count.
For more on recommendations, see my LOR Guide (Applicants) and LOR Guide (Writers).
5. Samford Cumberland Law Interview Process
Cumberland does not conduct JD admissions interviews, so make the written application complete and clear. The Jere F. White Jr. Fellows Program has a separate finalist interview process; that scholarship interview is distinct from ordinary JD admission.
6. Samford Cumberland Law Deadlines and Decision Options
Application Dates and Fees
- Application opens: September 1, 2026.
- Decision notifications begin: November 5, 2026.
- Priority deadline: December 31, 2026, for faster review and scholarship consideration.
- Application closes: May 1, 2027.
- Last accepted LSAT: June 2027.
- Application fee: $0.
Cumberland reviews applications on a rolling basis. The priority date is part of that schedule, not a binding early-decision commitment. Submit the LSAC application, CAS materials, and LSAT score with enough time for the required documents to reach the school. The June test option does not extend the May application deadline.
Testing Policy
Cumberland requires the LSAT within the past five years, receives all LSAT scores, and gives weight to the highest score during review.
Program Formats
The flex-time option takes four years by dividing the first-year load across two years. It is not a separate evening or online JD: classes remain primarily in person and during the day.
7. Samford Cumberland Law Scholarships and Financial Aid
Merit Scholarships
Every admitted applicant receives merit consideration through the admission application. Cumberland considers the undergraduate GPA, LSAT, and other application information. Flex-time students are not eligible for scholarships during their first two semesters.
Conditional awards require a cumulative 2.4 law-school GPA at the end of summer. Falling below that threshold reduces the next year's award by 50%. Remaining below 2.4 after the following summer means the scholarship will not be renewed. The 2025 ABA report records seven reductions or eliminations among 155 students who entered with conditional scholarships in 2024-2025.
Jere F. White Jr. Fellows Program
This separate award provides full tuition, a $5,000 annual stipend, attorney mentoring, and participation in Cumberland's Inn of Court. It emphasizes academic achievement, leadership, and demonstrated service; the minimum LSAT is 160. Applicants submit an additional application, including a service essay of no more than 500 words, and finalists interview. The selection process favors sustained work benefiting underserved communities.
Tuition and Budget
For 2026-2027, annual JD tuition is $47,724, with $1,040 in required fees. The full estimated student budget is $80,602, including housing and food, books, transportation, and personal expenses. Compare the award with the full budget and renewal conditions. Complete the FAFSA for federal aid consideration.
For more on scholarship strategy, see How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships.
8. Samford Cumberland Law Joint Degree Programs
Cumberland offers eight joint-degree paths:
- JD/MBA and JD/MAcc: Brock School of Business, Samford.
- JD/MS in Environmental Management: Howard College of Arts and Sciences, Samford.
- JD/MDiv and JD/MA in Theological Studies: Beeson Divinity School, Samford, taking approximately six and five years, respectively.
- JD/MPA and JD/MPH: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
- JD/LLM: Cumberland, in compliance or legal operations.
Most non-divinity combinations can be completed in three years. Students generally apply to the secondary program during spring of 1L and must complete the first year with at least a 2.5 GPA, plus the partner's requirements. The JD/LLM requires a 3.0 GPA to apply; the MAcc requires an accounting degree.
9. Samford Cumberland Law Employment Outcomes (Class of 2025)
Samford Cumberland Law Class of 2025 employment outcomes (reported to the ABA, measured 10 months after graduation):
- Full-time, long-term bar-passage-required employment (ABA): 80.6%
- BigLaw (firms with 101+ attorneys): 18.7%
- Federal clerkships: 2.2%
- Public service (including government): 15.1%
Alabama is overwhelmingly the principal market, followed by Georgia and Florida. Small-firm practice is a substantial part of the outcome mix, alongside larger firms and government work. Cumberland makes the clearest geographic sense for an applicant planning to establish professional relationships in Alabama. Compare the scholarship-adjusted cost with the kind of practice you intend to enter rather than treating the larger-firm share as the default outcome.
10. Samford Cumberland Law Areas of Study and Specializations
Trial Advocacy and Litigation: The Certificate in Trial Advocacy combines Evidence, Basic Skills in Trial Advocacy, Advanced Trial Advocacy, pretrial practice, dispute resolution, advanced evidence work, and a litigation externship. Students must earn at least a C in certificate courses and a 2.5 cumulative GPA, completing a sequence beyond participation on a competition team.
Health Law and Compliance: The Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic with UAB Hospital connects legal work to patients' housing, benefits, family, and planning needs. The JD/LLM health law and compliance concentration provides a separate route into regulatory work, while the UAB JD/MPH adds public-health training.
