Last updated: September 7, 2026

George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School (Scalia Law) is the law school of George Mason University, located in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded in 1979 as the George Mason University School of Law, the school was renamed in 2016 to honor the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, following a $30 million benefaction — initially proposed as the "Antonin Scalia School of Law," but revised in 2016 to "Antonin Scalia Law School" after weeks of public attention to the unfortunate acronym of the original short form. Today the school is a public flagship in the D.C. metro area that combines Virginia-resident tuition, a Washington D.C. employment pipeline, and a flagship Law and Economics research program.

The school is home to approximately 660 J.D. students and is widely recognized as one of the best public law schools in the country for Law and Economics. Beyond its specialty reputation, Scalia Law places a meaningful share of each class into the federal-government, federal clerkship, and Northern Virginia legal markets.

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Scalia Law School at a Glance

Category	Latest information
Founded	1979 (renamed Antonin Scalia Law School in 2016)
Type	Public (George Mason University)
ABA approval or accreditation	Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
Location	3301 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201
Latest U.S. News rank	#32 (tie, 2026), out of 194; #2 in Virginia; #12 public law school; #3 public part-time program
Latest completed applications	2,792 (Oct 6, 2024 – Oct 5, 2025 ABA cycle)
Latest acceptance rate	15.86% (443 offers of admission)
Latest LSAT median	169 (LSAC-certified, Fall 2025 entering class)
Latest GPA median	3.93 (Fall 2025 entering class)
Latest entering class	159 total (132 full-time, 27 part-time)
Current tuition	$24,864 (in-state, JD program, 2026–27 annual fee schedule; see note)
Current estimated cost of attendance	Approximately $69,000 (Virginia resident) / $87,500 (non-resident), 2026–27
Latest first-time bar passage	86.30% (LawHub, Class of 2025); 85.96% (LSD.Law); #70 nationally per ILRG
Latest bar-required employment	80.80% full-time legal employment at 10 months (LawHub, Class of 2025); 0% underemployment
Current dean	Henry N. Butler (Henry G. Manne Chair in Law and Economics; dean through June 2026); successor to be confirmed

Introduction

Scalia Law opened its doors in 1979 as part of George Mason University, just three miles from the heart of Washington, D.C., making it one of the few major U.S. law schools operating from a self-contained suburban campus — across the Potomac from Capitol Hill, the White House, the Federal Reserve, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In 2016, the school was renamed Antonin Scalia Law School in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, who had served on the faculty before his appointment to the high court and whose jurisprudential approach continues to shape the school's intellectual identity. The school's Lexington, Va., location has helped develop its signature Law and Economics faculty tradition since 1979.

Two statistics frame Scalia Law's present-day profile. First, the school reported that 86.30% of first-time examinees from the Class of 2025 passed the bar examination (LawHub), and 80.80% of the Class of 2025 secured full-time legal employment within ten months of graduation, with 0% underemployment (LawHub). Second, the school reported an entering median LSAT of 169 and a median GPA of 3.93 for Fall 2025 — credentials consistent with the school's top-15-public-law-school specialty position and its expanding peer profile.

Rankings and Reputation

Overall ranking

Ranked #32 (tie) in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report law-school rankings, out of 194 ranked schools. Scalia Law is the #2 law school in Virginia (behind the University of Virginia), the #12 public law school nationally, and the #3 public part-time program in the United States. The school has held a steady top-40 ranking across recent cycles, with the 2026 ranking reflecting a 4-position rise from its 2024 baseline (#28).

Specialty rankings

#1 nationally in Law and Economics (U.S. News, multi-year)
Top-15 in Intellectual Property Law
Top-20 in Business/Corporate Law
Top-25 in International Law
Top-25 in Tax Law**
Top-30 in Environmental Law**
Top-30 in Constitutional Law**
Top-30 in Criminal Law**
Top-30 in Health Law**
Top-30 in Trial Advocacy**

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

For the Class of 2028 (Fall 2025 entering cohort), the 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report records the following for the 2025 cycle (Oct 6, 2024 – Oct 5, 2025):

2,792 completed applications
443 offers of admission
15.86% acceptance rate
159 students in the first-year class total (132 full-time, 27 part-time)

The school's admit rate sits in the middle of top-30 to top-40 private/public peers, reflecting both the school's smaller applicant volume relative to T14 peers and its steady competitive position among publics.

LSAT and GPA

Median LSAT among enrolled students: 169 (LSAT-certified). Median undergraduate GPA: 3.93. Both medians are very strong for the school's rank — placing Scalia Law in the upper band of public law schools, with median LSAT tied with or exceeding many T14 peers and a GPA median that rivals top private schools.

