Facts and Statistics

Overview

At a Glance

Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia, UVA Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.

National standing: The Law School is perennially ranked among the top 10 law schools.

UVA is a public school, though the Law School does not receive state funding, through an agreement called financial self-sufficiency.

Enrollment

J.D. enrollment (as of Oct. 5, 2023): 911

50.8% women; 48.7% men; 0.4% nonbinary, transgender or gender-nonconforming

33.7% people of color (not including people of Middle Eastern descent, who are counted as Caucasian by the ABA)

2022-23 degrees awarded: 284 J.D.s, 40 LL.M.s

Applications

J.D. application due: March 1
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LL.M. application deadline: Feb. 1
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S.J.D. application deadline: April 1
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Academics

Academic year: Semester | View Calendar

Degree programs: Juris Doctor (J.D.), Master of Laws (LL.M.), Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.)

14 combination-degree programs at UVA and 4 dual-degree programs

More than 275 courses each year, including 24 clinics

12 international exchange programs

24 centers and programs

Student Life

The 2024 Princeton Review rankings rated UVA Law as No. 1 in Best Professors and Best Classroom Experience, No. 2 in Quality of Life, No. 2 in Best Career Prospects and No. 5 for Best for Federal Clerkships.

Student-faculty ratio: 6.4 to 1 (as of fall 2023)

Student-run academic journals: 10

Student organizations: 70, including 20 affinity groups

Video: Life at UVA Law

Student leaves an interview room as another student walks in.

Careers at a Glance

No. 1 in the percentage of Class of 2023 graduates in full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage.

Virginia is No. 2 in the percentage of Class of 2023 graduates who went directly to firms of 100 (or 500) or more attorneys, or to federal clerkships.

No. 5 after Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Chicago in placing clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2007-2023.

Alumni and Giving

UVA Law has more than 20,000 alumni worldwide.

Endowment: As of June 30, 2023, the market value of the endowments and quasi-endowments held for the benefit of the Law School was $831 million.

The Grounds

The Law School is located on North Grounds, about a mile from the UVA campus and next door to the Darden Graduate School of Business and the North Grounds Recreation Center. The Law School has a full-service dining room that is available for lunch during the school year.

The three-floor library includes 726,592 volumes and volume equivalents (as of Oct. 5, 2019).

Map Directions

The City

Charlottesville is known for offering the best of urban amenities within a gorgeous natural setting.

Charlottesville population: 45,373 (2022 estimate)

Charlottesville metropolitan area: 223,534 (2022 estimate)

Class of 2026 J.D. Profile

As of Aug. 21, 2024

Median LSAT: 172
25%-75% LSAT: 167-174
Median GPA: 3.96
25%-75% GPA: 3.78-4.00
Age Range: 20 to 41

More Admissions Website

Costs and Financial Aid

Total J.D. Financial Aid, 2022-23

Received Scholarships and Grants: 595 students received $18.6 million (from all sources)

Received Loans: 563 students received $34.4 million

J.D. Program Costs, 2024-25

J.D. Program	VIRGINIA RESIDENT	NONRESIDENT
Tuition:	$71,010	$73,328
Required Fees:	$3,690	$4,372
Total Tuition & Fees:	$74,700	$77,700

Annual Cost of Attendance Budget for J.D. Program

Graduate Program Costs, 2024-25

LL.M. Program	VIRGINIA RESIDENT	NONRESIDENT
Tuition:	$71,010	$73,328
Required Fees:	$3,690	$4,372
Total Tuition & Fees:	$74,700	$77,700

S.J.D./Research	VIRGINIA RESIDENT	NONRESIDENT
Tuition:	$5,810	$6,128
Required Fees:	$3,690	$4,372
Total Tuition & Fees:	$9,500	$10,500

Annual Cost of Attendance Budget for LL.M./S.J.D. programs

Financial Aid Website

Class of 2026 Equipped With ‘Extraordinary Qualities’

First-year students who started classes Wednesday at the University of Virginia School of Law are dreaming big dreams, and have the academic and personal strengths to carry them out, according to the admissions officials who plucked them out of more than 5,000 applicants.

Alumni & Giving

Fast Facts About Alumni and Giving

Alumni Website Giving Website

The UVA Law Network: The Law School has more than 20,000 graduates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 64 foreign countries. More

Alumni Satisfaction: 44% or more of alumni have given to the Law School for each of the past 19 years.

Endowment: As of June 30, 2024, the market value of the endowments held for the benefit of the Law School was $869 million.

