Last updated: October 27, 2026

University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law is a public law school in Memphis, Tennessee, that enrolled a first-year class of 96 students in Fall 2025 from 582 completed applications, with a median LSAT of 155 and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.53. It is ranked #140 (tie) of 194 in the 2026 U.S. News rankings, and it is best known for its 1885 former U.S. Customs House on the Mississippi River bluff — repeatedly named the best law school building in the nation — a best-value profile, and a placement record that keeps more than 81% of each employed class in Tennessee. The central decision issue for admitted applicants is that Memphis Law pairs one of the lowest out-of-state tuitions in the country ($26,948 in 2025–26), a 6.3:1 student-faculty ratio, and universal-access admissions (41.07% acceptance, $0 fee) with first-time bar passage that has trailed the Tennessee average in recent administrations (73.40% vs. 78.25% for the 2024 cohort), conditional scholarships held by 9% of students, and no loan repayment assistance program, at a 2026–27 cost of attendance of $47,505 in-state.

Forum Links

Memphis Law at a Glance

Category	Latest information
Founded	1962 (as Memphis State University College of Law; renamed with the university in 1994)
Type	Public
ABA approval or accreditation	ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education) — accredited since 1965; AALS member since 2001
Location	1 North Front Street, Memphis, Tennessee (the former U.S. Customs House on the Mississippi Riverfront, since 2010)
Latest U.S. News rank	#140 tie (2026 edition)
Latest completed applications	582 (Fall 2025, 2025 509 report)
Latest acceptance rate	41.07% (Fall 2025)
Latest LSAT median	155 (Fall 2025)
Latest GPA median	3.53 (Fall 2025)
Latest entering class	96 (all full-time) (Fall 2025)
Current tuition	$22,658 in-state / $28,642 out-of-state, tuition and fees (2026–27 school estimate; 2025–26 509: $18,634/$24,354 plus $2,594 fees = $21,228/$26,948)
Current estimated cost of attendance	$47,505 in-state / $53,489 out-of-state (2026–27, school estimate)
Latest first-time bar passage	73.4% (2024 cohort, school ABA bar report; LawHub lists 72.6% for 2025 first-time takers); school announced 96.9% first-time on the July 2025 Tennessee bar (see flag below)
Latest bar-required employment	75 of 86 full-time, long-term positions (87.2%) — Class of 2025, ABA data; 91.5% overall employment rate
Current dean	Jim Strickland (10th dean; the 64th mayor of Memphis)

The admissions figures are drawn from Memphis's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (582 completed applications, 239 offers, 41.07% acceptance rate, 96 in the first-year class as of October 2025), and this profile uses the standardized 509 figures throughout. Tuition and cost data are from the 509 report, the U.S. News profile (whose $21,228/$26,948 figures are the 509's tuition-plus-fees lines), and the school's 2026–27 estimate. Jim Strickland — a Memphis Law alumnus, longtime Memphis City Council member, and the city's 64th mayor — was announced as the school's 10th dean in March 2024.

Introduction

Founded in 1962 as the Memphis State University College of Law, the school gained ABA accreditation in 1965, joined the Association of American Law Schools in 2001, and took its present name when Memphis State University became the University of Memphis in 1994. For its first half-century it occupied buildings on the main campus in East Memphis; in January 2010 it moved into its signature home downtown, the former United States Customshouse and Courthouse at 1 North Front Street on the Mississippi River bluff. The 169,000-square-foot Italianate Revival building, constructed in the early 1880s and opened in 1885, formerly housed a U.S. Customs House, federal courthouse, and post office, and was comprehensively restored for the law school's arrival.

The school's identity rests on three pillars: that landmark riverfront facility — recognized by the National Jurist and preLaw as having the "Best Law School Facilities in the Nation" (2014) and the "Best Law School Building in the Nation," a distinction the school has since claimed for a record fifth time with an A- rating and top-35 placement — a practical-skills culture anchored by the University of Memphis Legal Clinic and a Moot Court/Mock Trial program with a national winning history, and a value-and-access mission: National Jurist has consistently named Memphis Law a best value in legal education, preLaw awarded it an "A" in its Best Value Law Schools list (Winter 2018) with a Health Law Honor Roll selection, and Diverse Education magazine has ranked it in the top 25 nationally for law degrees awarded to African Americans.

