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Stetson University College of Law

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Last updated: October 7, 2026

Stetson University College of Law

Stetson University College of Law is a private law school in Gulfport, Florida, that enrolled a first-year class of 336 students in Fall 2025 from 2,791 completed applications, with a median LSAT of 159 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.63. It is ranked #91 (tie) in the 2026 U.S. News rankings and holds the #1 national ranking in both Trial Advocacy (for a fourth consecutive year) and Legal Writing. The central decision issue for admitted applicants is that Stetson delivers the strongest courtroom-skills training in the country from a mid-ranked regional school, with limited national portability and a first-time bar passage rate that trails Florida's strongest programs, at a 2026–27 cost of attendance of $89,122.

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Stetson Law at a Glance

Category Latest information
Founded 1900 (Florida's first law school; 126 years ago)
Type Private
ABA approval or accreditation ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education, approved since 1930); AALS member since 1931
Location Gulfport, Florida (Tampa Bay area)
Latest U.S. News rank #91 tie (2026 edition); #1 Trial Advocacy; #1 Legal Writing; #33 tie Part-time (of 78)
Latest completed applications 2,791 (Fall 2025, 2025 509 report)
Latest acceptance rate 36.44% (Fall 2025)
Latest LSAT median 159 (Fall 2025)
Latest GPA median 3.63 (Fall 2025)
Latest entering class 336 (273 full-time, 63 part-time) (Fall 2025)
Current tuition $58,217 (full-time, 2026–27); $38,812 (Flex-J.D.)
Current estimated cost of attendance $89,122 (full-time, 2026–27); $65,970 (Flex-J.D.)
Latest first-time bar passage 77.0% first-time Florida (2024 takers, ILRG/ABA-based); 84.9% first-time all jurisdictions (2025 takers, LawHub)
Latest bar-required employment 76.4% full-time, long-term bar-required (Class of 2024, ILRG/ABA-based)
Current dean D. Benjamin Barros

The admissions figures are drawn from Stetson's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (2,791 completed applications, 1,017 offers, 36.44% acceptance rate, 336 in the first-year class as of October 2025, including 3 enrollees who deferred from the prior year). Stetson's own admissions page reports a Fall 2026 entering-class profile of LSAT 158/161/163 and GPA 3.44/3.70/3.84; the difference reflects a later reporting date and different counting methods, and this profile uses the standardized 509 figures. Tuition and cost data are from Stetson Law's Tuition and Costs page. D. Benjamin Barros, a property law scholar who previously served as dean of the University of Toledo College of Law from 2015 to 2023, has served as dean since July 1, 2023; the AALS deans database lists his Stetson term as running to September 28, 2026, and a September 30, 2026 social post still refers to him as dean, so the current deanship should be confirmed with the school before publication.

Introduction

Stetson.jpg


Stetson University College of Law, founded in 1900, is the law school of Stetson University and the oldest law school in Florida. It occupies a historic bayfront campus at 1401 61st Street South in Gulfport, Florida, on a site anchored by the 1920s Rolyat Hotel designed by Richard Kiehnel, and it is home to the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library. The college has held ABA Council approval continuously since 1930 and has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1931. It is currently marking its 125th anniversary.

With a J.D. enrollment of roughly 1,000 students and a first-year class of 336, Stetson is a mid-sized regional school in a major metropolitan market. It is larger than most private law schools outside the top tier and it is the only ABA-approved law school in the United States claiming simultaneous No. 1 U.S. News rankings in both Trial Advocacy and Legal Writing.

Stetson's identity rests on three pillars: a nationally dominant advocacy and legal-writing curriculum anchored by its trial-team program; a guaranteed clinic or externship for every student, drawn from more than 300 placement opportunities each year; and a Florida-centered alumni network that runs unusually deep in the state's judiciary, prosecutors' offices, legislature, and personal-injury bar. The school has produced two recent Florida Attorneys General and a U.S. Senator, among many other state officials.

