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University of Miami School of Law
Last updated: October 5, 2026
Contents
- 1 University of Miami School of Law
- 1.1 Miami Law at a Glance
- 1.2 Introduction
- 1.3 Rankings and Reputation
- 1.4 Admissions: What It Takes to Get In
- 1.5 Cost, Scholarships, and Debt
- 1.6 Employment Outcomes
- 1.7 Academics and Programs
- 1.8 Student Life and Location
- 1.9 How Miami Law Compares
- 1.10 The TLS Verdict
- 1.11 Frequently Asked Questions
- 1.11.1 How hard is it to get into Miami Law?
- 1.11.2 What LSAT score is competitive for Miami Law?
- 1.11.3 What GPA do Miami Law applicants typically have?
- 1.11.4 Does Miami Law give scholarships?
- 1.11.5 Are Miami Law scholarships conditional?
- 1.11.6 What is Miami Law's bar passage rate?
- 1.11.7 Is Miami Law good for BigLaw?
- 1.11.8 Does Miami Law offer a part-time J.D. or an LRAP?
- 1.11.9 What is Miami Law best known for?
- 1.11.10 Who is the dean of Miami Law?
- 1.12 Contact and Key Links
- 1.13 TLS Forum Links
- 1.14 Sources
University of Miami School of Law
The University of Miami School of Law ("Miami Law") is a private law school in Coral Gables, Florida, that enrolled a first-year class of 313 students in Fall 2025 from 4,593 completed applications, a 24.65% acceptance rate, a median LSAT of 164, and a median undergraduate GPA of 3.79; the Fall 2026 entering class (Class of 2029) raised those medians to a record 165 LSAT and 3.82 GPA. It is ranked #70 (tie) of 194 in the 2026 U.S. News rankings, with Business/Corporate Law at #34 (tie), and it is the only law school in South Florida recognized in Law.com's "Go-To Law Schools: Big Law" 2026 report, where it placed #30 nationally — up from #33 the prior year — for the share of its graduates entering associate positions at the 200 largest U.S. firms. The central decision issue for admitted applicants is that Miami Law pairs a genuine national large-firm pipeline and one of the most generous unconditional scholarship programs in the country — 698 grant recipients, a median award of $47,000, and no conditional scholarships — with the highest graduate indebtedness figure in this series at $168,513, a 2026–27 cost of attendance of $112,534, and no loan repayment assistance program.
Forum Links
Miami Law at a Glance
| Category | Latest information |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 (oldest law school in South Florida; first class of 13 graduated 1929) |
| Type | Private (University of Miami) |
| ABA approval or accreditation | ABA approved (Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar) |
| Location | 1311 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146 |
| Latest U.S. News rank | #70 tie of 194 (2026 edition); #34 tie in Business/Corporate Law |
| Latest completed applications | 4,593 (Fall 2025, 2025 509 report) |
| Latest acceptance rate | 24.65% (Fall 2025); 24.6% cited for the fall 2026 cycle |
| Latest LSAT median | 164 (Fall 2025); 165 for the Fall 2026 entering class |
| Latest GPA median | 3.79 (Fall 2025); 3.82 for the Fall 2026 entering class |
| Latest entering class | 313 (Fall 2025, all full-time); total J.D. enrollment 993 |
| Current tuition | $69,720 tuition plus $2,560 in fees = $72,280 direct cost (2026–27) |
| Current estimated cost of attendance | $112,534 (2026–27, nine-month academic year) |
| Latest first-time bar passage | 86.1% (July 2025 Florida Bar, first-time takers, 7th-highest in Florida); 81.3% for 2024 graduates (+6.7 points above Florida's 74.6%) |
| Latest bar-required employment | 85.9% full-time long-term bar-required (Class of 2024, ABA/ILRG, #61 nationally); 96% of the Class of 2025 employed or in graduate study within 10 months |
| Current dean | Patricia Sánchez Abril (interim dean 2024; appointed dean February 2026) |
The admissions figures are drawn from Miami Law's 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report (4,593 completed applications, 1,132 offers, 24.65% acceptance rate, 313 enrolled — all full-time — total J.D. enrollment 993, transfers in 7) and the school's Fast Facts page current as of August 12, 2026, which reports record entering-class medians of 165 LSAT and 3.82 GPA for the Class of 2029. Tuition and cost data are from the university's 2026–27 estimated cost-of-attendance schedule for J.D. students, which notes tuition is based on a proposed 4.5% increase. Patricia Sánchez Abril, a Miami native and Harvard-educated lawyer who served as interim dean from 2024, was appointed dean of the school in February 2026.
