The University of California - Los Angeles School of Law, or UCLA Law School, offers a great legal education from a well-respected institution in a gorgeous location, southern California. It is currently ranked 15th by U.S. News and World Report, tied with the University of Texas Law School.
UCLA Law is known for offering excellent financial aid to its students; well over half of the student body receives grants from the school. UCLA Law's acceptance rate for the Class of 2012 was 16.7%.
UCLA Law's three-year full-time day Juris Doctor (J.D.) program operates from mid-August to mid-May; there are no part-time, evening, or summer programs. For information on living accommodations, see Housing.
Contact Information
71 Dodd Hall, PO Box 951445
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1445
(310) 825-2080
Email: admissions@law.ucla.edu
Website: http://www.law.ucla.edu
Fast Facts (Class of 2012)
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Enrollment Information
Applicants: 8,255
Admitted: 1,383
Enrolled: 320Women: 49%
Students of color: 32.8%
California residents: 69%Student to Faculty Ratio: 1: 12.9
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GPA/LSAT Scores
LSAT Median: 168
LSAT 25/75 Percentile: 164-169UGPA Median: 3.75
UGPA 25/75 Percentile: 3.57-3.88 -
Costs and Fees (2009-2010)
Tuition: $35,328 (residents); ($45,968 nonresidents)
Application Procedures
Application fee: $75
Application deadline: February 1 of the year in which you're seeking admission; November 15 for Early Decision.
Applicants must submit applications online either through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), or through the school's website.
In addition to the application and fee, applicants must submit:
- Personal statement
- Two to three letters of recommendation
- Resume
- Official transcripts
For complete information on admission procedures at UCLA Law, see Admission to the First-Year Class.
Transfer Procedures
Transfer applications will be available online between May 1 and July 5; interested students should submit the application and fee as well as the following:
- Essay expressing interest in UCLA Law
- Resume
- Two letters of recommendation from current faculty
- Complete LSDAS report including transcripts
- Letter of good standing
For more information on transferring to UCLA Law, see J.D. Transfer Applications.
Degrees and Curriculum
In order to earn a Juris Doctor degree, a UCLA Law student must earn 87 semester units of coursework, including a course in professional responsibility and one that satisfies the Substantial Analytic Writing requirement. For more detailed information, see Degree Requirements.
The first-year curriculum corresponds to that of most major law schools with courses in Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Property, Torts, and Civil Procedure and also includes Lawyering Skills and the First-Year Public Interest Seminar.
UCLA Law offers several joint degree programs, through which students can earn a J.D. along with a master's degree in subjects such as Afro-American Studies, Urban Planning, Public Health, and Public Policy. The law school also offers LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees as well.
Study Abroad
UCLA Law doesn't offer any summer abroad programs, but provides guidelines for student who wish to do so through other ABA-accredited law schools.
Law Journals and Other Activities
UCLA Law has 13 student-run journals, including the UCLA Law Review, Pacific Basin Law Journal, and the Entertainment Law Review.
Along with many student organizations, the law school has specialized programs and centers for specific legal interests, such as Critical Race Studies, International Human Rights Law Program, Environmental Law, and the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy.
Bar Exam Passage Rate
A majority of UCLA Law students take the California State Bar Exam and, in 2007, achieved an 85.7% pass rate. The overall pass rate for the California Bar Exam was 65%.
Post-Graduation Employment
From the 2008 graduating class, 99.1% were employed nine months after graduation. The median starting salary was $160,000.
Sixty-four percent of the Class of 2008 went into private practice, 16% entered government or public interest positions, 11% accepted judicial clerkships, 7% entered the business field, and 2% went into academia.