Interpreting the numbers

Scalia Law's stats show that the school's rank understates its actual admissions competitiveness. The 169 LSAT median and 3.93 GPA median place the school in the lower-T14 band by credential — yet the school's U.S. News rank is #32, in the top tier of public law schools. This gap reflects (1) the small penalty public schools incur in U.S. News peer assessment scores due to longer-tenured faculty at private peers, and (2) the school's recent climb in rank from prior cycles (28 → 32 between 2024 → 2026 reflects improvements in employment outcomes and bar-passage rates that flow through to the weighting model).

The applicant pool tilts toward applicants targeting the Northern Virginia and broader D.C. legal market, with applicants from Maryland, the District of Columbia, Florida, New York, and the broader Southeast also well-represented. In-state Virginia applicants with strong academic credentials have a meaningful admissions advantage and a substantial in-state tuition discount.

Application timing

J.D. applications open early September for Fall 2027 entry. Priority deadline: March 1, 2027. Final deadline: May 1, 2027 (rolling). Application fee: $60 (waived upon request when LSAC Credential Assembly Service identifies financial need). Decisions are released on a rolling basis from January through April.

Part-time J.D. applicants should consult the school's separate part-time admissions page for additional cycle information and in-state/out-of-state residency context.

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

George Mason's official 2026–2027 published annual tuition for the J.D. program at Scalia Law:

Virginia Resident: $24,864 per year (2026–27 published annual fee schedule)
Non-Resident: $44,968 per year (2025–26 published rate applied for reference; 2026–27 out-of-state rate expected to be similar)

Scalia Law's tuition is one of the lowest in the country for a top-30 public law school with a top-1 specialty in Law and Economics. The school also offers in-state tuition to out-of-state students who are employed in the public sector, providing a meaningful savings opportunity for federal-government employees in the Northern Virginia and D.C. metropolitan area.

Cost of attendance

The published 2026–27 standard student expense budget totals approximately:

Virginia Resident: approximately $69,000–$72,000
Non-Resident: approximately $87,500–$90,000

The breakdown is approximately:

Tuition and fees: $24,864 (resident) / $44,968 (non-resident)
Room and board: $18,500–$20,000 (Northern Virginia is among the highest-cost-of-living metro areas in the country)
Books and supplies: $1,800–$2,000
Personal/transportation: $7,000–$9,000
Loan fees: $1,200

Northern Virginia's cost of living is among the highest in the United States (median rent in Arlington and Falls Church is approximately $2,200/month for a one-bedroom apartment).

Financial aid

George Mason's grant figures published in the 2025 ABA Standard 509 reporting period are not separately verified in our search; based on prior cycles:

Approximately 60–70% of students receive grant/scholarship funding
Median scholarship amount: approximately $15,000–$20,000
Conditional scholarships: published at zero reductions/eliminations in recent cycles
Levy Fellowships — elite academic and tuition fellowships for select admitted students

The flagship awards are the Merit-Based Tuition Scholarships, various named endowed scholarships, and need-based aid administered jointly by the law school and George Mason's central financial-aid office.

Debt perspective

Scalia Law's average debt for the Class of 2025 (per U.S. News public-source data and LawSchoolRequirements aggregations): approximately $95,000–$105,000 for borrowers. While still substantial, this is materially below the private-school top-30 peer group, especially given the school's Virginia-resident tuition base. The school's federal-government employment pipeline (~25–35% of each class enters federal agencies and federal clerkships) places Scalia Law well above most regional publics in terms of the share of graduates starting work in high-paying federal and private-sector jobs.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

The Class of 2025 ABA employment summary discloses the following for graduates from the J.D. program (per LawHub and ABA aggregations):

80.80% full-time legal employment rate at ten months (LawHub Employment Score)
0.0% underemployment rate (LawHub)
86.30% first-time bar-passage rate (LawHub)
73.30% employed at graduation (U.S. News)
Full-credit outcomes 10 months after graduation: 86% (U.S. News profile data)
Approximately 5–7% federal clerkship rate**
41 graduates secured federal clerkships in recent cohorts (2024–2025)

By employer category (Class of 2025):

Law firms, 501+ lawyers: ~15%
Law firms, 251–500 lawyers: ~5%
Law firms, 101–250 lawyers: ~7%
Law firms, 51–100 lawyers: ~6%
Law firms, 26–50 lawyers: ~6%
Law firms, 11–25 lawyers: ~7%
Law firms, 1–10 lawyers: ~14%
Business & Industry: ~7%
Government: ~17% (federal, state, and local government combined)
Public Interest: ~6%
Judicial Clerkships: ~7–8%

What these numbers mean

Scalia Law's signature employment profile is a top-30 rank with a meaningful federal-government and Northern Virginia placement pattern. Beyond federal clerkship success, the school's placement into the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Patent and Trademark Office positions is well-documented. So is the school's placement in Northern Virginia firms serving the federal-government contractor ecosystem (Leidos, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI, ManTech), as well as the broader D.C. legal market's top mid-sized firms. The school's 0% underemployment rate is among the lowest in the entire top 50, reflecting strong employer demand for Scalia Law graduates.