Introduction
The University of Miami School of Law, founded in 1926, is the oldest law school in South Florida and graduated its first class of thirteen students in 1929. It sits on the university's main campus in Coral Gables, five miles south of downtown Miami, centered on a courtyard known as "the Bricks," and its law library holds a collection of more than 600,000 volumes in print and microform. The school is a full-time, residential J.D. program; the Fall 2025 entering class contained no part-time students, and the 509 report lists zero part-time tuition.
Miami Law's identity rests on three pillars: a large-firm pipeline that is genuinely national in a way unusual for a school of its rank — it placed #30 nationally in Law.com's 2026 "Go-To Law Schools: Big Law" report and, per the Am Law 100's 2026 listing, has the highest number of graduates leading the top 30 U.S. firms alongside Harvard Law School; an unusually deep and unconditional scholarship program, with 698 grant recipients, a median award of $47,000, and no conditional scholarships; and a curricular and geographic specialization in international, maritime, inter-American, and entertainment, arts and sports law that reflects Miami's role as the commercial and cultural gateway between the United States and Latin America. The school offers roughly 300 courses across 18 areas of study, 17 legal clinics and practicums, and more than two dozen interdisciplinary and joint-degree programs.
Rankings and Reputation
Miami Law is ranked #70 (tie) of 194 in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Law Schools rankings, with seven programs in the national top 50 and Business/Corporate Law at #34 (tie). The school's national reputation rests less on overall rank than on large-firm placement: it is the only law school in South Florida recognized in Law.com's "Go-To Law Schools: Big Law" 2026 report, placing #30 nationally — up from #33 the prior year — based on the National Law Journal's annual survey of the percentage of 2025 J.D.s entering associate positions at the nation's largest 200 firms.
Overall ranking
| U.S. News edition | Miami Law rank |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 70 (tie) of 194 |
Miami Law's rank understates its placement reach: the school sends a materially higher share of graduates into the largest national firms than most schools ranked near or above it. Applicants should weigh the #30 Go-To Law Schools placement and the Am Law 100 leadership figure alongside the overall rank rather than treating #70 as a ceiling on outcomes.
Specialty rankings
| Specialty | Rank |
|---|---|
| Business/Corporate Law | #34 (tie) |
| Other ranked programs | Seven programs in the national top 50; business-focused programs in the top 35 |
The school's own announcement of the 2026 specialty results describes high marks in business, commercial, and clinical programs and highlights its business-focused offerings; the specific rank numbers for programs beyond Business/Corporate Law were not independently verified against the U.S. News specialty tables in the sources reviewed. Independent rankings by the Internet Legal Research Group place Miami Law at #54 in selectivity (24.7% acceptance rate), #56 in LSAT composite (163.0), #56 in student-faculty ratio (10.0:1), #57 in GPA composite (3.75), #61 in bar-required employment (85.9%), #75 in federal clerkships (2.1%), #92 in overall employment at ten months (93.2%), #102 in first-time bar passage (81.3%, +6.7 points above Florida's 74.6%), #107 in highest tuition ($66,720), #19 in minority faculty representation (33.1%), and #127 in female faculty representation (41.7%).