Rankings and Reputation

Memphis Law is ranked #140 (tie) of 194 in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report law school rankings. Its reputation is built on value, diversity, and facilities rather than overall rank: the school's own rankings page collects the National Jurist best-value designations, preLaw's A-grade and Health Law Honor Roll selections, a "Most Diverse Law School" grade of B+ (2017), a top-10 national quality-of-life ranking from the Princeton Review following the 2010 riverfront move, and Diverse Education's top-25 ranking for law degrees awarded to African Americans.

Overall ranking

U.S. News edition	Memphis Law rank
2026	140 (tie)
2025	Not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed

The 2025, 2024, and 2023 ranks were not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed. Applicants should treat several-digit movement within this band as immaterial to Memphis's practical career outcomes, which are driven by price, bar results, and regional placement rather than rank position.

Specialty rankings

Memphis Law is widely regarded as a distinctive choice for students seeking health law, public service, and diverse-practice training, and its facilities and value profile anchor its national identity. Specific current-edition U.S. News specialty rank numbers were not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed and are therefore not listed here.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

Admissions metric	Fall 2025
Completed applications	582
Offers of admission	239
Acceptance rate	41.07%
Enrollees from applicant pool	96
Total in first-year class	96
Yield (enrollees / offers)	40.17%

Total J.D. enrollment stood at 239 as of October 2025, with 2 transfer students in and 5 out. The 509 report lists zero part-time students in the entering class (the school maintains part-time tuition rates, but the Fall 2025 class was all full-time). First-year course sections run small: 8 sections under 25 students and 18 sections of 25–49.

LSAT and GPA

Statistic	25th percentile	Median	75th percentile
LSAT	152	155	159
Undergraduate GPA	3.22	3.53	3.77

Whether Memphis Law accepts the GRE in addition to the LSAT was not independently confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Interpreting the numbers

A 41.07% acceptance rate with a 155/3.53 median places Memphis in the moderately selective regional tier, and the trend since 2019 is clearly positive: the acceptance rate has fallen from 52.4% to 41.1%, the median LSAT has risen from 152 to 155 (with the 25th percentile jumping from 148 to 152), and the median GPA from 3.41 to 3.53 (25th percentile 2.93 to 3.22), per ILRG's comparison of ABA 509 disclosures. The 40.17% yield — 96 of 239 offers taken — reflects the school's regional draw across Tennessee and the Mid-South. Applicants at or above the medians are strong candidates; no LSAT or GPA guarantees admission.

Application timing

The application fee is $0 (no fee for full-time or part-time programs). The 2025 509 report lists an application deadline of April 1 — confirmed by the U.S. News profile — with a financial aid deadline of May 1 per the 509 report (U.S. News lists April 1; treat the earlier April 1 date as the safe target). Admitted students confirm acceptance by April 15 (or within two weeks of a later admission) with a $250 non-refundable seat deposit, of which $200 applies to fall tuition and $50 is an orientation fee. A mandatory orientation and registration program is held each fall before classes begin.

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

Tuition and fees for the 2026–27 academic year are estimated at $22,658 in-state and $28,642 out-of-state (30 credit hours), per the school's cost page — which includes a $30-per-credit-hour law library fee with no maximum and an $880-per-year BARBRI bar-prep course fee. The 2025–26 509 lines are $18,634 tuition + $2,594 fees (resident) and $24,354 + $2,594 (non-resident) — $21,228 and $26,948 all-in, the figures the U.S. News profile displays. Out-of-state tuition at Memphis ranks among the lowest in the country (the school markets a top-5 lowest out-of-state law tuition), and qualified residents of Crittenden County, Arkansas, and DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica Counties, Mississippi, are treated as in-state under the Border Counties Tuition Waiver.

Cost of attendance

Expense	2026–27 (in-state / out-of-state)
Tuition & fees	$22,658 / $28,642
Room & board	$14,568 / $14,568
Books & supplies	$1,995 / $1,995
Transportation	$3,770 / $3,770
Miscellaneous/personal	$4,514 / $4,514
Total estimated cost of attendance	$47,505 / $53,489

The totals are the school's official estimates (based on 30 credit hours, fall and spring). International students have a separate tuition-and-fee rate. The 509 report's living-expense allowance is $28,729 (on or off campus) — roughly double the school's $14,568 room-and-board line, so applicants budgeting against federal aid should note the higher 509 figure.