Bar passage

86.30% first-time pass rate for the Class of 2025 (LawHub)
85.96% first-time pass rate for the Class of 2025 (LSD.Law)
Approximately 94% ultimate two-year pass rate
#70 nationally in bar-passage rate among first-time takers, +5.3 points over the state average (ILRG)
Approximately 85% first-time pass rate in Virginia for the Class of 2025 (Virginia Bar)**

Where graduates go

Scalia Law graduates distribute primarily among:

Virginia: ~45% (the school's primary placement market)
District of Columbia: ~15% (federal government, federal clerkships, partner firms in D.C.)
Maryland: ~10%
New York: ~7%
Pennsylvania: ~4%
California: ~3%
Florida: ~3%
Texas: ~3%
Other states: ~9%

Northern Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties) and the broader D.C. metro area are the school's primary placement markets — the school's location near the Pentagon, DOJ, USPTO, and federal contractor ecosystem provides a structural advantage unmatched by most regional public law schools.

Academics and Programs

Degrees offered

Scalia Law offers six JD programs, including full-time, part-time, and dual-degree options:

Full-time J.D. (3 years)
Part-time J.D. (typically 4 years)
JD/MBA (dual degree with George Mason's School of Business)
JD/MPP (Master of Public Policy)
JD/MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies)
JD/PhD (interdisciplinary dual-degree)

The school also offers six LLM programs leading to the Master of Laws degree, including the Law & Economics LLM, the U.S. Legal Studies LLM for foreign-trained lawyers, and the Comparative Law LLM.

Curriculum and special strengths

The J.D. is a six-semester (full-time) or eight-semester (part-time) course of study. Required first-year courses anchor the program in constitutional law, contracts, civil procedure, criminal law, property, torts, and legal writing. Upper-division concentrations include:

Law and Economics (signature concentration; #1 specialty)
Intellectual Property & Patent Law (signature; Top-15)
Business and Corporate Law (Top-20)
International Law (Top-25)
Tax Law (Top-25)
Constitutional Law (Top-30)
Criminal Law (Top-30)
Environmental Law (Top-30)
Health Law (Top-30)
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Public Interest Law
Cybersecurity and Privacy Law (emerging concentration)
National Security Law (concentration tied to the D.C./Northern Virginia federal employment ecosystem)

Joint degrees

Scalia Law offers joint J.D. degrees with other George Mason graduate divisions, including:

JD/MBA (School of Business)
JD/MPP (Schar School of Policy and Government)
JD/MALS (College of Humanities and Social Sciences)
JD/PhD (interdisciplinary programs)

The school also offers LL.M. and S.J.D. graduate programs with concentrations in Law and Economics, U.S. Legal Studies, and Comparative Law.

Clinics and experiential learning

Scalia Law operates an extensive clinical program with signature clinics including:

Appellate Practice Clinic
Civil Practice Clinic
Criminal Prosecution Clinic
Disability Rights Clinic
Domestic Relations Clinic
Environmental Law Clinic
First Amendment Clinic
Immigration Law Clinic
Intellectual Property Law Clinic
Investor Protection and Corporate Governance Clinic
Law and Economics Center
Patent Clinic (in cooperation with USPTO)
Special Education Advocacy Clinic
Veterans and Military Law Clinic
Voices Against Violence Clinic

Each second- and third-year Scalia Law student is required to complete substantial clinical and field-placement credits. The Scalia Law in DC Externship Program places students in full-time summer externships in Washington, D.C., partnering with federal agencies (DOJ, FTC, SEC, EPA, USPTO) and the broader D.C. private bar.

Journals

Scalia Law students publish on a number of student-edited journals, including:

George Mason Law Review
Journal of Law, Economics & Policy
Civil Rights Law Journal
International Law Review
Journal of Intellectual Property, Technology & Transfer Law
Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

Journals feed the school's clerkship and academic pipeline through supervised student writing.

Centers and institutes

Major centers and institutes housed at Scalia Law include:

Law & Economics Center (LEC) — George Mason's signature research program in Law and Economics, hosting the Henry G. Manne Chair and the Eminent Scholars program
Center for Intellectual Property
Study Center for the National Judicial College of State
Center for International Law and Trade
Criminal Practice Innovation Hub**
Center for the Study of the Administrative State**

Special honors: The Henry G. Manne Chair in Law and Economics is held at Scalia Law — the first endowed chair in Law and Economics in the United States.*

Student Life and Location

Living in Arlington

Scalia Law is located in the Founders Hall including the new Pollack Community Center, in the Courthouse-Clarendon corridor of Arlington, Virginia — a 5-minute walk from the Courthouse Metro Station on the Orange and Silver Lines, providing direct Metro access to the Federal Triangle in downtown Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Tysons Corner, and the broader Northern Virginia suburbs. The Northern Virginia and D.C. legal market — including the federal courts, federal agencies, and the largest concentration of Federal Government contractors in the United States — is a defining asset of the school's location, providing an unmatched pipeline to many of the most sought-after post-graduate positions.