Business and Transactional Practice: The Cooney Contracts and Risk Management Clinic connects contracts work with insurance and business risk. Brock School of Business joint degrees add management or accounting study. These are concrete ways to explore advising organizations rather than limiting the Cumberland experience to courtroom practice.
Environmental and Property Law: The JD/MS in Environmental Management combines legal study with scientific and management training through Howard College of Arts and Sciences. Faculty work in land use, natural resources, tax, and real estate gives students several ways to examine environmental problems beyond a single doctrinal course.
11. Samford Cumberland Law Clinics and Experiential Learning
Cumberland's nine clinics connect supervised legal work with specific client needs:
- Cooney Contracts and Risk Management Clinic: Analyze contracts, insurance issues, and commercial risk through work with McGriff professionals.
- Cumberland Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic: Interview veterans and family members and assist with civil matters, including housing, consumer issues, and family-law needs.
- Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic: Work with UAB Hospital patients on legal needs affecting health, including wills, powers of attorney, and advance directives.
- Housing and Economic Assistance Clinic: Assist Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham clients facing eviction, unsafe housing, and public-benefits problems through counseling and negotiation.
- Immigration Advocacy Clinic: Interview clients, research detention and immigration issues, and help draft petitions, motions, and briefs under attorney supervision.
- Capital Defense Clinic: Support Jefferson County public defenders through investigation, research, mitigation development, and preparation in capital cases.
- Criminal Appeals Clinic: Review trial records, develop arguments, and prepare briefs and oral advocacy in criminal appeals.
- Innocence Clinic: Investigate Alabama wrongful-conviction claims through record review, witness investigation, and analysis of possible legal claims.
- Parole Clinic: Work with Redemption Earned on case review, parole preparation, and reentry planning.
Pro Bono and Experiential Learning
Externships span corporate legal departments, courts, government, litigation firms, and public-interest organizations. Examples include the Alabama Attorney General's Office and Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham. A first externship includes the Externship I Seminar, linking fieldwork with professional ethics and reflection. Summer placements extend beyond Birmingham.
The Cumberland Public Interest and Community Service Organization and Volunteers for Income Tax Assistance offer additional service involvement.
12. Samford Cumberland Law Notable Faculty and Journals
Faculty
- Blake Hudson: Dean and Professor of Law. He studies property, environmental law, land use, and natural-resource management. His research connects private property and institutional design with conservation and development; he previously directed the Environmental, Land Use, and Real Estate Law Program at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
- LaJuana S. Davis: Leslie S. Wright Chair of Law and Director of the Innocence Law Clinic. She teaches criminal law, procedure, and postconviction remedies. Her prior practice at the Equal Justice Initiative included direct appeals and state and federal habeas litigation.
- Brannon P. Denning: Starnes Professor of Law. He writes and teaches constitutional law. His books include American Constitutional Law: Powers and Liberties and The Glannon Guide to Constitutional Law, connecting his scholarship with materials used in legal education.
- Tracey M. Roberts: Professor of Law. Her work spans taxation, property, housing, and environmental law. Her scholarship builds on 14 years of practice involving commercial real estate, affordable housing, tax-credit financing, and land-use planning.
Journals
- Cumberland Law Review: The general-interest flagship.
- American Journal of Trial Advocacy: Litigation practice and procedure.
Both publish twice each academic year and select members through academic eligibility and a candidates writing process.
13. Samford Cumberland Law Culture and Student Life
Cumberland combines a suburban university campus with connections to Birmingham's legal community. The Student Bar Association, Black Law Students Association, Women in Law, and practice-focused groups create different points of entry into the school. Trial and moot court boards add opportunities to work closely with classmates outside ordinary courses.
Law students live off campus because Samford reserves university housing for undergraduates. That makes the commute between Homewood, home, and a placement part of the practical planning. The university's Christian identity is part of the setting, while student organizations include varied professional, service, cultural, and religious interests.
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Related Reading
→ How to Build a Smart Law School List
→ Should You Apply Early Decision to Law School?
→ How to Negotiate Law School Scholarships
→ 6 Proven Steps to Get Off a Law School Waitlist
→ How to Get Into Law School Below Both Medians
→ What Holistic Law School Admissions Really Means
→ Blog Directory
Note: While I try to keep this guide up to date, always verify deadlines, requirements, and policies at the Samford Cumberland Law website before applying.
Think you spotted an outdated requirement or something that doesn't look right? Email moshe@sharperstatements.com with the school and a link to the current information.