Admissions: What It Takes to Get In
Entering class (Fall 2025)
| Admissions metric | Fall 2025 |
|---|---|
| Completed applications | 4,593 |
| Offers of admission | 1,132 |
| Acceptance rate | 24.65% |
| First-year class size | 313 (full-time 313; part-time 0) |
| Total J.D. enrollment | 993 |
| Transfers in | 7 |
Miami Law's Fall 2026 entering class, described by the school as its most competitive admissions year and then surpassed by the next, set record medians of 165 LSAT and 3.82 GPA. The school also enrolls a substantial LL.M. cohort, drawn from 26 countries across five continents. The J.D. program is full-time only — the 509 report records zero part-time first-year students and no part-time tuition.
LSAT and GPA
| Statistic | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSAT (Fall 2025) | 160 | 164 | 165 |
| Undergraduate GPA (Fall 2025) | 3.58 | 3.79 | 3.88 |
| LSAT (Fall 2026 class) | — | 165 | — |
| Undergraduate GPA (Fall 2026 class) | — | 3.82 | — |
The 25th and 75th percentile figures for the Fall 2026 class were not published in machine-readable form in the sources reviewed; the medians are reported by the school.
Interpreting the numbers
Miami Law's selectivity has tightened dramatically: ILRG's comparison of the 2025 and 2019 entering classes shows the acceptance rate falling from 55.9% to 24.7%, the median LSAT rising from 158 to 164 (with the Fall 2026 class at a record 165), and the median GPA rising from 3.43 to 3.79 (3.82 for Fall 2026). A 24.65% acceptance rate now places Miami Law among the more selective schools in its overall rank band, and its 160-to-165 middle-50% LSAT range overlaps with several schools ranked well above it. The practical reading is that Miami Law competes for applicants who want a major metropolitan legal market with genuine national large-firm access; the trade-off applicants should weigh is price, since a 4.5% proposed tuition increase and no LRAP mean the debt math is severe even with a large median award. No score guarantees admission.
Application timing
The application fee is $60 and the application deadline is July 15, one of the latest among ABA-approved schools. The financial aid application deadline is April 15; the financial aid director is Wendi Owens, (305) 284-6000. Miami Law does not publish a binding early-decision program in the sources reviewed, and operates on a rolling basis. International applicants follow a separate cost-of-attendance schedule that includes a $4,420 health insurance line.
Cost, Scholarships, and Debt
Tuition
Tuition for the 2026–27 academic year is $69,720 — $34,860 per semester — plus $730 per semester in fees ($1,460 annually) and a $550 per semester Academic Success Support Fee ($1,100 annually), for a total direct cost of $72,280. Tuition is identical for residents and non-residents because Miami is private. The 2026–27 figure reflects a proposed 4.5% increase over the 2025–26 509 report's $66,720 tuition with $2,498 in annual fees; U.S. News reports the full-time tuition including fees as $69,218, and 7Sage lists $66,720 for the 2026 academic year, so three overlapping figures for the same line item appear across sources and all are noted here rather than reconciled. For students enrolled below 11 credits or above 17 credits, the per-credit rate is $2,490.
Cost of attendance
| Expense | Per semester | Nine-month total |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $34,860 | $69,720 |
| Fees | $730 | $1,460 |
| Additional fees (Academic Success Support Fee) | $550 | $1,100 |
| Subtotal, direct costs | $36,140 | $72,280 |
| Housing | $9,818 | $19,636 |
| Food | $4,638 | $9,276 |
| Books | $1,512 | $3,024 |
| Personal | $2,328 | $4,656 |
| Transportation | $1,044 | $2,088 |
| Average loan fees | $187 | $374 |
| Total cost of attendance | $55,667 | $112,534 |
Two features of the budget deserve emphasis. First, housing of $19,636 and food of $9,276 together exceed $28,900 for the nine-month year — ILRG's tabulation puts total room and board at $43,924 for the 2025 cohort, up from $19,508 in 2019, a 125% increase in six years. Miami is not a low-cost city once tuition is set aside, and the housing line is an estimate rather than a cap. Second, the budget does not include health insurance, which is billed separately at $4,420 per year for international students and is required of domestic students unless they demonstrate coverage.
