Last updated: September 23, 2026

Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Law School is a private law school in downtown Los Angeles, California, that enrolled a first-year class of 338 students in Fall 2025 from 4,549 completed applications, with a median LSAT of 163 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.74. It is ranked #70 (tie) in the 2026 U.S. News rankings and #6 (tie) for part-time law, and 277 of its 300 Class of 2025 graduates (92.3%) were employed ten months after graduation, with 253 in bar-admission-required positions and 49 at firms of 501 or more attorneys. The central decision issue for applicants is that Loyola pairs genuine Los Angeles BigLaw placement — 49 graduates at the largest firms, a 16.3% BigLaw rate — with a top-10 tax program and the strongest part-time evening program in the West, at a 2026–27 day-division tuition of $74,026 and an average graduate debt of $190,236.

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Loyola Law School at a Glance

Category	Latest information
Founded	1911 (relocated to the downtown Los Angeles campus in 1980)
Type	Private (Jesuit, Loyola Marymount University)
ABA approval or accreditation	ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education)
Location	Downtown Los Angeles, California
Latest U.S. News rank	#70 tie (2026 edition); #6 tie among 78 part-time programs; #8 tie in Tax Law
Latest completed applications	4,549 (Fall 2025, 2025 509 report)
Latest acceptance rate	26.05% (Fall 2025)
Latest LSAT median	163 full-time / 162 part-time (Fall 2025)
Latest GPA median	3.74 full-time / 3.73 part-time (Fall 2025)
Latest entering class	338 (Fall 2025)
Current tuition	$74,026 (2026–27, JD Day, tuition + fees) / $54,928 (Hybrid JD Evening)
Current estimated cost of attendance	Not published in machine-readable form in the sources reviewed; a third-party compilation lists approximately $114,416
Latest first-time bar passage	84.2% (U.S. News profile); 79.7% (LawHub, 2025 first-time takers)
Latest bar-required employment	253 of 300 graduates (84.3%) in bar-admission-required positions; 92.3% employed overall (Class of 2025)
Current dean	Brietta R. Clark (Fritz B. Burns Dean; installed as 19th dean September 7, 2024)

The admissions figures are drawn from Loyola's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (4,549 completed applications, 1,185 offers, a 26.05% acceptance rate, 338 in the first-year class, and 1,000 total J.D. enrollment). The tuition figures are from Loyola's official Student Accounts tuition-and-fees schedule for 2026–27. Brietta R. Clark, a scholar of health law and health justice, has served as Fritz B. Burns Dean since June 1, 2024, after a year as interim dean, and was formally installed as the school's 19th dean on September 7, 2024, succeeding Michael Waterstone.

Introduction

Loyola Law School was founded in 1911 and moved to its purpose-built campus in downtown Los Angeles in 1980. It is part of Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution, and is located in the city's civic and legal core — within walking distance of the courts, law firms and government agencies that employ its graduates.

The school's identity rests on three pillars: a Los Angeles placement network that reaches the largest national firms, including 49 Class of 2025 graduates at firms of 501 or more attorneys; a nationally recognised tax programme, ranked #8 (tie) by U.S. News, and a trial advocacy programme with a long top-10 history; and the strongest part-time evening programme in the West, ranked #6 (tie) nationally among 78 part-time programmes. Its graduates cluster in California, with a curriculum built around concentration programmes — self-described "law majors" — that pair doctrinal study with at least one semester of simulation or live-client work.

Rankings and Reputation

Loyola Law School is ranked #70 (tie) out of 194 ABA-approved law schools in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report edition, and #6 (tie) out of 78 schools in the part-time law ranking. Its reputation is concentrated in two areas: tax law, ranked #8 (tie), and part-time legal education, where the school's Hybrid JD Evening Program has been the top-ranked evening programme in the West and the highest-ranked part-time programme in California for extended stretches.

Overall ranking

U.S. News edition	Loyola Law School rank
2026	70 (tie)
2024	61
2019	65

Applicants should treat movement within the 60–75 band as largely immaterial to Loyola's practical career outcomes, which turn on its Los Angeles placement network, its BigLaw conversion rate and its evening programme rather than on rank position.