The principal trade-off is scope. Stetson's reputation is regional and skills-first rather than national and research-driven: its federal clerkship rate is 1.3%, its bar-required employment rate is 76.4%, and about three-quarters or more of each class stays in Florida and joins the Florida Bar. Cost is a second consideration — private tuition of $58,217 against a $25,000 median grant — which makes both scholarship negotiation and borrowing discipline more consequential here than at schools feeding large-firm salary pipelines.

Rankings and Reputation

Stetson Law is ranked #91 (tie) in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings, an eight-place climb from #99 in the 2025 edition. The school's reputation among employers and advocacy practitioners has always run ahead of its overall rank: it has held the No. 1 spot in Trial Advocacy in 26 of the 31 years U.S. News has published the category, including four consecutive years through 2026, and in the 2026 edition it took the No. 1 position in Legal Writing for the first time after three straight years at No. 3.

Overall ranking

U.S. News edition Stetson rank
2026 91 (tie)
2025 99

Ranks for 2024 and earlier were not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed. An eight-place move within the 80–100 band has limited practical effect on outcomes at Stetson, where hiring is driven by the advocacy curriculum, the Tampa Bay alumni network, and regional employer relationships rather than by rank position.

Specialty rankings

  • Trial Advocacy — #1 nationally (U.S. News, 2026 edition). Stetson has held the top spot in 26 of the 31 years the category has been published, and 2026 marked its fourth consecutive year at No. 1.
  • Legal Writing — #1 nationally (U.S. News, 2026 edition), moving up from No. 3, a position held for three consecutive years.
  • Part-time Law — #33 tie of 78 (U.S. News, 2026 edition), reflecting the size and longevity of the Flex-J.D. division (63 of 336 first-year students in Fall 2025).
  • Advocacy and skills training — the college's centerpiece, sustained by trial and appellate competition teams, practice-intensive upper-level courses, and the school's guaranteed experiential requirement. Additional U.S. News specialty ranks for the current edition were not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed and are therefore not listed.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

Admissions metric Fall 2025
Completed applications 2,791
Offers of admission 1,017
Acceptance rate 36.44%
Enrollees from applicant pool 333
Total in first-year class 336
Yield (enrollees / offers) 32.74%

The three-student gap between the applicant-pool figure and the class total reflects enrollees who deferred admission from the prior year and were not part of the current-year applicant pool. Total J.D. enrollment as of October 5, 2025 was 1,009, with 1 transfer student entering and 5 first-year students transferring out. Stetson's admissions page reports 110 undergraduate institutions represented in the incoming class and 95% of new JD students receiving scholarships.

LSAT and GPA

Statistic 25th percentile Median 75th percentile
LSAT 158 159 162
Undergraduate GPA 3.42 3.63 3.81

Stetson's own published Fall 2026 entering-class profile reports LSAT 158/161/163 and GPA 3.44/3.70/3.84, modestly higher than the standardized 509 figures for Fall 2025. The school's 509 report does not disclose a separate GRE pathway; applicants relying on a GRE score should confirm current policy with the admissions office.

Interpreting the numbers

Stetson's 36.44% acceptance rate places it among the more selective half of ABA-approved law schools but well outside the top tier, and selectivity has tightened materially: six years ago the school admitted 45.5% of applicants with a median LSAT of 155 and a median GPA of 3.36. The 25th-to-75th LSAT band of 158–162 is narrow by national standards, which is typical of schools drawing overwhelmingly from one state's applicant pool. The GPA band of 3.42–3.81 is consistent with schools ranked in the 90s nationally. The enrollment rate from completed applications of 11.93% confirms Stetson's position as a common target and safety school on Florida applicant lists. One data caveat worth noting: the school's admissions page publishes a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, while third-party calculation from 509 faculty counts produces roughly 19.8:1 — the difference comes from how non-full-time faculty are counted, and both figures should be quoted with their source attached.