Financial aid
Miami Law's scholarship program is among the strongest in American legal education on both coverage and generosity. Per the 2025 Standard 509 report, 698 students received grants — about 70% of the 993-student J.D. population — with a median grant of $47,000, a 25th percentile of $39,374, and a 75th percentile of $52,188. The median grant covers roughly 67% of the 2026–27 tuition line, and the 75th-percentile grant covers about 75% of it. Critically, even the 25th-percentile award of $39,374 is more than half of tuition — a distribution with a high floor rather than a few outsized awards.
Conditional scholarships
Miami Law 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 therefore does not complete the ABA conditional scholarship retention chart. Combined with 70% grant coverage, a $39,374 floor, and a $47,000 median, this is one of the most applicant-friendly aid structures in the country: the award is effectively unconditional and, unlike at many competitors, cannot be clawed back through a section curve.
Debt perspective
The average indebtedness of 2025 J.D. graduates who incurred law school debt is $168,513, with 61.1% of graduates borrowing — the highest average debt figure in this series and among the highest of any ABA-approved law school. Miami Law does not offer a loan repayment assistance program for its graduates. The arithmetic is stark: even at the median grant of $47,000, a student paying the remaining tuition faces roughly $68,000 in tuition over three years plus approximately $87,000 in living costs, and the school's own budget projects loan fees and a cost of attendance above $112,000 per year. Miami's aid generosity and its debt load are two sides of the same coin — the school spreads large awards widely, but the underlying price is high enough that median-aid students still borrow heavily, and public-interest graduates have no institutional backstop.
Employment Outcomes
Employment (Class of 2025 and Class of 2024)
Miami Law reports that 96% of the Class of 2025 was employed or enrolled in graduate studies within 10 months of graduation. The school also placed #30 nationally in Law.com's "Go-To Law Schools: Big Law" 2026 report — up from #33 the prior year — which ranks the top 50 schools by the percentage of 2025 J.D.s entering associate positions at the nation's 200 largest law firms; Miami Law is the only law school in South Florida recognized in that report. Per the Am Law 100's 2026 listing, the school has the highest number of graduates leading the top 30 U.S. firms, alongside Harvard Law School.
| Employment metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Employed or in graduate study within 10 months (Class of 2025) | 96% (school-reported) |
| Large-firm placement (Law.com Go-To Law Schools, Big Law 2026) | #30 nationally (up from #33 in 2025); only South Florida school included |
| Graduates leading the top 30 U.S. firms (Am Law 100, 2026) | Highest number of any school, alongside Harvard Law School |
| Full-time, long-term bar-required positions (Class of 2024, ABA/ILRG) | 85.9% (#61 nationally) |
| Federal clerkships (Class of 2024, ILRG) | 2.1% (#75 nationally) |
| Overall employment at 10 months (Class of 2024, ILRG) | 93.2% (#92 nationally) |
| Class of 2025 ABA category breakdown (bar-required rate, firm-size distribution, clerkship counts) | Not independently confirmed (published only in Box-hosted PDFs that did not render as text) |
| Median salaries by sector | Not independently confirmed |
The school's Office of Career and Professional Development describes a structured early-intervention model: summer programming for admitted students before orientation, advisor assignment during fall orientation, workshops including "Insider Tips from Law Firm Recruiters" and "Navigating Big Law Applications," mock interviews, and an annual Large Law Firm Career Fair bringing more than thirty firms to campus, supported by platforms including Summer Associate Hub, Firm Prospects, and FloRecruit.
What these numbers mean
Miami Law's employment profile is the strongest element of its case to applicants and is unusual for a school ranked #70. A 96% employment-or-graduate-study rate within ten months, a #30 national ranking in large-firm placement, and the joint-highest number of graduates leading the top 30 U.S. firms are outcomes that many schools in the top 40 cannot match. The corroborating ABA data for the prior class is consistent but more conventional: 85.9% in full-time, long-term bar-required positions, a 2.1% federal clerkship rate, and 93.2% overall employment at ten months. The caution is that the Class of 2025 ABA category detail — the bar-required rate specifically, the firm-size distribution, and median salaries — was published only in Box-hosted PDFs that did not render as text in the sources reviewed, so the headline 96% figure cannot yet be decomposed. Applicants should request the Class of 2025 ABA Employment Summary directly if placement guarantees matter to their decision.
