Owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly called the Mormon Church), BYU Law offers an affordable, quality legal education in a truly unique atmosphere.
Law students are bound by the university’s Honor Code, which prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, revealing clothing, pre-marital sexual relations, and the “promoting [of] homosexual relations as being morally acceptable” and places restrictions on hairstyles, facial hair, and piercings.
BYU Law is generally ranked in the top 50 of the country’s law schools by U.S. News and World Report (#46 in 2008), but receives far fewer applicants than similarly ranked schools, likely because of the aforementioned Honor Code. A vast majority of students are members of the Mormon Church.
BYU Law School’s three-year full-time Juris Doctor (J.D.) program operates from late August to late April. Housing information is available through the Career Services Office.
Contact Information
Admissions Office
340 JRCB
Provo, Utah 84602-8000
(801) 422-7871
Email: admissions@lawgate.byu.edu
Website: http://www.law.byu.edu
Fast Facts
- Enrollment Information
Applicants: 860-1000 per year
Accepted: 240
Enroll: 150 per year - Class of 2010 Profile
Women: 34%
Minorities: 14%
Student to Faculty Ratio: 1: 18.9 - GPA/LSAT Scores
LSAT Median: 165
LSAT 25/75 Percentile: 162-167UGPA Median: 3.70
UGPA 25/75 Percentile: 3.51-3.85 - Costs and Fees (2008-2009)
Tuition:
$9,240 for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
$18,480 for non-membersOther fees (estimates):
Books and supplies: $1,760
Room and board off campus: $6,460
Personal Expenses: $2,064
Transportation: $1,824Note that all incoming students are required to have a laptop computer pursuant to the school’s Laptop Initiative.
Application Procedures
Application fee: $50
Application deadline: March 1, 2009 for Fall 2009 admission
Applicants can request a paper application online, by email, mail, or phone (contact information above) or download a PDF version of BYU Law School’s application from the school’s website. Electronic applications through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) are also accepted.
Transfer Procedures
Students wishing to transfer to BYU Law must have completed their first year of law school elsewhere, be in the top third of his or her law school class, and have a compelling reason to transfer.
Transfer applicants must complete the online application at the school’s website; the deadline is June 15, 2009 for Fall 2009 admission.
For more information on transferring to BYU Law School, contact the Admissions Office.
Degrees and Curriculum
In order to earn a Juris Doctor degree, a student must acquire 90 credits and complete the following:
- Professional Responsibility course during the second or third year.
- A substantial paper of satisfactory quality at least 30 pages long during second or third year.
- Professional Skills Requirement by completing one of the following:
- At least two credit hours of externship credit; or
- At least one of the second-year or third-year courses designated as a “Professional Skills Course” in the Law School course materials.
- A graduation interview with the Law School Registrar four months prior to graduation.
For more information, see Requirements for Graduation.
The first-year curriculum includes Civil Procedure, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts, Introduction to Legal Research and Writing, Introduction to Advocacy, Perspectives on the Law and Structures of the Constitution. Students choose all courses during the second and third years of study.
BYU Law offers the following joint degree programs in which students can earn a J.D. along with another professional degree from one of BYU’s graduate or professional schools:
- JD/MBA in law and business administration
- JD/MPA in law and public administration
- JD/MACC in law and accounting
- JD/Med in law and education
BYU Law School also offers a Masters of Laws (LL.M.) degree program.
Study Abroad
Study abroad opportunities can be discussed with BYU Law’s Career Services Office.
Law Journals and Other Activities
BYU Law School has four student journals: BYU Law Review, BYU Education and Law Journal, BYU Journal of Public Law, and BYU International Law and Management Review.
Along with many student organizations, the law school also offers the opportunity to participate in Moot Court and Trial Advocacy teams, both of which compete on the national level.
Bar Exam
A majority of BYU Law students take the Utah State Bar Exam, and in 2007 achieved a 96.2% pass rate. The overall pass rate for the Utah Bar Exam was 87%.
Post-Graduation Employment
From the 2006 graduating class, 83% were employed at graduation and 98% were employed nine months after graduation. Starting salaries averaged $81,782 overall, $94,897 in the private sector. Fifty-seven percent of the Class of 2006 accepted employment outside of Utah.
Quite impressive for a school of its ranking, BYU Law is 18th on the list of schools with the most United States Supreme Court clerks between 1991 and 2005.