Specialty rankings

Specialty	Rank
Part-time Law	#6 tie (2026, of 78 programmes)
Tax Law	#8 tie (2026)
Trial Advocacy	#9 (2019 edition; the programme has been ranked top-10 in 11 of the 13 editions through that year)
Intellectual Property Law	#32 (2019 edition)

Current-edition rank numbers for specialty categories beyond Tax Law and Part-time Law were not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed and are therefore not listed. Loyola's published areas of programmatic strength, per its U.S. News academics listing, span clinical training, dispute resolution, environmental law, health care law, intellectual property law, international law, business/corporate law, constitutional law, contracts/commercial law and criminal law.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

Admissions metric	Fall 2025
Completed applications	4,549
Offers of admission	1,185
Acceptance rate	26.05%
Enrollees from applicant pool	Not separately reported (the 509 filing reports a single first-year class figure)
Total in first-year class	338
Yield (enrollees / offers)	28.5%

Total J.D. enrollment stands at 1,000, among the largest of any California law school, and the school enrols both a three-year day division and a part-time four-year evening division. First-year day students are placed into one of four sections (D1–D4) of 60–80 students each — the evening division is section E1 — and incoming 1Ls follow a designated schedule for the full year before choosing electives.

LSAT and GPA

Statistic	25th percentile	Median	75th percentile
LSAT, full-time	161	163	165
LSAT, part-time	158	162	165
UGPA, full-time	3.55	3.74	3.89
UGPA, part-time	3.34	3.73	3.91

Loyola accepts the GRE in addition to the LSAT. The part-time division's profile is close to the day division's at the median and 75th percentile — a 162 median LSAT against 163, and an identical 165 at the 75th percentile — but it draws a wider credential band at the 25th percentile (158 LSAT, 3.34 GPA), reflecting an applicant pool that includes working professionals.

Interpreting the numbers

Loyola's 163 median LSAT places it in the upper half of California law schools and its 26.05% acceptance rate reflects a selective but broad funnel drawn from a large applicant pool — 4,549 completed applications, the largest by far of any school in this profile series. The school's 28.5% yield from offers is high for a school in its ranking band, which reflects both the draw of the Los Angeles market and the appeal of the evening programme to working applicants. No LSAT or GPA guarantees admission given the holistic review.

Application timing

The application fee is $75, waived for all applicants through December 31, 2026 and permanently waived for current students and alumni of Loyola Marymount University's undergraduate and graduate programmes. Required materials are the electronic J.D. application, the CAS report (transcripts, LSAT scores and letters of recommendation), an LSAT or GRE score, a personal statement, letters of recommendation and disclosures; a résumé is optional but strongly recommended. Priority deadlines for the 2026–27 cycle are December 1, 2026 for the binding Early Decision programme, February 1, 2027 for the day division and April 15, 2027 for the evening division. The Admissions Committee reviews files on a rolling basis beginning in November and continuing through late May, with decisions typically rendered 8–10 weeks after a file is complete, and the J.D. application opens on LSAC on September 15, 2026. Early Decision applicants commit to matriculate if admitted — immediately withdrawing other applications, declining prior acceptances and submitting their seat deposit by the stated deadline — and may apply to other schools while awaiting a decision but may not participate in another early decision programme.

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

Tuition and fees for the 2026–27 academic year are $73,000 tuition plus a $916 general student fee and a $110 SBA fee for full-time JD Day students — $74,026 in total — and $54,180 plus a $688 general student fee and $60 SBA fee for Hybrid JD Evening students, $54,928 in total. In 2025–26, the day rate was $70,360 in tuition with $1,026 in annual fees, and the evening rate $52,220 with $748 in fees. The 2025 ABA filing reports the same tuition for residents and non-residents because Loyola is private. U.S. News reports the current cycle at $71,386 full-time and $52,968 part-time. Tuition and fee rates are subject to annual increase.

Cost of attendance

Expense	2026–27
JD Day tuition, general student fee and SBA fee	$73,000 + $916 + $110 = $74,026
Hybrid JD Evening tuition, general student fee and SBA fee	$54,180 + $688 + $60 = $54,928
Total estimated cost of attendance	Not published in machine-readable form in the sources reviewed (a third-party compilation lists ≈ $114,416)

The school directs students to the university's Financial Aid office for an itemised cost-of-attendance budget covering housing, food, books, supplies, transportation, personal expenses and loan fees. That line-item breakdown was not retrievable in machine-readable form in this update, so no official total is stated here; the ≈ $114,416 figure circulating on third-party sites is unconfirmed against the school's own budget.

