A Women’s Law School

As an institution tailored to women from working-class families, Portia Law School was sensitive to financial and time pressures, offering part-time enrollment. And when the state toughened requirements for law students, Portia added resources like a GED-equivalency program and college-level courses.

Out of financial necessity, particularly during the Great Depression, Portia Law School began opening up its programs to male students. Like their female classmates, the men were drawn to the school’s flexible approach and established reputation.

1. 1908: First steps

2. 1918: Becoming official

3. 1919: First student organizations

4. 1920: Changing rules

5. 1921: Move to Beacon Hill

6. 1926: Establishment of a Master’s program

   Massachusetts Governor Alvan T. Fuller gives Portia Law School the authority to grant the Masters of Law (LL.M) degree to both men and women. The one-year program requires full-time study.

   Special Act Chapter 161 on the Master’s Program, as it appears in the Commonwealth’s Acts and Resolves for 1926.

7. 1927: First publications

8. 1930: First male graduates

9. 1934: Founding of the Portia College of Liberal Arts

10. 1939: Fully coeducational