The University of Texas School of Law |
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Parent school | The University of Texas at Austin |
Established | 1883 |
School type | Public |
Endowment | $172.1 million (Law School) |
Dean | Ward Farnsworth |
Location |
Austin, TX, U.S. 30°17′19″N 97°43′51″W / 30.288666°N 97.730762°WCoordinates: 30°17′19″N 97°43′51″W / 30.288666°N 97.730762°W, |
Enrollment | 1,031 |
Faculty | 182 |
USNWR ranking | 15 |
Bar pass rate | 87.68% (Texas) |
Website | utexas.edu/law |
The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is an ABA-certified American law school located on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. Texas Law offers both Juris Doctor and Master of Laws degrees. It also offers dual degree programs with the JD, such as an MBA, MPA, and PhD. In 2016 the law school was ranked No. 15 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, No. 12 by Above the Law, and No. 13 by Start Class. Texas Law is consistently ranked among the top five public law schools in the United States. The school has also ranked No. 1 for the biggest return on investment among law schools in the United States.
The school has 19,000 living alumni, over 4,000 of whom practice law outside of Texas. The law school has graduated the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark as well as a number of heads of state and corporate executives.
According to Texas Law's 2014 ABA-required disclosures, 77.8% of the Class of 2014 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
Texas Law is among the most selective law schools in the nation. For the class of 2018, 4,303 students applied and 21.9% were accepted with a class median LSAT score of 167. The median GPA for the admitted class is 3.73. The average age of admitted students is 24, and women make up 47% of the class. Texas Law admits students from over 22 US states. Emphasizing its role as a public institution, Texas Law reserves 65% of the seats in each first-year class for Texas residents.
In 2014, the law school was the subject of an admissions scandal, currently under investigation by Kroll, Inc. Records obtained through the Texas Public Information Act revealed that students were admitted with LSAT scores as low as 128. In connection with the admissions inquiry, a study of those UT graduates who failed the Texas Bar on multiple occasions included children of legislators, legislators and Capitol staff members. The law school suffered one of the lowest bar passage rates in all of the state's law schools in February, 2014. The bar passage rate was the lowest of all Texas schools, only 59% of those from UT having passed.