Financial aid

Loyola awards a mix of merit scholarships and need-based aid. Per the 2025 Standard 509 report, 605 students received grants, with a 75th-percentile award of $52,000, a median of $45,000 and a 25th-percentile award of $35,000 — a substantial distribution, with the median award covering roughly 60% of day-division tuition. The financial aid application deadline is March 15, and the financial aid office can be reached at (310) 338-2753; the financial aid director is Lindsay McCarthy.

Conditional scholarships: unlike most schools in this profile series, Loyola does award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance, and it reports the results. For students matriculating in 2024–25, 216 matriculants held conditional scholarships and 36 were reduced or eliminated; the prior two cohorts show 214 matriculants with 28 reduced or eliminated (2023–24) and 222 matriculants with 39 reduced or eliminated (2022–23) — a reduction rate ranging from roughly 13% to 18% of conditional-scholarship holders. Applicants receiving a conditional award should read the retention terms carefully before enrolling.

Debt perspective

The average indebtedness of 2025 J.D. graduates who incurred law school debt was $190,236, with 73.2% of graduates borrowing — a materially higher debt load than at public law schools, driven by a day-division tuition that now exceeds $74,000 per year. Loyola does offer a loan repayment assistance programme for 2025 graduates, which mitigates the burden for graduates entering public-interest or government work. Students paying near full price without grant support face a three-year cost before living expenses approaching $230,000.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

Loyola's Class of 2025 employment summary shows 300 total graduates, of whom 277 were employed (92.3%) and 253 held bar-admission-required positions (84.3%). The Class of 2025 also marks a step change in large-firm placement: 49 graduates joined firms of 501 or more attorneys, or 16.3% of the class, up from 5.6% in the prior cycle, alongside 10 more at firms of 251–500 attorneys. Loyola reported 5 law-school-funded positions, and only 14 graduates were still seeking work.

Employment metric	Class of 2025
Total graduates	300
Employed (all categories)	277 (92.3%)
Bar-admission-required	253 (84.3%) — 252 full-time long-term, 1 part-time long-term
J.D. advantage	15 (5%) — 14 full-time long-term, 1 full-time short-term
Professional position	2 (0.7%)
Non-professional position	2 (0.7%)
Law-school/university-funded	5 (1.7%)
Enrolled in graduate studies	0
Employed, start date deferred	2 (0.7%)
Unemployed — seeking	14 (4.7%)
Unemployed — not seeking	5 (1.7%)
Employment status unknown	2 (0.7%)

The employer-type distribution (all categories) was: law firms 209 (75.45% of employed graduates) — solo 1; 1–10 attorneys 59; 11–25 attorneys 33; 26–50 attorneys 25; 51–100 attorneys 15; 101–250 attorneys 17; 251–500 attorneys 10; 501+ attorneys 49. Business and industry 24 (8.66%); public interest 24 (8.66%); government 12 (4.33%); judicial clerkships 5 (1.81% — 3 federal, 2 state/local); education 3 (1.08%); employer type unknown 0. The school publishes ABA and NALP employment summaries for the last three classes on its Career Development Office pages.

Data note: the Career Development Office landing page headlines a Class of 2025 outcome of 336 total class size with 314 employed (93.45%), which does not reconcile with the 300 graduates and 277 employed in the detailed ABA-format table reproduced above. The detailed table is used here; the headline figures appear to apply a broader counting basis and should be treated as unconfirmed pending the school's own reconciliation.

What these numbers mean

Loyola's placement profile is one of the strongest large-firm outcomes among California law schools outside the top tier: 59 of 300 graduates (about 20%) joined firms of 251 or more attorneys, including 49 at firms of 501+, while 24 entered public interest and 12 government. The 92.3% overall employment rate, 84.3% bar-required rate and only 14 graduates still seeking work indicate limited placement risk, but the profile is geographically concentrated in one of the most expensive legal markets in the country, which is what drives the $190,236 average debt figure. Loyola is an effective California BigLaw and mid-size-firm pipeline rather than a national one.