Bar passage
| Bar statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| July 2025 Florida Bar, first-time full-exam takers | 86.1% (school-reported), 7th-highest among Florida law schools |
| Florida Board of Law Examiners, July 2025 | Miami listed with 273 first-time candidates (number of passers not confirmed in the sources reviewed) |
| First-time passage, primary jurisdiction (2024 graduates, ABA/ILRG) | 81.3%, against Florida's 74.6% (+6.7 points) |
| Earlier administration comparison (ILRG tabulation) | 84.9% (214 of 252) and 82.5% (203 of 246) across two recent administrations |
| 2019 comparison (2019 graduates) | 86.3%, against Florida's 67.9% (+18.4 points) |
Miami Law outperforms the Florida average on first-time bar passage by 6.7 points in the most recent ABA-reported cohort, but the differential has narrowed materially from +18.4 points in the 2019 comparison, because Florida's statewide rate rose faster than Miami's. The July 2025 first-time result of 86.1% placed the school seventh among Florida law schools. Two-year ultimate bar passage was not retrieved for this page and remains unconfirmed; the ABA primary-jurisdiction figures for 2024 graduates (81.3%) and the ILRG-reported 84.9% and 82.5% figures for other administrations are shown above so that applicants can see the range.
Where graduates go
Both Miami and national markets. The school reports that many of its alumni practice in ten major metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. — a footprint consistent with its #30 large-firm placement ranking, which by construction counts graduates entering the largest 200 firms in the country rather than a regional market. Miami Law's alumni network is deepest in South Florida, where it is the region's oldest and largest law school, but the large-firm pipeline runs through New York and other national markets as well. Exact state-by-state counts for the Class of 2025 were not published in machine-readable form in the sources reviewed.
Academics and Programs
Curriculum and special strengths
Miami Law offers approximately 300 courses across 18 areas of study, 17 legal clinics and practicums, and more than two dozen interdisciplinary and joint-degree programs. Its academic signature areas are international and comparative law, inter-American law, maritime and ocean law, taxation, real property and estate planning, and entertainment, arts and sports law — a portfolio that mirrors Miami's role as a hemispheric commercial hub and its music, sports, and media industries.
Joint and dual degrees (per U.S. News's listing of programs offered):
- Business and accounting: J.D./M.B.A.; J.D./M.S. in Accountancy; J.D./M.B.A. with an LL.M. in Estate Planning, Real Property, or Taxation
- International and area studies: J.D./LL.M. in International Law; J.D./LL.M. in International Law Arbitration; J.D./LL.M. in Maritime Law; J.D./LL.M. in Comparative Law; J.D./LL.M. in Inter-American Law; J.D./LL.M. in Ocean and Coastal Law; J.D./M.A. in Latin American Studies; J.D./M.A. in Marine Affairs
- Real property and taxation: J.D./LL.M. in Real Property Development; J.D./LL.M. in Tax; J.D./LL.M. in Estate Planning
- Entertainment, arts, and media: J.D./LL.M. in Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law; J.D./M.A. in Live Entertainment Management; J.D./M.A. in Music Industry; J.D./M.S. in Media Management; J.D./Master in Arts Presenting and Entertainment Management; J.D./Master in Music Business
- Health and public policy: J.D./M.D. in Medicine; J.D./M.H.A. in Health Administration; J.D./M.P.A. in Public Administration; J.D./M.P.H. in Public Health; J.D./M.S. in Health Administration
- Science and communications: J.D./Ph.D. in Environmental Science Policy; J.D./M.A. in Communications
The J.D./LL.M. in Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law is a joint degree in which students take graduate-level entertainment, arts, and sports law courses during the third year of the J.D., with 12 LL.M. credit hours applied to both degrees — a structure the school markets as saving both time and tuition. The LL.M. program offers specializations in taxation, estate planning, real property, entertainment, arts and sports law, comparative law, inter-American law, international law, international arbitration, and ocean and coastal law, and enrolls students from 26 countries across five continents.
