On Friday, Texas state House speaker Joe Straus pronounced himself optimistic that he (and other Dallas legislators) could push through legislation establishing a UNT Law School in downtown Dallas. A prior proposal hit the uprights and bounced out back in 2007. A UNT law school would be a direct competitor to two local schools: SMU Law in Dallas and Texas Wesleyan Law in Ft. Worth. Unlike SMU and Texas Wesleyan, however, UNT would presumably charge an agreeable state tuition. That's a serious market advantage. This year, SMU is charging $36,500 tuition. Even the more moderate Texas Wesleyan gets $24,600. The University of Houston, on the other hand, charges $18,400 for in-state residents. If UNT matches their tuition, that's a 25% discount over Wesleyan – and a whopping 50% coupon off SMU. (That's nothing compared to a school like Alabama, which charges the locals $12,500.)
Competition is obviously more complex than dollars and cents. But I guarantee that the arrival of a new public law school in downtown Dallas will be big news for other local schools. And with its attractive location, I suspect it could do quite well in the faculty recruitment derby as well.
But, would UNT actually be the most northern law school in Texas?
"(For the record, TSU is farther “south” than STCL.)" – Tim Zinnecker