Bar passage

Bar statistic	Value
First-time bar passage rate (U.S. News profile)	84.2%
Average first-time passage across U.S. states	77.7%
Ultimate bar passage (2-year average, U.S. News profile)	95.2%
First-time bar passage (LawHub, 2025 takers)	79.7%
California first-time comparison	Pass rate exceeds the California overall rate by approximately 6.5 percentage points (ILRG)

The different first-time figures reflect differing methodologies and reporting years — U.S. News's composite against LawHub's all-jurisdiction calculation — but both place Loyola above the national average of 77.7%, and its 95.2% two-year ultimate rate indicates that graduates who need a second attempt pass in the large majority of cases. Independent tabulations rank Loyola #86 nationally on first-time bar passage. The California bar is among the most demanding in the country, so comparisons to national first-time averages understate the school's standing within its home jurisdiction.

Where graduates go

Loyola's graduates are heavily concentrated in California, and overwhelmingly in the Los Angeles metropolitan market, which is the primary driver of the school's large-firm and mid-size-firm placement. Exact state-by-state counts for the Class of 2025 were not published in machine-readable form in the sources reviewed.

Academics and Programs

Loyola offers a three-year full-time day J.D. and a four-year part-time evening J.D. (the Hybrid JD Evening Program), with classes offered from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to give students scheduling flexibility. The curriculum offers 325 elective courses — from Bioethics to Immigrant Advocacy — organised around concentration programmes that function as "law majors," each requiring focused doctrinal study plus one semester of simulation or live-client experience.

Curriculum and special strengths

The required first-year curriculum comprises Civil Procedure, a first-year elective, Contracts, Criminal Law, Legal Research & Writing, Property and Torts. Upper-division required courses are Constitutional Law, Ethical Lawyering, Evidence, an upper-division writing requirement and a pro bono graduation requirement. Concentration programmes cover major practice fields and are designed around employer demand for practice-ready associates, while less structured "Integrated Courses of Study" provide guided course selection and practical experiences in areas such as health care law, law and the political process and family law.

Dual-degree options include a J.D./M.B.A. completed in four years rather than five, and a J.D./Tax LL.M. — described by the school as the only fully-sequenced three-year joint J.D./Tax LL.M. programme in the United States, allowing students to practise tax immediately on graduation.

Clinics and experiential learning

Loyola's clinical and experiential programme places students in live-client and simulation work on campus, across the Los Angeles community and internationally, and the school's concentration programmes each embed a semester of simulation or live-client experience. Students also pursue externships and practicums, with the J.D. carrying a pro bono graduation requirement. Faculty total 198 — 78 full-time (35 male, 43 female) and 120 non-full-time (58 male, 61 female, 1 another gender identity) — per the 2025 ABA filing, with U.S. News reporting a 7.8:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

Student Life and Location

Living in Los Angeles

Loyola Law School occupies a purpose-built campus in downtown Los Angeles, placing students within walking distance of the federal and state courthouses, major law firms, government agencies and public-interest organisations that employ them. That proximity is a genuine professional asset — externships, part-time clerkships and networking during the academic year are all available in the immediate vicinity — but Los Angeles carries one of the highest costs of living in the country, and the school's cost-of-attendance budget reflects it. Downtown LA is well served by public transit and the school's campus sits near the city's civic core.

Student body

With a first-year class of 338 and total J.D. enrollment of 1,000, Loyola is one of the larger law schools in California, and its student body includes a substantial cohort of working professionals in the evening division. First-year day students are placed into sections of 60–80 students with a fixed schedule for the year, which builds cohort cohesion before upper-division electives open up. Students participate in a wide range of student organisations, journals, moot court and trial advocacy programmes. The J.D. is offered full-time (day) and part-time (evening).

How Loyola Law School Compares

Choose Loyola Law School if

You want California BigLaw with realistic odds: 49 of 300 Class of 2025 graduates (16.3%) joined firms of 501+, and 59 joined firms of 251+, from a school ranked #70 (tie).
You are targeting tax: a #8 (tie) U.S. News tax ranking plus the only fully-sequenced three-year J.D./Tax LL.M. in the country, allowing immediate tax practice on graduation.
You need a part-time or evening J.D.: the #6 (tie) part-time programme in the country and the strongest evening programme in the West, with classes running to 10 p.m. and a median LSAT of 162 that is only one point below the day division.
You want to be in the market where you will practise — the campus sits inside downtown Los Angeles, walking distance from the courts and major firms.