Journals and publications:
- University of Miami Law Review — the school's flagship journal
- Business Law Review
- Inter-American Law Review
- International & Comparative Law Review
- Race and Social Justice Law Review
Centers and institutes: the Center for Ethics and Public Service, which houses the Children and Youth Law Clinic, the Health and Elder Law Clinic, and the Corporate and Professional Responsibility Program; and the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center, which provides tailored guidance to students pursuing public-interest programs, clinics, courses, externships, and advocacy projects, and coordinates pro bono and fellowship opportunities.
Clinics and experiential learning
Miami Law's clinical program encompasses 17 clinics and practicums, and the school's clinic community is substantial: the program's annual fall kickoff serves more than 70 interns and over 120 students enrolled across the nine clinics that were actively listed in the most recent cycle, with students serving clients in Miami-Dade County in matters including consumer issues, family law, healthcare access, immigration, and public benefits. Named clinical and experiential offerings include the Children and Youth Law Clinic, the Health and Elder Law Clinic, the Investor Rights Clinic,, and the Litigation Skills Program — the last described by a 2026 graduate joining Orrick in New York as "invaluable" preparation for a litigation career, and which the school recommends to students regardless of practice area. Externships and HOPE-funded public-interest fellowships extend the experiential curriculum beyond the in-house clinics.
Student Life and Location
Living in Coral Gables and Miami
Miami Law occupies the University of Miami's main campus in Coral Gables, five miles south of downtown Miami and roughly seven miles from Miami International Airport, centered on the courtyard known as "the Bricks." The location is one of the school's genuine strategic advantages: Miami is the commercial and legal capital of Latin America, home to the federal district and bankruptcy courts, the Eleventh Circuit's Miami sessions, the state's Third District Court of Appeal, a dense concentration of international arbitration and maritime practices, and the entertainment, music, sports, and cruise-industry legal work that flows from the city's economy. The trade-offs are cost and climate: the school's own budget puts housing at $19,636 and food at $9,276 for the nine-month year, ILRG's tabulation of actual reported room and board for the 2025 cohort was $43,924 (up 125% from $19,508 in 2019), and the region's rental market is among the most expensive relative to local incomes in the country. The campus environment — a private university with major Division I athletics in a subtropical metropolitan area — suits some students far better than others; one alumna reviewing the school for U.S. News (Class of 1990) described the facilities and teaching as uneven, a perspective from a much earlier era of the school that current students should weigh against the institution's substantial rebuilding since.
Student body
With 993 J.D. students and an entering class of 313, Miami Law is a large program by national standards, and it is full-time only — the 509 report records no part-time first-year students and no part-time tuition, so working applicants have no evening pathway at this school. ILRG reports the student body as 57.4% women, 41.5% men, and 1.1% non-binary. Faculty total 360 by ILRG's count (the 509 report lists 99 full-time and 261 non-full-time faculty members, plus 14 librarians), with a student-faculty ratio of 10.0:1 per ILRG and 5.8:1 per U.S. News — a wide divergence reflecting different counting methods for the large adjunct and practitioner faculty. The school's faculty diversity profile is unusually strong: 33.1% minority faculty, ranked #19 nationally, alongside 41.7% female faculty (#127). International enrollment is a defining feature, with LL.M. students drawn from 26 countries across five continents.
How Miami Law Compares
Choose Miami Law if
- You want a genuine national large-firm pipeline: #30 nationally in Law.com's Go-To Law Schools: Big Law 2026 report (up from #33), the only South Florida school listed, with 96% of the Class of 2025 employed or in graduate study within ten months.
- You want scholarship certainty and scale: 698 grant recipients, a median award of $47,000, a 25th-percentile award of $39,374, and no conditional scholarships.
- You want to practice in South Florida or another major metropolitan market — the school's alumni are concentrated in Miami, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
- Your practice interests run to international and inter-American law, international arbitration, maritime and ocean law, taxation and estate planning, or entertainment, arts and sports law, where the school's LL.M. and joint-degree menu is unusually deep and matched to the local market.