Capital Campaign: The Law School launched a $400 million capital campaign, Honor the Future, in October 2019. More

2023-24 Contributions: 44% percent of alumni made gifts to the Law School during the 2023-24 Annual Giving Campaign. Gifts received for the year totaled $20.2 million, including $4.78 million in unrestricted funds. More

Prominent Alumni

Judge Reeves

Protecting Progress

Judge Carlton Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi is a 1989 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and a protector of the hard-earned rights of the people in his state.

Careers & Outcomes

Employment Data for Recent Graduates
Bar Passage Data for Recent Graduates
Careers Website
Prominent Alumni (by field)
Map: Where Our Graduates Go
Clerkships by Term and Location

Access to an Elite Career

The career development program at UVA Law is often described as a three-legged stool: private practice, clerkships and public service. UVA uniquely balances and excels in all three areas.

Private Sector

Graduates aren’t just getting jobs at firms — they are getting jobs at the nation’s most elite firms.

No. 1 in the country for the percentage of Class of 2023 graduates (97.2%) in full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage, according to American Bar Association data. This metric is considered the gold standard for high-quality J.D. employment.

No. 1 in Above the Law's 2024 law school rankings, which focus on employment outcomes. More

No. 2 in the country in the percentage of Class of 2023 graduates who went directly to firms of 500 or more attorneys or to federal clerkships, according to American Bar Association data (based on full-time, long-term jobs).

Salaries for the 209 students going into the private sector in the Class of 2023 reflect these outcomes:

75th percentile: $225,000
50th percentile: $225,000
25th percentile: $225,000

Any job location is within reach, and the UVA Law Network is worldwide. The Class of 2023 obtained jobs in 28 states and Washington, D.C.

Not only are graduates’ immediate outcomes in the private sector excellent, but so too are their long-term career prospects.

No. 5 in the number of partners in the American Lawyer top 100 firms (and the AmLaw 25, AmLaw 200 and the National Law Journal 500). (May 2024).

No. 5 in the country in the number of female graduate attorneys in U.S. offices of American Lawyer 25 firms, according to Legal Compass (March 2024).

No. 5 in the country in the number of lawyers in the American Lawyer top 100 firms (and the AmLaw 25, AmLaw 200 and the National Law Journal 500), according to Legal Compass (May 2024).

No. 3 in the number of chief legal officers at the nation's top 500 companies, according to a 2019 survey by Chambers Associate. More

Virginia has graduates in all 100 of the American Lawyer top 100 firms (as of June 2024).

See more alumni corporate executives and entrepreneurs, and alumni in entertainment and sports.

Clerkships

From federal appeals courts to the U.S. Supreme Court, Virginia helps place students in the most competitive clerkships.

Clerkships by Term and Location

No. 5 in placing clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2007-2023. More

No. 4 in the percentage of graduates from the classes of 2019-23 going directly to federal clerkships after law school, according to ABA data.

No. 2 (tied) in graduates serving as Bristow Fellows, who work in the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office, from the 2010-21 terms. Bristow Fellowships can be steppingstones to U.S. Supreme Court clerkships. More

Clerkships offer advantages to those who pursue them — intense and impactful training in a wide swath of law, access to a network of fellow clerks and, if graduates pursue private-sector work, bonuses at law firms and a salary commensurate with the experience gained. Federal appeals court clerkships are stepping stones to the Supreme Court and other prestigious jobs. More

Public Service Careers

Consider how other graduates have succeeded.

Where Students and Graduates Work in Public Service

Four senators and two representatives who graduated from UVA Law currently serve in the U.S. Congress. (No. 4 in J.D. graduates in the 116th Congress; More)

Other alumni serve in government at the highest levels. UVA is No. 6 among law schools in the number of graduates serving as U.S. attorneys, federal judges, and state attorneys general and solicitors general. When the metric includes just state attorneys general and solicitors general, the school is No. 5. More

According to research completed by the Public Service Center in December 2022, the Law School is tied for No. 2 in the number of graduates serving as state attorneys general.

Outside of government, alumni pursue a range of public interest and nonprofit careers.

Hundreds of alumni are judges, including at federal appellate courts, state supreme courts and a judge on the World Court.

High-profile graduates have a history of public service: Alums include Robert F. Kennedy ’51, Ted Kennedy ’59, Robert Mueller ’73, former Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño ’85, former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ’83, and numerous governors and state legislators.

Alumni have had notable careers in academia — UVA President Jim Ryan ’92 is an alum, and Elizabeth Magill ’95 served as UVA provost before being named president of the University of Pennsylvania. Napolitano also served as head of the University of California system.

And graduates are supported through the Virginia Loan Forgiveness Program and a range of salaried fellowships and sources of funding for summer jobs. The Public Service Center also operates an alumni mentoring network to give UVA Law students on the fast track to understanding their future field.

