DETROIT - Wayne State University Law School today announced a tuition freeze and changes to its scholarship program that effectively amount to a 14 percent tuition cut for all incoming students. The law school also is offering nearly $1 million in new scholarship opportunities to its current students.

The cut involves a tuition freeze that guarantees current and incoming students that rates remain at $28,138.50 through at least the 2015-16 academic year. In addition to stabilizing tuition costs, the law school has created a scholarship program that guarantees all incoming students a minimum $4,000 scholarship annually. Wayne Law also will be offering more scholarship funds to all students than ever before, as a result of the generosity of many alumni eager to give back to their alma mater.

Even prior to the tuition freeze and additional scholarship funding, Wayne Law's tuition was the lowest of any law school in Michigan. Merit- and need-based scholarships are also available to cover tuition expenses, further reducing the cost of attendance.

With flagship programs in civil rights, entrepreneurship and business law, and international legal studies, and expanded opportunities for hands-on learning, mentoring and internships in these and other areas, Wayne Law is rising in prominence as it is increasingly recognized nationally for its quality of programming, extensive alumni network and affordability. Wayne Law is ranked in the top 100 - at No. 87 - in U.S. News and World Report's list of Best Law Schools for 2015.

"We strive to provide quality legal education that is affordable and accessible," said Wayne Law Dean Jocelyn Benson. "By stabilizing the cost of tuition and providing more scholarships than ever before, Wayne Law becomes an even better investment for anyone seeking to obtain an affordable, nationally ranked legal education in a world-class city."

Wayne Law recently was recognized as the "Best Value Law School" for 2014 by The National Jurist and its sister publication, preLaw magazine, based on its price of tuition, student debt accumulation, bar passage rate, cost of living and - given the greatest weight - employment success. Wayne Law was one of only 53 law schools, and the only one in Michigan, to earn the designation.

"Creating value for students goes beyond affordability," Benson said. "Our location in the heart of Detroit during such a transformative time offers students access to hands-on legal experience in areas ranging from corporate law and entrepreneurship to public interest and civil rights that you cannot get at any other law school."

Wayne Law's Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights provides groundbreaking programs, including the recently announced Detroit Equity Action Lab, which will bring together 60 organizations working in the areas of racial equity, health care, education, food security, safety and housing to address issues of structural racism in Detroit. The equity lab is funded through a three-year, $1.3 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The growing focus on creating and sustaining businesses in and around Detroit has helped grow Wayne Law's Program for Entrepreneurship and Business Law. This has led to include the expansion of the Business and Community Law Clinic and establishment of the Patent Procurement Clinic, the only clinic in Michigan that is part of a pilot program within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.