- You value faculty diversity: minority faculty representation ranks #19 nationally at 33.1%.
Consider alternatives if
- You are debt-averse: average indebtedness of $168,513 is the highest in this series, 61.1% of graduates borrow, the cost of attendance is $112,534, and there is no loan repayment assistance program.
- You need a part-time or evening J.D. — Miami Law is full-time only, with zero part-time first-year students in Fall 2025 and no part-time tuition line.
- You want bar passage comfortably above the state average across recent administrations — the differential has narrowed from +18.4 points (2019 cohort) to +6.7 points (2024 cohort), and the ILRG-reported rate for 2024 graduates is 81.3%.
- You want median salaries and the bar-required breakdown before committing — the Class of 2025 ABA detail was not publicly readable in the sources reviewed.
- You are targeting a public-interest career with institutional financial support — with no LRAP and $168,513 in average debt, public-interest financing is materially harder here than at schools with a repayment program.
The TLS Verdict
Miami Law is a nationally connected large-firm school wearing the rank of a regional one, and the gap between those two facts is the whole decision. On outcomes, it delivers: 96% of the Class of 2025 employed or in graduate study within ten months, #30 nationally in large-firm placement (up from #33), the only South Florida school in Law.com's Big Law report, and the joint-highest number of graduates leading the top 30 U.S. firms alongside Harvard. On affordability of the award itself, it is close to best in class: 698 grant recipients, a $47,000 median award, a $39,374 floor, and no conditional scholarships anywhere in the program, so an admitted student can count on the money. On the price behind that award, it is the harshest case in this series: $72,280 in direct costs, a $112,534 cost of attendance, average graduate debt of $168,513, a 61.1% borrowing rate, and no LRAP — meaning that median-aid public-interest graduates carry an institutional cost structure with no institutional backstop. Add a narrower bar-passage differential than the school's history suggests (81.3% for 2024 graduates, +6.7 points over Florida, down from +18.4 points for the 2019 cohort), a full-time-only program that excludes working applicants, and a Class of 2025 ABA summary whose category detail was not publicly readable when this profile was built. For applicants chasing large-firm practice in Miami, New York, or another major market who receive a substantial award, Miami Law is a strong and defensible choice; for applicants who might enter public interest, who need an evening program, or who would attend at close to full price, the debt math and the absence of an LRAP are the numbers that should decide, and they argue for a hard comparison against schools with lower total cost or a repayment program.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it to get into Miami Law?
Selective and tightening: for Fall 2025, Miami Law received 4,593 completed applications and made 1,132 offers, a 24.65% acceptance rate, with 313 enrolling. Selectivity has roughly doubled since the 2019 cycle, when the acceptance rate was 55.9%.
What LSAT score is competitive for Miami Law?
The median LSAT for the Fall 2025 entering class was 164, with a middle-50% range of 160 to 165. The Fall 2026 entering class set a record median of 165. Scores at or above 164 are competitive; the median has risen six points since the 2019 cycle, when it was 158.
What GPA do Miami Law applicants typically have?
The median undergraduate GPA was 3.79 for the Fall 2025 entering class (middle 50%: 3.58 to 3.88) and 3.82 for the Fall 2026 class — up from 3.43 in the 2019 cycle.
Does Miami Law give scholarships?
Yes, and generously. Per the 2025 ABA 509 report, 698 students received grants — about 70% of the J.D. population — with a median grant of $47,000, a 25th percentile of $39,374, and a 75th percentile of $52,188. The median award covers roughly 67% of 2026–27 tuition.
Are Miami Law scholarships conditional?
No. The school 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 therefore does not publish a conditional scholarship retention chart. This is one of the most applicant-friendly aid policies in the country.
What is Miami Law's bar passage rate?
86.1% of first-time full-exam takers passed the July 2025 Florida Bar — seventh-highest among Florida law schools. For 2024 graduates in its primary jurisdiction, the ABA-reported first-time rate was 81.3%, 6.7 points above Florida's 74.6% average. Two-year ultimate bar passage was not retrieved and remains unconfirmed.