The UVA Law Network

UVA Law has more than 20,000 alumni in all 50 states and more than 60 countries, allowing graduates access to a network that is geographically diverse.

Where Our Graduates Go, Classes of 2021-23

71% firm (662)
17% clerkship (158)
10% public interest (92)
0.4% corporate (4)
The Law School awarded 31 Powell and Kennedy Fellowships to graduates working for public interest and nonprofit employers. More

Law Firms

82% with firms in American Lawyer's top 100 by gross revenue
6% with firms ranked between 100 and 200
3% with large international firms (not ranked by American Lawyer)
9% with smaller and boutique firms

Clerkships

6 U.S. Supreme Court
108 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
146 U.S. District Courts and other federal courts
40 state courts

2021-2026 terms. Some alumni clerked at multiple courts.

Public Interest Jobs

18 federal government
16 state or local government
8 military
44 public interest groups

Top Job Locations

New York (230)
District of Columbia (207)
Texas (100)
Virginia (80)
California (78)
North Carolina (23)
Pennsylvania (19)
Georgia (18)
Massachusetts (18)
Illinois (14)
Delaware (12)
Tennessee (12)
Ohio (11)
Colorado (10)
Maryland (8)

First-Year Summer Jobs, Class of 2025 (Summer 2023)

Some students held multiple positions.

31% firm
17% judicial
16% academic
17% federal government
12% public interest groups
7% corporate
7% state or local government

Faculty

Faculty Achievement

The school’s faculty was the most cited by the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2016 and 2017 terms, according to a study of academic journal citations released in the fall of 2018. UVA Law professor Caleb Nelson was the most-cited scholar in the nation. More

The school ranked No. 3 in the number of professors among the top 100 faculty in the country cited by high courts in the judiciary, according to a 2016 study. Three professors ranked among the top 25. More

The Princeton Review rankings rated UVA Law as No. 1 in Best Professors for six of the past seven years. These rankings are based on student surveys.

10 professors are members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 35 are members of the American Law Institute.

Reflecting the school’s emphasis on the interdisciplinary study of law, 20 resident faculty members hold doctoral degrees in a variety of related fields, including economics, history, philosophy and psychology.

News About Faculty

Fast Facts

Student/Faculty Ratio
6.4 to 1 (as of fall 2023)

Resident Faculty (Full-Time)
Male: 67
Female: 40
People of color: 20
Total: 107

Other Faculty: 169 (adjuncts, lecturers, etc.)

Data reported to the ABA for 2022-23

U.S. Supreme Court building

UVA Law Faculty Lead in U.S. Supreme Court Citations

The U.S. Supreme Court cited professors at the University of Virginia School of Law more than any other school’s faculty in the past two terms, according to a new study of academic journal citations.

Public Service

The following statistics are for 2022-23.

$789,000 awarded to 162 students working in public interest jobs in the summer of 2023

Where Grantees Worked

16,284 pro bono hours logged

82 Class of 2023 graduates completed at least 75 hours of pro bono while in law school, completing the school's Pro Bono Challenge

6,390 pro bono hours logged by 197 students at 92 organizations during winter break

Careers in Public Service

Four senators and three representatives who graduated from UVA Law currently serve in the U.S. Congress.

Other alumni serve in government at the highest levels. UVA is No. 6 among law schools in the number of graduates serving as U.S. attorneys, federal judges and state attorneys general and solicitors general. When the metric includes just state attorneys general and solicitors general, the school is No. 5. More

According to research completed by the Public Service Center in July 2017, the Law School is No. 2 in the number of graduates serving as state attorneys general.

Outside of government, alumni pursue a range of public interest and nonprofit careers.

Hundreds of alumni are judges, including at federal appellate courts, state supreme courts, and a judge on the World Court.

High-profile graduates have a history of public service: Alums include Robert F. Kennedy ’51, Ted Kennedy ’59, Robert Mueller ’73, former Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño, former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ’83, and numerous governors and state legislators.

Alumni have had amazing careers in academia — UVA President Jim Ryan ’92 is an alum, and Elizabeth Magill ’95, currently dean at Stanford Law School, will serve as UVA provost. Napolitano is now the head of the University of California system.

And graduates are supported through the Virginia Loan Forgiveness Program and a range of salaried fellowships and sources of funding for summer jobs.

The Public Service Center also operates an alumni mentoring network to give UVA Law students on the fast track to understanding their future field.

Public Service grant recipients Abigail Hauer ’24, Noa Jett ’25, Ryan Moore ’25 and Shelby Singleton ’25

$789,000 Awarded to 162 Students Working in Public Interest for Summer 2023

With help from $789,000 in grants, 162 University of Virginia School of Law students will work in public service roles this summer.

J.D. Admissions

LL.M. and S.J.D. Admissions