Application timing

The application fee is $55. Stetson reviews applications on a rolling basis with a published application deadline of May 15 and a financial aid deadline of August 1. Because the school graduates students in December, May, and August, it admits across multiple entry terms rather than a single fall cohort, and applicants seeking a spring start should confirm which terms are open for their program. No binding early decision program was disclosed in the sources reviewed; applicants should treat any "early decision" language as unverified until the admissions office confirms it.

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

Tuition for the 2026–27 academic year is $58,217 for the full-time J.D. (Fall plus Spring), with a $396 Student Activity Fee and a $150 Student Bar Association Fee. The Flex-J.D. program, Stetson's part-time division, is $38,812 for the same two terms with correspondingly lower fees. The 2025 509 report lists 1L tuition of $56,521 full-time and $37,698 part-time for 2025–26. Tuition is the same for residents and non-residents because Stetson is private.

Cost of attendance

Expense 2026–27 (full-time)
Tuition $58,217
Fees $621
Housing (indirect) $10,364
Food (indirect) $4,441
Books and supplies (indirect) $1,708
Personal and miscellaneous (indirect) $7,886
Transportation (indirect) $3,015
Loan fees (indirect) $2,870
Total estimated cost of attendance $89,122

The Flex-J.D. nine-month budget totals $65,970 (tuition $38,812, fees $497, housing $10,364, food $4,441, books $974, personal $7,886, transportation $2,020, loan fees $1,976). The 2025 509 report estimates single-student living expenses at $27,414 for students living on or off campus and $17,050 for those living on a military base or at home. For comparison, Wikipedia records a nine-month cost of attendance of $79,166 for 2024–25, illustrating how quickly the indirect budget has grown. Tuition for the one-year LL.M. in Environmental Law is $27,980 per semester full-time or $2,798 per credit part-time; the online LL.M. in Advocacy is $1,379 per credit and the online LL.M. in Elder Law is $1,507 per credit.

Financial aid

Stetson awards aid broadly rather than concentrating large awards in a few files. Per the 2025 Standard 509 report, 855 students received grants — roughly 85% of the 1,009-student J.D. population — with a median grant of $25,000, a 25th percentile of $15,000, and a 75th percentile of $35,000. The admissions office reports that 95% of new JD students receive scholarships, and describes "nearly 88% of incoming JD students" as scholarship recipients on its aid pages, figures that reflect different population definitions and reporting dates from the 509 count.

Critically, Stetson states that it "does not award scholarships that may be reduced or eliminated based on law school academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing," and files no conditional-scholarship retention chart. A Stetson scholarship is therefore not exposed to the class-rank cutoffs that cause scholarship loss at many peer schools.

Debt perspective

Average graduate indebtedness and the share of J.D. borrowers at Stetson were not confirmed in the sources reviewed; a $112,366 / 63.6% borrowing figure that circulates in aggregator tables belongs to a different law school and is not attributed here. No institutional loan repayment assistance program (LRAP) for Stetson Law graduates appears in the ABA-required disclosures reviewed, and applicants should ask the financial aid office directly whether one exists.

The practical arithmetic: at $58,217 annual tuition with a $25,000 median grant, a typical aided full-time student faces roughly $33,000 per year in net tuition, or about $99,000 across three years, before any living costs. Because Stetson's placement is weighted toward Florida government, small and mid-size firm, and public-interest practice — salaries well below large-firm market rates — a disciplined borrowing plan and aggressive scholarship negotiation matter more here than at schools with substantial BigLaw pipelines. Stetson's career services office declines to publish salary tables, pointing applicants instead to NALP national data, the Florida Bar's biennial economics survey, and Florida state government pay databases, so salary expectations should be sourced from those resources rather than inferred.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

Stetson collects employment information for its December, May, and August graduating cohorts jointly and reports it to both the American Bar Association and NALP, using the ABA's March 15 effective date in the year following graduation. The most recent ABA employment summary published by the school covers the Class of 2025. The standardized comparison figures below reflect the Class of 2024 reporting year as captured in 509-derived rankings:

