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UCLA School of Law

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Last updated: August 28, 2026

UCLA School of Law

UCLA School of Law is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles, a public research university in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1949, it styles itself "the youngest of the top law schools in the nation" and has risen to the top of the public-law-school tier, known for entertainment and media law, public interest, and its dominance of the Southern California legal market.

UCLA Law at a Glance

Category Latest information
Founded 1949
Type Public (University of California)
ABA approval or accreditation ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar)
Location Los Angeles, California (Westwood)
Latest U.S. News rank #13 (tie) (2026 edition)
Latest completed applications Not publicly confirmed in sources reviewed
Latest acceptance rate ~12% (2025 ABA 509 data per ILRG)
Latest LSAT median 171
Latest GPA median 3.95
Latest entering class Not publicly confirmed (≈330 admitted per class discussion)
Current tuition $61,862 (in-state) / $74,107 (out-of-state) (U.S. News, 2025–26)
Current estimated cost of attendance Not published as a single confirmed 2026–27 J.D. figure
Latest first-time bar passage 96% (California, July 2025, first-time)
Latest bar-required employment 96.8% full-time, long-term (Class of 2025) — #4 nationally
Current dean Michael Waterstone (since 2023)

Introduction

2010 ucla1.jpg

UCLA School of Law opened its doors in 1949 and has become the model of a fast-rising public law school: a 5.7:1 student-faculty ratio (U.S. News), a #13 (tie) national ranking in the 2026 U.S. News edition — passing UC Berkeley (#16) for the first time in recent memory — and a 96% first-time California bar passage rate for the Class of 2025. Located in Westwood on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, it feeds the largest legal market in the West and combines public-university tuition with outcomes (96.8% bar-required employment, #4 nationally) that rival elite private schools.

Rankings and Reputation

Overall ranking

U.S. News (2026 edition) ranks UCLA Law #13 (tie) — up from #15/#16 territory in prior years, and ahead of UC Berkeley (#16), which UCLA dethroned as the top-ranked UC law school (the school also placed #11 in U.S. News's separate global-university law ranking). UCLA does not consistently submit data to U.S. News, so rankings are computed partly from publicly disclosed information. Official profile: U.S. News profile

Specialty rankings

UCLA Law's signature niche is entertainment and media law, and it is also widely cited for strengths in tax, public interest, and interdisciplinary law-and-policy work (specialty-rank positions were not re-verified for this update — marked not confirmed here). The school's peer-reputation score in the 2026–27 U.S. News cycle was 4.2, ranking #13 among all law schools (TaxProf/AALS compilation).

Admissions: What It Takes to Get In

Entering class (Fall 2025)

UCLA received approximately 10,000+ completed applications in recent cycles and admitted around 12% (2025 ABA 509 data per ILRG); an entering class of roughly 330 students was reported in class discussions. Exact application, offer, and enrolled counts for Fall 2025 were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed.

LSAT and GPA

Fall 2025 admitted students: LSAT median 171, UGPA median 3.95 (2025 ABA 509 data per ILRG). The 25th–75th percentile ranges were not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Interpreting the numbers

UCLA is the rare school whose reputation is rising faster than its already-high numbers: a ~12% acceptance rate with a 171 LSAT median puts it in the lower T14 band for selectivity, yet its employment (96.8% bar-required) and bar passage (96%) outputs are at the level of schools ranked far higher. Yield is strong for a public school among California applicants, because UCLA offers the LA market, public-school pricing, and a top-15 brand in one package.

Application timing

UCLA Law's J.D. application for the 2026–27 cycle follows the standard September 1 – mid-February window; the school reviews on a rolling basis. Exact 2027 deadlines, the application fee, and any early-decision options were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed — check the admissions page directly. Transfer admissions: a maximum of 39 transfer credits from ABA-approved schools, with four full-time semesters required at UCLA; transfer inquiries go to (310) 825-2080 or [email protected]. Official link: J.D. Admissions

Cost, Scholarships, and Debt

Tuition

As a UC professional school, UCLA charges $61,862 in-state / $74,107 out-of-state for full-time J.D. study (U.S. News, 2025–26); ILRG lists $71,329. Out-of-state students additionally pay UC Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (≈$39,270 per UCLA's undergraduate tuition page). The UCLA Registrar publishes the underlying JD fee schedule (mandatory fees ≈$16,325 in-state base plus tuition and NRST components).

Cost of attendance

UCLA Law had not published a single confirmed 2026–27 J.D. cost-of-attendance total in the sources reviewed. For reference, the university's 2026–27 LL.M. budget lists tuition of $79,843 plus UCSHIP health insurance ($7,516.98) and an Ashe Center fee ($181), giving a sense of out-of-state professional-level costs; the J.D.-specific total is marked not confirmed.

Financial aid

Grant and scholarship statistics (percentage receiving aid, median grant) were not publicly confirmed in the sources reviewed. UCLA's Office of Career Services and Office of Public Interest Programs advertise generous stipends and a loan repayment program for graduates entering public-interest careers (program terms not verified).

Debt perspective

In-state tuition about $10,000–$20,000 below private T14 peers is UCLA's core financial advantage; out-of-state students pay near-private levels. For students committed to California practice — especially Los Angeles — UCLA's combination of price, placement and bar passage is among the best values in legal education.

