Last updated: September 2, 2026

University of Texas School of Law

The University of Texas School of Law (commonly "Texas Law") is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public research university in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1883, it is the highest-ranked law school in Texas and describes itself as "the #1 supplier of talent to the best employers" in the region — a claim the Class of 2025 data supports: 99% overall employment, a $225,000 median law-firm salary, and 96% first-time Texas bar passage.

University of Texas School of Law at a Glance

Category	Latest information
Founded	1883
Type	Public (University of Texas at Austin)
ABA approval or accreditation	ABA approved; member, Association of American Law Schools
Location	Austin, Texas (UT Austin campus)
Latest U.S. News rank	#16 (tie) (2026 edition, out of 194)
Latest completed applications	Not publicly confirmed in sources reviewed
Latest acceptance rate	≈13% (2025 ABA 509, per ILRG)
Latest LSAT median	172 (25th 166 – 75th 173)
Latest GPA median	3.89 (25th 3.75 – 75th 3.96)
Latest entering class	373 (Class of 2028, school-reported)
Current tuition	$38,236 (resident) / $56,822 (non-resident) — 2026–27 first-year
Current estimated cost of attendance	$63,899 (resident) / $82,485 (non-resident) — 2026–27 first-year
Latest first-time bar passage	96% Texas, 96% New York, 100% California (Class of 2025)
Latest bar-required employment	99% overall employed (Class of 2025); median law-firm salary $225,000
Current dean	Robert (Bobby) Chesney (since August 2024)

Introduction

Texas Law is the dominant legal institution of the Lone Star State and, by most measures, the strongest public law school in the South and Southwest. Located on the UT Austin campus, it combines flagship status — the state's courts, legislature, agencies and fast-growing firm market all recruit here first — with affordability that is rare at its level: 2026–27 in-state tuition of $38,236 and a total first-year budget under $64,000. The Class of 2025 posted 99% overall employment with a $225,000 median law-firm salary, and the school is the top feeder of legal talent in a region that now includes some of the country's largest legal markets (Houston, Dallas, Austin). Dean Bobby Chesney, a leading national-security law scholar, has led the school since August 2024.

Rankings and Reputation

Overall ranking

U.S. News (2026 edition) ranks Texas Law #16 (tie) out of 194 (official U.S. News profile) — the top-ranked law school in Texas, ahead of Texas A&M (#22) and SMU. Its 2026–27 U.S. News peer-reputation score was 4.0, ranking #17 nationally (TaxProf compilation). Official profile: U.S. News profile

Specialty rankings

Texas Law's traditional specialty strengths are energy law, intellectual property, constitutional law and corporate/business law — sustained by faculty including Dean Chesney in national security and prominent scholars across those fields (exact 2026 specialty-rank positions were not re-verified this cycle and are marked not confirmed). The school's market identity is arguably its stronger rank: its own materials note graduates started careers in 161 cities across 44 states and D.C. and 2 countries over the Classes of 2021–2025.

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

The Class of 2028 (school-reported Quick Facts) numbers 373 students, drawn from 144 undergraduate colleges, 33 states plus D.C., and 6 foreign countries; 11% are first-generation college graduates and 77% are first-generation law students. Texas Law remains heavily in-state by design (the Texas legislative mandate caps nonresident enrollment), which concentrates yield among Texas applicants.

LSAT and GPA

School-published Class of 2028 percentiles: LSAT 75th 173 / 50th 172 / 25th 166 and UGPA 75th 3.96 / 50th 3.89 / 25th 3.75. Third-party aggregators corroborate the medians — LSAT 172, GPA 3.89 (ILRG, LSATLab) — with an acceptance rate of approximately 13% (2025 509 per ILRG; exact application/offer counts not published on the pages reviewed).

