Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy - History

History

The Fletcher School was founded in 1933 with the bequest of Austin Barclay Fletcher, who left over $3 million to Tufts University upon his death in 1923. A third of these funds were dedicated to a school of law and diplomacy. Fletcher did not have in mind a school "of the usual kind, which prepares men for admission to the bar and for the active practice of law." Instead, Fletcher envisioned "a school to prepare men for the diplomatic service and to teach such matters as come within the scope of foreign relations embraces within it as a fundamental and thorough knowledge of the principles of international law upon which diplomacy is founded, although the profession of a diplomat carries with it also a knowledge of many things of a geographic and economic nature which affect relations between nations."

The school opened in 1933 as a collaborative project between Harvard University and Tufts University. Tufts University would later assume sole responsibility for administrating the school but the Fletcher School has continued to cooperate closely with other universities. In addition to the various joint programs offered, Fletcher students can also take classes at MIT and Harvard graduate schools. In addition, Harvard and MIT cross register at Fletcher as well.

The Fletcher School and Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) are the only non-law schools in the US that compete in the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.