Financial aid

Per the 2025 Standard 509 report, 62% of students (148 of 239) received grants, with a median grant of $11,000, a 25th percentile of $5,000, and a 75th percentile of $20,000. The awards are conditional: 36 students held conditional scholarships in 2024–25 (9% of the enrollment), down from prior years, with retention criteria published in the school's 509 conditional-scholarship worksheet (the specific thresholds were not extracted in the sources reviewed). The financial aid director is Andrew B. Linn, (901) 678-3205, with an April 1 aid application deadline per U.S. News.

Debt perspective

The average law-school debt and borrowing rate for the Class of 2025 were not reported in the sources reviewed — the U.S. News indebtedness table reads "N/A" — and the school does not offer a loan repayment assistance program for 2025 J.D. graduates. What is verifiable: low sticker prices in both residency categories, an $880 embedded BARBRI fee that pre-pays commercial bar prep, and a room-and-board budget of $14,568 that keeps the annual in-state total near $47,500. Because the school places most graduates in Tennessee — where public-sector and small-firm salaries dominate — and provides no LRAP backstop, applicants should borrow conservatively and request the school's debt disclosures directly before committing.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

Per ABA data as tabulated by OpenLawPrep (status roughly ten months after graduation), the class of 94 graduates produced a 91.5% employment rate (#124 of 195 schools): 86 of the 94 graduates with known status were employed, all 86 in full-time, long-term positions.

Employment metric	Class of 2025
Employment rate (10 months)	91.5% (#124 of 195 schools, ABA data)
School-funded positions	0

The detailed ABA categories are machine-readable in the tabulation: 75 graduates hold bar-required positions (all full-time, long-term — 87.2% of the class's full-time, long-term positions) and 11 hold J.D.-advantage positions. Employers: law firms 52 (60.5% of full-time, long-term — solo 1; 1–10 attorneys 23; 11–25: 7; 26–50: 7; 51–100: 4; 101–250: 4; 251–500: 4; 501+ (BigLaw): 2), government 11, public interest 10, state and local clerkships 7, federal clerkships 2, business and industry 4, education 0. One graduate enrolled in further graduate study; 4 were seeking work and 3 were not seeking. No salary statistics for the Class of 2025 were published in the sources reviewed and are therefore not listed here.

What these numbers mean

A 91.5% employment rate is respectable but ranks #124 of 195 — and the composition is the story. Nearly two-thirds of the class's full-time, long-term jobs require bar admission (87.2%), meaning graduates who land jobs almost always land legal jobs; but the hiring is small-practice-weighted (23 of 52 firm hires in 1–10-attorney offices) with just two BigLaw placements, while government (11), public interest (10), and judicial clerkships (9) together account for 30 of 86 positions — about 35% of the class in public service, including two federal clerkships. This is a regional professional pipeline with genuine public-service depth, not a national-firm feeder.

Bar passage

Bar statistic	Rate
First-time bar passage, 2024 cohort (school ABA bar report)	73.40% vs. 78.52% ABA weighted average (−5.12)
Tennessee bar, 2024 first-time takers	72.50% vs. 78.25% statewide (−5.75); remaining 11 jurisdictions: 78.57% vs. 79.20%
First-time bar passage (ILRG, winter/summer 2024 basis)	73.4% vs. Tennessee's 78.5% (−5.1)
2025 first-time takers, all jurisdictions (LawHub)	72.6%
Ultimate bar passage (2-year)	84.9% (U.S. News); 82.86% (2022 cohort), 86.84% (2021), 90.12% (2020) per school report

The trajectory is mixed: Memphis beat the ABA weighted average in 2023 (76.09% vs. 73.91%, including +8.00 in the nine other jurisdictions its takers used) but fell short in 2022 (−6.89) and 2024 (−5.12), with Tennessee-exam underperformance of −7.62 (2022) and −5.75 (2024). The school announced that its first-time takers on the July 2025 Tennessee bar achieved "the highest bar passage rate in Tennessee" at 96.9% — a school social-media figure that conflicts with another school-cited Tennessee figure of 86.54% for the same administration and could not be independently confirmed against the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners' official tabulation; applicants should verify before relying on it. The verified multi-year picture: ultimate two-year passage has held between 82.9% and 90.1% in the three most recent school-reported cohorts, above the ABA's 75% threshold.