Interpreting the numbers

Texas Law's ~13% acceptance rate and 172 LSAT median put it at the edge of the T14 band for selectivity — but the comparison flatters it: 66%+ of the class is Texas residents, so the effective out-of-state admission rate is far lower and the in-state rate more generous. The numbers also understate the school's outcome value: 99% employment and a $225,000 median firm salary at roughly half the all-in cost of an equivalent private school is the strongest price-to-outcome ratio of any school in its rankings band.

Application timing

The J.D. application opens in September for the 2026–27 cycle with a traditional winter deadline and rolling review; the application fee and exact 2027 dates were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed — check the admissions portal directly: J.D. Admissions · Apply to Texas Law. Transfer admissions allow up to 32 semester hours of credit; transfer work is graded CR and may not qualify for Order of the Coif.

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

2026–27 (school-published COA tables): $38,236 tuition & fees for Texas residents, $56,822 for non-residents (first-year); continuing students pay $36,598 resident / $54,384 non-resident at the normal 28-hour annual load. Dual-degree candidates pay separate student rates (Texas OneStop). U.S. News lists the same $38,236/$56,822 figures.

Cost of attendance

School-published 2026–27 nine-month budgets:

First-year: $63,899 resident / $82,485 non-resident — Books & Supplies $1,500 · Housing & Food $17,423 · Transportation $1,840 · Personal & Misc. $4,900 (bar licensure fees vary)
Continuing: $62,261 resident / $80,047 non-resident

COA adjustments are available for health insurance, childcare, licensure fees and equipment (e.g., laptop), but not for bar prep courses, consumer debt or summer living expenses.

Financial aid

Approximately 94% of students receive grant or scholarship funding (LSATLab, 2025 509 data); the median grant amount was not confirmed in sources reviewed. Texas Law's affordability is structural — the Texas state model keeps professional tuition far below private peers — and the financial-aid office (with Texas OneStop) administers need-based and merit support within the COA cap.

Debt perspective

Texas Law is routinely cited as one of the best debt-to-outcome values in American legal education: a resident total COA of ~$64,000/year against a $225,000 median first-year firm salary and 99% employment. Even non-residents (~$82,500 COA) out-price most private top-25 schools by a wide margin. For Texas-resident applicants, the only cheaper options at this outcome level are the state's other public schools with lower placement.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

School-published Class of 2025 outcomes: 99% overall employed · $225,000 median salary in law firms · 79% of judicial clerkships are federal · graduates placed across 161 cities, 44 states plus D.C., and 2 countries (Classes 2021–2025 full-time/long-term starts). The official ABA Employment Summary for the Class of 2025 is published as a PDF at Careers – Employment Statistics; category-level detail (firm-size splits, sector counts) was not machine-readable in the sources reviewed and is marked not fully verified.

What these numbers mean

National context: across all 36,206 ABA graduates in the Class of 2025, 82.7% landed long-term, full-time legal jobs. Texas Law's 99% overall employment runs roughly 16 points above that baseline, and its $225,000 median firm salary matches the T14 market rate — reflecting concentrated placement into Houston, Dallas and Austin large firms plus national hiring. The 79% federal-clerkship share underscores the strength of its clerkship pipeline.

Bar passage

96% first-time Texas bar passage for the Class of 2025, with 96% in New York and 100% in California (school-published). The school's official 2026 Bar Exam Report is posted at its ABA consumer-information page.

Where graduates go

Texas dominates placement by design: the school calls itself "the #1 supplier of talent to the best employers in a large and growing region," and the Houston/Dallas/Austin firm corridor absorbs the largest share, with steady national placement (44 states represented) and a strong federal clerkship program (79% of clerkships federal). Most graduates stay in Texas, which is a feature for Texas-bound applicants and a factor to weigh for those seeking coastal markets.

Academics and Programs

Curriculum and special strengths

Texas Law's curriculum is anchored by flagship strengths in energy law, intellectual property, constitutional law and corporate law, and its mission statement emphasizes professional training, scholarship and public service, with formal learning outcomes including legal analysis, research, writing and professional ethics (ABA Standard 302). The faculty includes national-security scholar Dean Bobby Chesney and a deep bench across the core disciplines.