Student body

Scalia Law's student body comprises approximately 660 J.D. students (across full-time, part-time, and dual-degree pathways) and a relatively diverse mix of Virginia residents, D.C. residents, national applicant-pool candidates, and international LL.M. students. Active student organizations include the Moot Court and Mock Trial teams (a multi-year national competitor in the William & Mary National Moot Court Competition), the George Mason Law Review Board, and a wide range of identity-based and practice-area groups.

How Scalia Law Compares

Choose Scalia Law if

You want a top-30+ public law school with a #1 nationally ranked Law and Economics specialty
You want public-school Virginia-resident tuition at one of the lowest in-state tuition rates among top-tier schools
You want to enter the federal-government or Northern Virginia legal market
You want to access an in-state tuition rate of approximately $25,000 — among the lowest in the country for a top-tier school
You prefer a major legal market (D.C. metro area) over coastal or Southern alternatives
You want a top IP and patent-law specialty concentration (top-15 nationally)

Consider alternatives if

You want a T14 credential with widely-discussed placements to NYC firms (consider Duke, Penn, or Northwestern)
You want a different regional market — Virginia (Charlottesville) and Washington & Lee are Virginia peers at slightly different specialty profiles
You want a larger class with broader peer-cohort diversity — Georgetown, NYU, or UCLA offer that
You want a different climate — Northern Virginia has four mild seasons, slightly hotter and more humid summers than the Mid-Atlantic
You want a school whose name and brand signals are tied to a less politically-charged figure (the Antonin Scalia name draws both positive and negative reactions in different applicant communities)

The TLS Verdict

George Mason's Antonin Scalia Law School combines a top-30+ U.S. News rank (#32 tie, 2026), a #1 nationally ranked Law and Economics specialty, a top-12 public law school rank, and one of the lowest in-state tuition rates among top-tier schools (Virginia-resident tuition $24,864 in 2026–27) — with public-school tuition, federal-government employment, and a meaningful Northern Virginia/D.C. metro pipeline. Scalia Law is an outstanding value choice for students committed to the Virginia bar, the federal-government employment market, or the D.C. metro legal market, especially those interested in Law and Economics or IP and patent law career paths. For applicants seeking immediate coastal BigLaw placement in large NYC firms, or a nationally-portable J.D. to schools further from the East Coast, the school's strong but East Coast–leaning placement profile is a real consideration.

Frequently Asked Questions =

What is Scalia Law School's acceptance rate?

15.86% — 2,792 completed applications and 443 offers of admission (Fall 2025, ABA Standard 509), with 159 students in the first-year class total (132 full-time, 27 part-time).

What LSAT score do I need?

Median 169 (LSAT-certified, Fall 2025 entering class). Scores at or above 169 place you at the median.

What GPA do I need?

Median 3.93 (Fall 2025 entering class).

How much is tuition?

$24,864 per year (Virginia resident, 2026–27 published annual fee schedule) and approximately $44,968 (non-resident, 2025–26 reference rate). Total cost of attendance is approximately $69,000 (resident) / $87,500 (non-resident) for a full-time J.D. student.

Does Scalia Law give scholarships?

Yes — approximately 60–70% of students receive grant/scholarship funding. Median scholarship amount approximately $15,000–$20,000. Conditional scholarships: published at zero reductions/eliminations in recent cycles.

What is Scalia Law's bar passage rate?

86.30% first-time (LawHub, Class of 2025); 85.96% first-time (LSD.Law). Approximately 94% ultimate two-year pass rate.

Is Scalia Law good for BigLaw?

Approximately 27% of graduates enter BigLaw firms of 100+ lawyers, with the Northern Virginia and D.C.-area firms dominating. The school's federal-government and federal-contractor firm partners (Leidos, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI, ManTech) are particularly strong.

Does Scalia Law offer a part-time J.D.?

Yes — Scalia Law operates a top-3-ranked public part-time J.D. program alongside the full-time program.

Why is the school named after Justice Scalia?

George Mason's law school was renamed Antonin Scalia Law School in 2016, in recognition of the late Supreme Court Justice who had served on the school's faculty. The renaming reflects the school's intellectual tradition of originalist jurisprudence and its signature Law and Economics focus.

Contact and Key Links

George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

3301 Fairfax Drive

Arlington, VA 22201

Admissions Phone: 703-993-8010

Admissions Email: <[email protected]>

Main Office: 703-993-8000

Official links

JD program access

TLS Forum Links

Sources

George Mason University School of Law

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