Where graduates go

The Class of 2025's geography is overwhelmingly Tennessean: 70 of the 86 employed graduates (81.4%) work in Tennessee, with Georgia (2) and Illinois (2) a distant second and third. Employers split across small firms (the 1–10-attorney tier is the largest single group at 23), Tennessee state government (11), public-interest organizations (10), and the state's courts (7 state and local clerkships plus 2 federal). The class produced no school-funded positions and minimal national placement.

Academics and Programs

The J.D. is offered in full-time and part-time curricula, with the required first-year program followed by upper-level concentrations; the 509 report's first-year section data (8 sections under 25 students, 18 between 25 and 49) reflects a small-section teaching model.

Curriculum and special strengths

U.S. News lists programs and coursework in clinical training, dispute resolution, environmental law, health care law, intellectual property, international law, business/corporate law, constitutional law, contracts/commercial law, and criminal law, plus a J.D./M.B.A. joint degree and a J.D./M.A. in Political Science dual degree. The health law strength carries preLaw's Health Law Honor Roll selection (2018), and the school's advocacy culture — anchored by the moot court and mock trial programs' national history — is the curricular signature most cited by the school's own materials. The student-run University of Memphis Law Review (founded 1970) rounds out the academic program.

Clinics and experiential learning

The University of Memphis Legal Clinic operates from the North Wing's lowest level of the riverfront building, providing live-client representation; the broader clinical, externship, and simulation offerings were not itemized in the sources reviewed this cycle and are therefore not listed here. The embedded $880-per-year BARBRI bar-prep fee integrates commercial bar preparation into the program.

Student Life and Location

Living in Memphis

Memphis Law occupies the former U.S. Customshouse at 1 North Front Street on the Mississippi River bluff in downtown Memphis — walking distance from the city's courts, firms, and government offices, a location the Princeton Review has ranked top-10 nationally for quality of life. The school's $14,568 room-and-board budget reflects Memphis's low cost of living, and the campus-specific setting puts students inside the Shelby County legal market — the state's largest — for externships, clerkships, and summer positions. The trade-off is the market's size: outside Memphis, Nashville, and the Mid-South, placement is thin (Georgia and Illinois drew two graduates each in 2025).

Student body

Total J.D. enrollment is 239 (October 2025), with a 6.3:1 student-faculty ratio per U.S. News (ILRG computes 10.4:1 from ABA data — the methodologies differ). The faculty comprises 23 full-time members, 44 non-full-time members, and 4 librarians; 53.7% of the faculty are women (tied #20 of 196 per ILRG) and 16.4% are racial or ethnic minorities (#119). The school's diversity profile is a marketing point — Diverse Education's top-25 ranking for law degrees awarded to African Americans and preLaw's B+ "Most Diverse" grade — and its alumni roster spans the federal bench (Judge Bernice B. Donald of the Sixth Circuit), the Tennessee Supreme Court (Justice Holly M. Kirby), and Congress (Reps. Steve Cohen and David Kustoff).

How Memphis Compares

Choose Memphis Law if

You want the best-value path to a Tennessee law license — top-5-lowest out-of-state tuition ($26,948 in 2025–26, falling to a $28,642 estimate for 2026–27), a $0 application fee, Border Counties in-state treatment for tri-state applicants, and an A-grade best-value pedigree from preLaw and National Jurist.
You are targeting Memphis and Tennessee practice — 81.4% of employed graduates stay in Tennessee, with government (11), public interest (10), and clerkships (9) absorbing a third of the class, in a 6.3:1-ratio program inside the state's largest legal market.
You value the setting and diversity: a restored 1885 federal courthouse on the river bluff (the record five-time "Best Law School Building" winner), top-10 quality of life, and a top-25 national record for law degrees awarded to African Americans.