Clinics and experiential learning

The school offers one of the largest clinical programs among public law schools, with nationally recognized clinics in capital punishment, environmental law, immigration, entrepreneurship and more, plus externships and the state's deepest court-externship pipeline (roster not independently re-verified this cycle — see Academic Programs). Degrees: the full-time J.D., LL.M. and S.J.D.; Texas Law offers no part-time or evening J.D. division.

Student Life and Location

Living in Austin

Austin is the fastest-growing major city in Texas and one of the country's most dynamic legal markets — the state capital, a technology hub and a firm corridor all at once. Texas Law sits on the UT Austin campus on the edge of downtown, minutes from the Capitol, the Texas Supreme Court and the federal courthouse. The city's music, food and outdoor culture make it a perennial top-ranked place to live, and the cost of living remains below Houston and Dallas.

Student body

The Class of 2028 of 373 is drawn from 144 colleges and is 11% first-generation college graduates; 77% are first-generation law students, reflecting a student body heavy on Texas public-university graduates. The culture is famously friendly and collaborative by T14-adjacent standards — "an unbeatable quality of life" is literally part of the school's pitch — with deep state pride and a loyal Longhorn alumni network that dominates Texas practice.

How Texas Compares

Choose Texas if

You plan to practice in Texas (Houston, Dallas, Austin or statewide), where Texas Law is the clear #1; you want T14-level outcomes (99% employment, $225,000 median firm salary) at a public-school price; you value a strong federal-clerkship pipeline and energy/IP strengths; or you want a large, friendly, self-confident student culture in one of America's best cities.

Consider alternatives if

You want the New York/California/T14 market share of an elite private school (Texas's national placement, while real, is not its core), a smaller class (373 versus 200–250 at peer privates), or you are a non-resident who would pay near-private tuition without the in-state price advantage — at which point Vanderbilt, WashU or BU may cost comparably with stronger coastal pipelines. Texas is also full-time only.

The TLS Verdict

Texas Law is the rational-maximizer's law school: 99% employment, a $225,000 median firm salary, 96% first-time Texas bar passage, a #16 U.S. News ranking, and an in-state total COA under $64,000 — the strongest price-to-outcome ratio of any school in its band. The trade-offs are geographic by design: its placement power is concentrated in a state that is booming but not the East Coast, and its class and culture are proudly Texan. For applicants committing to Texas, it is the single most logical choice in the country; for those needing maximum portability elsewhere, the T14 remains the stronger ticket.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into Texas Law?

Selective for the tier: approximately 13% of applicants were admitted for Fall 2025 (2025 509 per ILRG); the in-state acceptance rate is meaningfully higher, the out-of-state rate lower, due to the Texas resident mandate.

What LSAT score is competitive for Texas?

The Class of 2028 medians were 172 (75th 173 / 25th 166).

What GPA do Texas applicants typically have?

The Class of 2028 GPA median was 3.89 (75th 3.96 / 25th 3.75).

Does Texas give scholarships?

Yes — approximately 94% of students receive grant or scholarship funding per 2025 509 data; the median grant amount was not confirmed in sources reviewed.

What is Texas's bar passage rate?

96% first-time on the Texas bar for the Class of 2025, with 96% in New York and 100% in California.

Is Texas good for BigLaw?

Yes — 99% of the Class of 2025 was employed with a $225,000 median law-firm salary; Houston, Dallas and Austin large firms are the core market.

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

No. Texas Law is full-time only; there is no part-time or evening division.

What is Texas Law best known for?

Being the dominant law school of Texas: 99% employment, 96% bar passage, the state's deepest firm/court/clerk pipelines, energy and IP strengths, and unbeatable in-state value.

Contact and Key Links

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

The University of Texas School of Law

Contents

University of Texas School of Law