Employment metric Class of 2024
Overall employment 10 months after graduation 90.6% (ranked #148 of 196)
Full-time, long-term bar-required employment 76.4% (ranked #144 of 196)
Federal judicial clerkships 1.3% (ranked #98 of 196)
Primary market Florida (typically three-quarters or more of each class)

The detailed ABA category table for the Class of 2025 (firm-size distribution, sector counts, clerkship totals, school-funded positions, and unemployment figures) is published as a PDF on Stetson's employment reports page and was not machine-readable in the sources reviewed, so it is not reproduced here. Applicants should consult the Class of 2025 ABA Employment Summary for those line items. Nationally, the Class of 2025 aggregate was 82.7% long-term full-time legal employment and 87.7% employed at ten months.

What these numbers mean

A 90.6% overall employment rate reads strongly, but the more decision-relevant measure is the 76.4% full-time, long-term bar-required rate: roughly one in four graduates is not in a position requiring bar admission a year after graduation. The two ranks are close together (#148 overall versus #144 bar-required), which indicates the gap is not driven by a large block of JD-advantage placements but by graduates entering smaller organizations, part-time roles, or delayed employment. The 1.3% federal clerkship rate is well below the national average. For an applicant who has decided to litigate in Florida, that profile is acceptable and expected; for an applicant seeking a national firm, a federal clerkship, or cross-state mobility, these are the numbers that should slow the decision down.

Bar passage

Bar statistic Figure
First-time Florida bar passage (2024 takers) 77.0% (ILRG, ABA-based), versus 73.2% Florida statewide (+3.9 points)
First-time bar passage, all jurisdictions (2025 takers) 84.9% (LawHub profile)
July 2026 Florida bar, Stetson test-takers 79.8% (school-reported)
State average (2025 first-time takers) 73% (U.S. News comparative figure)
Historical Florida first-time rates 74.4% (Oct. 2020); 77.6% (July 2019); 67.2% (July 2018); 76.8% (July 2017)

The differing figures reflect different methodologies: ILRG's 77.0% is an ABA-based first-time calculation from 2024 takers, LawHub's 84.9% is an all-jurisdiction first-time calculation from 2025 takers, and the 79.8% is the school's own July 2026 Florida Bar result. Across a decade of data the consistent pattern is a first-time rate in the high 70s to mid 80s — typically a few points above the Florida statewide average and materially below the state's strongest performers. Prospective students should request the school's own three-year first-time and ultimate rates by exam administration rather than relying on any single published number.

Where graduates go

Stetson states that "typically, approximately three-quarters or more of Stetson graduates choose to work in the state of Florida and become members of the Florida Bar." Placement density is concentrated in the Tampa Bay region — St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and the surrounding Gulf coast markets — with secondary concentration in Orlando and South Florida. The signature pipelines are state and federal trial practice, personal injury, criminal defense, and plaintiff-side litigation, a natural extension of the No. 1 trial advocacy ranking, alongside state and local judicial clerkships and government service. Stetson's alumni roster includes two recent Florida Attorneys General and a sitting U.S. Senator, as well as a long line of state legislators, sheriffs, and judges. Sector percentages for the Class of 2025 are unconfirmed in this profile and should be pulled from the Class of 2025 employment summary PDF.

Academics and Programs

Stetson's academic identity is built on skills training rather than doctrinal research output. The J.D. requires a standard first-year curriculum followed by upper-level electives, with advocacy and legal writing woven through rather than confined to electives.

Curriculum and special strengths

The college's distinguishing strength is advocacy. Its trial-team program and practice-intensive curriculum have produced the No. 1 U.S. News Trial Advocacy ranking in 26 of 31 years, and the legal writing program reached No. 1 in 2026. Beyond the J.D., Stetson offers the Flex-J.D. part-time division; LL.M. programs in Advocacy (online), Elder Law (online), International Law, and Environmental Law; the Master of Jurisprudence; and dual-degree pathways combining the J.D. with an M.B.A. or an additional graduate degree. International exchange pathways include an LL.M. exchange with University College Dublin's Sutherland School of Law, a Master in International Economic Law with Toulouse University, and a Master in International and European Business Law with Comillas Pontifical University.

