Through student organizations and alumni organizations that support LGBTQ+ students and graduates, as alumni and student referrals are a primary driver of applications to South Texas College of Law Houston.
One of the most distinctive hallmarks of South Texas College of Law Houston is our diverse, inclusive culture. From our first class in 1923 (which included several women), STCL Houston has welcomed and educated “a diverse body of students” — a commitment that we have codified as an essential tenet of our mission statement. In fact, when we survey our incoming students as they begin their studies to understand why they chose our law school, each year the survey reflects that our support for diversity is a primary reason students chose STCL Houston as their law school home.
Students are free to self-identify on their applications.
In addition to the general scholarships related to diversity, STCL Houston offers:
– AMICUS Endowed Scholarship: Recipients must have demonstrated support for AMICUS and the LGBTQ community at South Texas College of Law Houston. AMICUS educates, advises and informs its members and the STCL Houston community about issues and concerns, particularly in the practice of law, related to LGBTQ individuals.
– Peterson-Hewitt Annual Scholarship: Recipients must identify as transgender.
At every stage of the recruitment and hiring process, STCL Houston is intentional in ensuring it is reaching out to, identifying and selecting diverse candidates, including LGBTQ+ candidates.
STCL Houston staff, faculty, administrators and students are free to confidentially self-identify their gender identity and sexual orientation. The law school does not aggregate or track this information in an effort to ensure the privacy of these individuals.
The STCL Houston health insurance plans provide eligible employees and their qualifying dependents full access to medical, dental, and vision care insurance benefits.
Yes, if deemed medically necessary.
Neither yes nor no is correct. South Texas College of Law Houston cannot answer these questions, as the law school does not offer student health benefits.
Confidential counseling is provided by independent licensed professional counselors. Our counselors are trained to handle all issues, including those that are particular to LGBTQ+, transgender, and non-binary students. For more information, please visit http://www.stcl.edu/student-academic-affairs/counseling-health/personal-counseling/.
Sexual Orientation and the Law
AMICUS has been an active student group on campus for 20 years.
STCL Houston provides funding, including travel support, for its student LGBTQ+ organization – AMICUS – to use as it deems appropriate.
Yes, optional for all students
The law school does not capture students’ personal pronouns and honorifics.
South Texas College of Law Houston’s mission is to educate a “diverse body of students” — and its commitment to diversity stems from its first class in 1923, which included 23 men and five women. Over ten decades, the law school has earned its reputation as a supportive and inclusive environment, one that provides admission and opportunities to students whom other law schools might not accept. Indeed, many STCL Houston alumni are proudly loyal to South Texas because they were welcomed here, and not at other law schools.
Many students attend South Texas not just because of the excellence of the education afforded, but because of the school’s engaging and inviting culture, the strength of the diversity of our community, and the law school’s shared goal of helping every student succeed. This welcoming culture is so prevalent and distinctive in the South Texas community that it is widely recognized and noted by the law school’s students, staff and faculty.