The Indiana University Maurer School of Law has entered into memoranda of understanding with Georgia Institute of Technology and Knox College establishing scholarship and mentoring programs for students from each school interested in pursuing legal education.

Each year the programs will offer at least two Knox College and Georgia Tech graduates admitted to the Maurer School of Law a scholarship amounting to about 50 percent of annual tuition, along with access to a formal mentoring program. Georgia Tech scholarship recipients will also be eligible to serve as research assistants in the law school’s Center for Intellectual Property Research. The scholarship will reduce the cost of law school tuition over three years by $45,000 to $75,000, depending on the student’s residency and other factors.

“Engineers work in the realm of industrial property and are often the first involved in creating a proprietary design or invention,” said Gary S. May, dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to obtain the knowledge to handle intellectual property, which is at the very core of what engineers produce. We also realize that there is a need for patent lawyers with a strong background in innovation and engineering, which Georgia Tech provides.” Georgia Tech is one of the top research universities in the United States; its College of Engineering is consistently ranked among the nation’s top five in U.S. News and World Report; and it is rated among the top universities in the nation for graduation of underrepresented minorities in engineering, computer science and mathematics.

“I’m very pleased that the law school is partnering with two terrific institutions,” said Austen L. Parrish, dean and the James H. Rudy professor of law at the Maurer School of Law. "Knox College is known for its thriving academics and intellectual student body, which means Knox students are well-prepared to pursue graduate legal education."

“And we look forward to welcoming Georgia Tech’s outstanding engineering graduates to our intellectual property law program,” Parrish added. “In a world where technology and innovation touches every aspect of our daily lives, Georgia Tech students are particularly well equipped for success as law students.”

Parrish noted that an engineering degree provides a strong foundation for the study of intellectual property law, adding that the Maurer School of Law’s intellectual property program was ranked 20th in the United States in the 2014 edition of U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools.

Each year, Knox and Georgia Tech will nominate at least two students or alumni for admission to the Maurer School of Law, provided the applicants meet the law school’s criteria for admission and the LSAT and cumulative grade-point average requirements. Other indications of future success, such as prior academic performance, letters of recommendation, past professional and other experience, and desire to study at the law school, also will be considered. The programs will be open to all students and alumni of Knox College and the Georgia Tech College of Computing and College of Engineering, beginning with the law school’s 2014 entering class.