Consider alternatives if

You are debt-averse: a day-division tuition of $74,026 with an average graduate debt of $190,236 and 73.2% borrowing is among the heavier financial profiles in California legal education.
You want to avoid conditional-scholarship risk: Loyola awards conditional scholarships and reported 36 of 216 conditional awards reduced or eliminated in 2024–25.
You want a national rather than a Los Angeles-centred career, or federal clerkships — only 3 graduates secured federal clerkships.
You want a small, close-knit programme — with 1,000 J.D. students, Loyola is a large school.

The TLS Verdict

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles is one of the most effective California placement machines below the state's elite tier: 92.3% employment, 84.3% of graduates in bar-required positions, and 49 of 300 graduates at firms of 501 or more attorneys — a 16.3% BigLaw rate, up sharply from 5.6% the prior year, from a school ranked #70 (tie). Its distinctive assets are its #8 tax programme, the only fully-sequenced three-year J.D./Tax LL.M. in the country, and the strongest part-time evening programme in the West. The principal trade-offs are financial and structural: a $74,026 day-division tuition against an average graduate debt of $190,236 with 73.2% of graduates borrowing, a first-time bar passage rate of 84.2% (with 79.7% by LawHub's calculation) that trails California's top schools, only 5 judicial clerkships including 3 federal, and a placement network concentrated in a single, expensive metropolitan market. It also awards conditional scholarships — 36 of 216 reduced or eliminated in the most recent cohort — which is unusual among the schools in this series and warrants close scrutiny of retention terms. For applicants who want to practise in Los Angeles, particularly in tax, business or mid-size and large-firm practice, and who are prepared for the debt, Loyola is a strong choice; applicants weighing debt against outcomes should run the numbers against California's public law schools first.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into Loyola Law School?

Selective from a large pool: for Fall 2025, Loyola accepted 26.05% of applicants (1,185 offers from 4,549 completed applications) and enrolled a first-year class of 338.

What LSAT score is competitive for Loyola Law School?

The median LSAT for the Fall 2025 entering class was 163 in the day division and 162 in the evening division, with middle-50% ranges of 161–165 and 158–165 respectively. Scores at or above the median are competitive, but no score guarantees admission given the holistic review.

What GPA do Loyola Law School applicants typically have?

The median undergraduate GPA for the Fall 2025 entering class was 3.74 full-time and 3.73 part-time, with middle-50% ranges of 3.55–3.89 and 3.34–3.91.

Does Loyola Law School give scholarships?

Yes, broadly. Per the 2025 ABA 509 report, 605 students received grants, with a median award of $45,000, a 25th percentile of $35,000 and a 75th percentile of $52,000. Loyola does award conditional scholarships that can be reduced or eliminated based on academic performance — 36 of 216 conditional awards were reduced or eliminated in 2024–25, 28 of 214 in 2023–24 and 39 of 222 in 2022–23.

What is Loyola Law School's bar passage rate?

For the most recent cycle, the first-time bar passage rate was 84.2% per the U.S. News profile, against a 77.7% average first-time rate across U.S. states, with a 95.2% two-year ultimate rate. LawHub reports 79.7% first-time for 2025 takers, and independent tabulations rank the school #86 nationally with a pass rate roughly 6.5 points above California's overall rate.

Is Loyola Law School good for BigLaw?

Increasingly so. Of the 300 Class of 2025 graduates, 49 (16.3%) joined firms of 501 or more attorneys and 59 (about 20%) joined firms of 251 or more — up from 5.6% BigLaw placement in the prior cycle. Law firms absorbed 75.45% of employed graduates overall.

Does Loyola Law School offer a part-time J.D.?

Yes — the Hybrid JD Evening Program, a four-year part-time programme, ranked #6 (tie) nationally among 78 part-time programmes. Evening students posted a 162 median LSAT and a 3.73 median GPA for Fall 2025. The Evening application priority deadline is April 15.

What is Loyola Law School best known for?

It is best known for its Los Angeles location and placement network, its top-10 tax programme and the only fully-sequenced three-year J.D./Tax LL.M. in the country, its trial advocacy programme, and its part-time evening programme — the highest ranked in the West and among the top 10 nationally.

Contact and Key Links

Loyola Law School, Loyola Marymount University
Downtown Los Angeles campus

Financial Aid Phone: 310-338-2753 · Financial aid director: Lindsay McCarthy

Admissions Email: [email protected]

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

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