Is Miami Law good for BigLaw?
Yes, unusually so for its overall rank. The school placed #30 nationally in Law.com's "Go-To Law Schools: Big Law" 2026 report — up from #33 the prior year — based on the share of 2025 J.D.s entering associate positions at the 200 largest U.S. firms, and it is the only South Florida law school in that report. Per the Am Law 100's 2026 listing, Miami Law has the highest number of graduates leading the top 30 U.S. firms alongside Harvard Law School. 96% of the Class of 2025 was employed or in graduate study within ten months.
Does Miami Law offer a part-time J.D. or an LRAP?
No to both. The J.D. is full-time only — the 509 report records zero part-time first-year students and no part-time tuition — and the school does not offer a loan repayment assistance program, against average graduate indebtedness of $168,513.
What is Miami Law best known for?
Miami Law is best known for its large-firm pipeline and national Big Law placement, for its unconditional and generous scholarship program, for international, inter-American, maritime, taxation, and entertainment, arts and sports law programs matched to Miami's economy, and for its location in South Florida's legal and commercial capital with a minority faculty ranked #19 nationally.
Who is the dean of Miami Law?
Patricia Sánchez Abril, a Miami native and Harvard-educated lawyer who has served the University of Miami for more than two decades and led the school as interim dean from 2024, was appointed dean in February 2026. Recent prior deans include David Yellen (2022–2024), Nell Jessup Newton (interim, 2021–2022), and Anthony E. Varona (2019–2021).
Contact and Key Links
University of Miami School of Law
1311 Miller Drive
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
Financial Aid: Wendi Owens, Director, (305) 284-6000
Application Fee: $60
Application Deadline: July 15
Financial Aid Deadline: April 15
Official links
- University of Miami School of Law — Official Website
- J.D. Admissions
- Miami Law Fast Facts and Class Profile
- ABA Required Disclosures and Student Consumer Information
- 2025 ABA Standard 509 Information Report
- Graduate Employment Data — ABA and NALP Summary Reports, Classes of 2016–2025
- Domestic Law Student Cost of Attendance 2026-27
- Law Student Cost of Attendance (all programs)
- Office of Career and Professional Development
- Judicial Clerkship Resources
- HOPE Public Interest Resource Center
- LL.M. in Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law
- Experiential Learning and Clinics
TLS Forum Links
Sources
- University of Miami School of Law — Official Website
- ABA — University of Miami School of Law 2025 Standard 509 Information Report
- Miami Law — ABA Required Disclosures, including links to the 509 report, bar admission results, and student consumer information
- Miami Law — Fast Facts: Entering JD Class (as of 8/12/26), career outcomes, and alumni markets
- University of Miami — 2026-27 Estimated Domestic Law Student Cost of Attendance
- University of Miami — 2026-27 International Law Student Cost of Attendance
- Miami Law — Graduate Employment Data, ABA Summary Report for the Class of 2025, and NALP Summary Reports
- University of Miami News — "Strong career outcomes for the Class of 2025" (May 2026; 96% employment-or-graduate-study, Law.com Go-To Law Schools #30, Am Law 100 leadership)
- University of Miami News — "Miami Law earns high marks for business, commercial, and clinical programs in 2026 U.S. News specialty rankings" (April 2026)
- University of Miami News — "School of Law's new dean will 'envision its next chapter'" (February 2026; Patricia Sánchez Abril appointed dean)
- The Florida Bar News — "Patricia Sánchez Abril named UM Law dean" (February 24, 2026)
- The Florida Bar News — July 2025 Florida Bar examination results (first-time full-exam takers; University of Miami cohort)
- NBC 6 South Florida — Florida law school July 2025 bar passage rankings (Miami Law 86.1%, seventh-highest)
- Supreme Court of Florida — Florida Bar Exam Results Comparisons by law school
- U.S. News — University of Miami School of Law Profile (2026 edition; #70 tie, #34 Business/Corporate Law, indebtedness, LRAP, and program listings)