Consider alternatives if

Bar-passage trajectory worries you — first-time passage trailed the ABA weighted average in 2022 (−6.89) and 2024 (−5.12) and the Tennessee average in both years, and the July 2025 school claims (96.9% vs. 86.54%) conflict and remain unverified.
You want BigLaw or national placement — only 2 of 94 graduates joined 501+ firms; the pipeline is small firms, government, and Tennessee courts.
Conditional-scholarship terms or the absence of an LRAP is a dealbreaker — 36 students (9%) hold conditional awards, and U.S. News reports no LRAP for 2025 graduates.

The TLS Verdict

Memphis Law executes a value-and-access template with a genuinely distinctive setting: a restored 1885 Customshouse on the Mississippi bluff that keeps winning national facilities awards, prices among the lowest in the country for both residents ($21,228) and non-residents ($26,948), a 6.3:1 ratio, improving entrance credentials (LSAT 152→155, GPA 3.41→3.53 since 2019), and a placement record that funnels 81% of employed graduates into Tennessee practice, a third of the class into public service, and a pair of graduates into federal clerkships. The weak points are equally verifiable: first-time bar passage that has underperformed the state and national averages in the two most recent school-reported cohorts, a 9% conditional-scholarship share with no LRAP behind it, a #140 rank, and a thin BigLaw line. For a Mid-South applicant — especially one from the Border Counties, or headed for Memphis government, prosecution, or small-firm practice — Memphis Law is among the strongest per-dollar choices in the region. For anyone else, the Tennessee line is real.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into Memphis Law?

Moderately accessible: for Fall 2025, Memphis accepted 41.07% of applicants (239 offers from 582 completed applications), with 96 students enrolling into a class of 96 — a 40.17% yield. The admit rate has tightened from 52.4% in 2019.

What LSAT score is competitive for Memphis Law?

The median LSAT for the Fall 2025 entering class was 155, with a middle-50% range of 152 to 159. The median has risen from 152 in 2019.

What GPA do Memphis Law applicants typically have?

The median undergraduate GPA for the Fall 2025 entering class was 3.53, with a middle-50% range of 3.22 to 3.77 — up from a 3.41 median (2.93 25th percentile) in 2019.

Does Memphis Law give scholarships?

Yes. Per the 2025 ABA 509 report, 62% of students received grants, with a median grant of $11,000 (25th–75th percentiles $5,000–$20,000). The awards are conditional — 36 students (9% of enrollment) held conditional scholarships in 2024–25 — with retention criteria published in the school's 509 worksheet.

What is Memphis Law's bar passage rate?

The 2024 cohort passed at 73.40% first-time against a 78.52% ABA weighted average (Tennessee exam: 72.50% vs. 78.25%); LawHub lists 72.6% for 2025 first-time takers. The school announced a 96.9% first-time rate on the July 2025 Tennessee bar — the state's highest that administration — but that figure conflicts with another school-cited 86.54% and was not independently confirmed. Ultimate (2-year) passage has run 82.9%–90.1% in recent cohorts (84.9% per U.S. News).

Is Memphis Law good for BigLaw?

No. Two of 94 Class of 2025 graduates joined 501+ firms; firm hiring is concentrated in small practices (23 graduates in 1–10-attorney offices), with government (11), public interest (10), and state and local clerkships (7) the other principal destinations.

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

The school maintains part-time tuition rates in the 509 report, but the Fall 2025 entering class of 96 was entirely full-time; the J.D. as currently enrolled is effectively full-time and residential, with offers made for fall entry.

What is Memphis Law best known for?

It is best known for its landmark riverfront home — the restored 1885 U.S. Customshouse, a record five-time "Best Law School Building" selection with an A- rating — its best-value pedigree (National Jurist; preLaw's A grade and Health Law Honor Roll), its diversity record (top 25 nationally for law degrees awarded to African Americans), its advocacy programs, and alumni spanning the Sixth Circuit (Judge Bernice B. Donald), the Tennessee Supreme Court (Justice Holly M. Kirby), Congress (Reps. Steve Cohen and David Kustoff), and the mayor's office (Jim Strickland — now also its dean).

Contact and Key Links

University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
1 North Front Street
Memphis, TN 38103

Admissions Phone: (901) 678-4921 (law school main line per the 2025 509 report); Admissions Office: 901-678-2876 (Assistant Dean Justin Aromas-Janosik)

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law

Contents