Stetson's journals are the Stetson Law Review — headquarters of the National Conference of Law Reviews from 2003 to 2008 — the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy, and the Journal of International Aging Law and Policy. The faculty comprises 51 full-time members, 102 non-full-time members, and 7 librarians (6 full-time, 1 part-time) per the 2025 509 report. The school reports a 9:1 student-faculty ratio; a third-party calculation from 509 counts yields approximately 19.8:1, and the divergence reflects differing treatment of the large non-full-time cohort.

Clinics and experiential learning

Stetson guarantees a clinic or externship for every student, and more than 300 clinic and externship opportunities are available each year. Experiential work is embedded in a curriculum that also runs the largest part-time division among private Florida law schools, and it is reinforced by the college's competition teams, which compete nationally in trial and appellate advocacy. The Gulfport campus supports these placements through the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library, and the school's Tampa Law Center, opened in 2004 with a satellite library, extends its footprint into downtown Tampa's legal market.

Student Life and Location

Living in Gulfport

Stetson Law sits on a historic campus in Gulfport, Florida, a small waterfront city on Boca Ciega Bay within the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater metropolitan area. The setting is a genuine attraction: the campus occupies a 1920s resort hotel — the Rolyat Hotel, designed by Richard Kiehnel — and is minutes from Gulf beaches, downtown St. Petersburg, and the Tampa Law Center. The metropolitan region is Florida's second-largest legal market, with a federal courthouse, state appellate courts, and a dense concentration of small and mid-size litigation firms within a short drive.

The trade-offs are cost and transit. Stetson's own nine-month budget for housing is $10,364, but independent accounting puts room and board near $27,414, a gap that reflects the difference between shared, budget housing and market-rate Gulfport or St. Petersburg rent. The school maintains no large law-student residential system, so housing choices materially affect real cost. A car is effectively required, since the metro area spans three cities connected by bridges and externship placements can be 30 to 45 minutes from campus. Because Stetson University's main campus is in DeLand, roughly two hours away, "Stetson" for a law student means the Gulfport campus and its own faculty, library, and career services operation.

Student body

With a first-year class of 336 and total J.D. enrollment of 1,009, Stetson is mid-sized and majority female, with a substantial older, working-professional segment entering through the Flex-J.D. division — 63 of 336 first-year students, or 18.8% of the class. The admissions office describes a total law school student population of 869 and 110 undergraduate institutions represented in the incoming class; these figures reflect a different reporting date and population definition than the 509 counts. The student body is predominantly Florida-resident, and the alumni network is overwhelmingly concentrated in the state. Candidates from outside Florida should weigh the strength of that network against their own geographic plans.

How Stetson Compares

Choose Stetson if

  • You want to try cases, and you know it. No school outside the top tier offers a stronger, more consistently recognized trial advocacy program, ranked No. 1 in 26 of 31 years.
  • You want elite legal writing training alongside advocacy. Stetson holds the top national ranking in both categories for 2026, a combination no other school claims.
  • You plan to practice in Florida, especially the Tampa Bay region, where the alumni network, judicial presence, and employer relationships are deepest.
  • You value a scholarship that cannot be reduced for class rank. Stetson files no conditional-scholarship retention chart and awards grants to roughly 85% of its J.D. population with a $25,000 median.
  • You need a part-time path. The Flex-J.D. division at $38,812 per year is a materially cheaper route than the full-time program, with a $65,970 nine-month budget.