Employment Outcomes

Employment (Class of 2025)

The Class of 2025 achieved 96.8% full-time, long-term bar-required employment — #4 nationally among ABA-approved law schools (ILRG). The detailed Class-of-2025 category table was not machine-readable in the sources reviewed; the most recent official ABA summary posted by the school is the Class of 2024:

  • Total employed: 362 · Median salary $225,000 (mean $179,000)
  • Law firms: 266 total, including 188 in firms of 501+ attorneys (median $225,000)
  • Judicial clerkships: 23 · Government: 13 · Public interest: 53 · Business/industry: 5 · Education: 2

What these numbers mean

National context: across all 36,206 ABA graduates in the Class of 2025, 82.7% secured long-term, full-time legal jobs and 8.8% were underemployed. UCLA's 96.8% bar-required rate sits roughly 14 points above the national bar-required average and is powered by a deep Los Angeles firm market, a strong alumni base in Southern California, and an unusually large public-interest placement cohort (53 in the Class of 2024 alone).

Bar passage

96% of UCLA graduates who took the July 2025 California bar exam for the first time passed, versus 83.8% for California first-time takers statewide (school class-profile page; an independent tracker lists 96.4%). ILRG computes 94.2% first-time across jurisdictions — #18 nationally, a +15.4-point margin over the California average. Nearly all UCLA graduates sit for the California bar, so state figures approximate school figures.

Where graduates go

Los Angeles and the broader California market lead placement, with 501+ attorney firms absorbing the largest single share (188 of 266 firm placements in the Class of 2024, median salary $225,000). UCLA also maintains one of the strongest public-interest placements of any top-20 school (53 graduates in the Class of 2024) plus steady federal clerkship and government placement.

Academics and Programs

Curriculum and special strengths

UCLA's signature strengths are entertainment and media law (its most famous niche, with deep industry ties), tax, public interest, and interdisciplinary law-and-policy scholarship — home to prominent scholars such as Richard Hasen (election law) and Kimberly Clausing (tax policy). A 5.7:1 student-faculty ratio (U.S. News) supports small seminars and close faculty mentoring.

Clinics and experiential learning

UCLA operates a broad clinical and externship program spanning litigation, policy and transactional work, backed by an Office of Public Interest Programs that funds public-interest summer work and runs the loan-repayment program. The entering class's collective pre-law service record (documented on the class-profile page — organizations from the California Innocence Project to the Environmental Defense Fund) reflects the school's public-service culture. Degree programs: J.D., LL.M., S.J.D. and specialized certificates.

Student Life and Location

Living in Los Angeles

Westwood sits inside the second-largest legal market in the United States: downtown LA's firm corridor, the entertainment industry, government and public-interest employers are all within a short commute, and the UCLA campus offers Big Ten college life in a Mediterranean climate. No other top-20 school offers comparable access to the entertainment and media industries.

Student body

The Class of 2026 is described by the school as deeply committed to public service and public policy, with extensive pre-law volunteering across civil-rights, environmental, immigrant-rights and legal-aid organizations. Dean Michael Waterstone (a nationally recognized disability and civil-rights scholar) has led the school since 2023, succeeding Jennifer Mnookin.

How UCLA Compares

Choose UCLA if

You want the Los Angeles/California market, entertainment and media law, or a top public-interest program; you want public-school tuition with T14-level outcomes (96.8% bar-required employment, 96% bar passage); or you want a top-15 brand in the country's second-largest legal market.

Consider alternatives if

You want the highest BigLaw-percentage placement of the elite tier (NYU, Duke, Michigan post higher 501+ firm shares), an East Coast/New York pipeline, or larger merit-aid packages — UCLA's grant data was unconfirmed and public schools typically offer less merit money than private peers. UC Berkeley is the in-state comparator now ranked just below UCLA (#16 vs. #13). UCLA is full-time only; there is no part-time or evening J.D.

The TLS Verdict

UCLA Law is the clearest success story among public law schools of the last decade: a top-15 ranking, a #4 national bar-required employment rate, 96% first-time California bar passage, and the Los Angeles market effectively to itself among elite schools. It is a genuinely elite outcome school at a public price for in-state students, and even out-of-state students get an unusually strong placement-to-tuition ratio. The open questions — grant generosity and the exact Class-of-2025 category breakdown — are less prominent than UCLA's trajectory, which is unambiguously up.

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is it to get into UCLA Law?

Selective: the acceptance rate was approximately 12% for Fall 2025 (2025 ABA 509 data per ILRG).

What LSAT score is competitive for UCLA?

The Fall 2025 median was 171; the 25th–75th range was not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

What GPA do UCLA applicants typically have?

The Fall 2025 median UGPA was 3.95; the 25th–75th range was not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

Does UCLA give scholarships?

UCLA offers need-based and merit aid, and advertises generous public-interest stipends plus a loan repayment program; the percentage of students receiving grants and the median grant amount were not confirmed in the sources reviewed.

What is UCLA's bar passage rate?

96% first-time on the July 2025 California bar (statewide first-time rate: 83.8%); 94.2% first-time across all jurisdictions per ILRG.

Is UCLA good for BigLaw?

Yes — 188 of 266 law-firm placements in the Class of 2024 went to firms of 501+ attorneys, at a median salary of $225,000, and the Class of 2025 ranked #4 nationally in bar-required employment.

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

No. UCLA School of Law is full-time only; there is no part-time or evening program.

What is UCLA Law best known for?

Entertainment and media law, the Los Angeles legal market, public interest, tax, and being "the youngest of the top law schools" — now ranked #13 nationally.

Contact and Key Links

Official links

TLS Forum Links

Sources

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