Consider alternatives if

  • You want a national practice or BigLaw. Stetson does not deliver the portability, large-firm pipeline, or federal clerkship rate (1.3%) of higher-ranked schools.
  • Certainty of licensure is your top priority. A first-time rate in the high 70s to mid 80s is above the Florida average but below the state's strongest performers.
  • Debt sensitivity is acute and your expected salary is modest. At $58,217 annual tuition with an $89,122 nine-month budget and no confirmed LRAP, the cost structure is challenging for graduates entering small-firm or government practice.
  • You want research and doctrinal depth. Stetson's national reputation rests on skills training, not scholarly output.
  • You do not intend to stay in Florida. The value proposition weakens substantially outside the state's market and bar.

The TLS Verdict

Stetson University College of Law is the clearest case in American legal education of a school whose national brand is narrower, and sharper, than its overall rank suggests. It is ranked #91 and it is also the best place in the country to learn to try a case — a claim it has sustained in 26 of 31 years — and since 2026 the best place to learn legal writing as well. For an applicant who has decided to litigate in Florida, the calculus is straightforward: elite skills training, a scholarship that is not exposed to class-rank cutoffs, a large part-time division if needed, and a Tampa Bay network that will matter for an entire career. For an applicant who wants optionality — a national firm, a federal clerkship, mobility between states — Stetson's 76.4% bar-required employment rate and 1.3% federal clerkship rate are the numbers that should slow the decision. Stetson is a strong, well-run regional powerhouse that reports its outcomes plainly; it is not a national pipeline, and it does not present itself as one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stetson the oldest law school in Florida?

Yes. Stetson University College of Law was founded in 1900, making it Florida's first law school, and it has held ABA Council approval continuously since 1930. It is marking its 125th anniversary.

Is Stetson really No. 1 in trial advocacy?

Yes, by U.S. News ranking. Stetson held the No. 1 position in Trial Advocacy in the 2026 edition — its fourth consecutive year at No. 1 and the 26th time in the 31 years the category has been published. It also ranked No. 1 in Legal Writing in 2026 for the first time.

What LSAT and GPA do I need?

The Fall 2025 entering class had a median LSAT of 159 (25th percentile 158, 75th percentile 162) and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.63 (3.42 to 3.81), with a 36.44% acceptance rate. Stetson's own page reports a Fall 2026 profile of LSAT 158/161/163 and GPA 3.44/3.70/3.84.

How much does Stetson Law cost?

Full-time tuition for 2026–27 is $58,217 plus $546 in itemized fees, with a nine-month estimated cost of attendance of $89,122. The Flex-J.D. program is $38,812 in tuition plus $472 in fees, with a $65,970 nine-month budget.

Does Stetson give scholarships?

Yes, broadly. Per the 2025 Standard 509 report, 855 students received grants with a median of $25,000, a 25th percentile of $15,000, and a 75th percentile of $35,000. Stetson does not award scholarships that can be reduced or eliminated based on academic performance other than failure to maintain good academic standing.

What is Stetson's bar passage rate?

Recent figures differ by methodology: 77.0% first-time Florida passage for 2024 takers versus a 73.2% statewide rate (ILRG, ABA-based), 84.9% first-time all-jurisdiction for 2025 takers (LawHub), and 79.8% on the July 2026 Florida Bar among Stetson test-takers (school-reported).

What percentage of Stetson graduates get jobs?

Overall employment ten months after graduation was 90.6%, with 76.4% in full-time, long-term bar-required positions (Class of 2024, ABA-based). Stetson states that typically approximately three-quarters or more of graduates work in Florida and join the Florida Bar.

Does Stetson offer a part-time J.D.?

Yes. The Flex-J.D. division enrolled 63 of the 336 first-year students in Fall 2025 and carries separate, lower tuition of $38,812 per year.

Who is the dean of Stetson Law?

D. Benjamin Barros has served as dean since July 1, 2023, previously dean of the University of Toledo College of Law. The AALS deans database lists his Stetson term as running to September 28, 2026; confirm the current deanship with the school before publishing.

Contact and Key Links

Stetson University College of Law
1401 61st Street S
Gulfport, FL 33707

Admissions Phone: 727-562-7800

Admissions Email: [email protected]

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

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