Facts and Statistics

Class of 2026 J.D. Profile

As of Aug. 23, 2023

Median LSAT: 171
25%-75% LSAT: 167-172
Median GPA: 3.94
25%-75% GPA: 3.72-3.99
Age Range: 20 to 34 (average age is 24)

More Admissions Website

Costs and Financial Aid

Total J.D. Financial Aid, 2021-22

Received Scholarships and Grants: 627 students received $17.9 million (from all sources)

Received Loans: 560 students received $34 million
 

J.D. Program Budget, 2023-24

*Grad PLUS loan fees will be added to the budgets of those students who are offered Grad PLUS loans. Grad PLUS fees are based on actual averages from 2022-23 borrowing.

Annual Cost of Attendance Budget for J.D. Students
 

Graduate Program Costs, 2023-24

Students who will be accompanied by a spouse should allow an additional $7,000 and $4,000 for each accompanying child.

More Information on LL.M./S.J.D. costs

Financial Aid Website

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: More than 46% of alumni have given to the Law School for each of the past 16 years. 

Endowment: As of June 30, 2022, the market value of the endowments and quasi-endowments held for the benefit of the Law School was $828 million.

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

2022-23 Contributions: 46.4% percent of alumni made gifts to the Law School during the 2022-23 Annual Giving Campaign. Gifts received for the year totaled $17.7 million, including $5.41 million in unrestricted funds. More

Prominent Alumni

• Corporate General Counsel
• Government
• Public Interest/Nonprofit
• Corporate Executives and Entrepreneurs
• Law Firm Presence
• Academia
• Entertainment/Sports

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 2022 graduates (95.4%) 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. 3 in Above the Law's 2023 law school rankings, which focus on employment outcomes. More

No. 5 in the country in the percentage of Class of 2022 graduates who went directly to firms of 100 or more attorneys or to federal clerkships, according to American Bar Association data (based on full-time, long-term jobs).

No. 2 in the percentage of recent alumni working at the top 10 highest-grossing law firms. More

Salaries for the 240 students going into the private sector in the Class of 2022 reflect these outcomes:

75th percentile: $215,000
50th percentile: $215,000
25th percentile: $215,000

Any job location is within reach, and the UVA Law Network is worldwide. The Class of 2022 obtained jobs in 29 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 2022).

No. 5 in the country in the number of female graduate attorneys in the American Lawyer top 100 firms, according to Legal Compass (May 2022).

No. 5 in the country in the number of lawyers in the American Lawyer top 100 firms, according to Legal Compass (May 2022).

No. 2 in the number of graduates leading the nation's top 100 firms, according to an Above the Law report. More

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 99 of the American Lawyer top 100 firms (as of July 2023).

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 2020-22 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.

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.

Read more about the UVA Law Network.
 

Where Our Graduates Go, Classes of 2020-22

• 70% firm (669)
• 18% clerkship (177)
• 9% public interest (91)
• 1% corporate (8)
• The Law School awarded 31 Powell and Kennedy Fellowships to graduates working for public interest and nonprofit employers. More

Law Firms

• 80% with firms in American Lawyer's top 100 by gross revenue
• 8% with firms ranked between 100 and 200
• 3% with large international firms (not ranked by American Lawyer)
• 9% with smaller and boutique firms

Clerkships

• 5 U.S. Supreme Court
• 114 U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal
• 153 U.S. District Courts and other federal courts
• 46 state courts

2020-2025 terms. Some alumni clerked at multiple courts.

Public Interest Jobs

• 18 federal government
• 17 state or local government
• 10 military
• 46 public interest groups

Top Job Locations

• New York (233)
• District of Columbia (217)
• Texas (103)
• Virginia (80)
• California (73)
• Pennsylvania (24)
• Georgia (21)
• North Carolina (19)
• Massachusetts (16)
• Tennessee (16)
• Ohio (14)
• Illinois (13)
• Delaware (12)
• Maryland (12)
• Colorado (9)

First-Year Summer Jobs, Class of 2024 (Summer 2022)

Some students held multiple positions.

• 33% firm
• 10% public interest groups
• 16% judicial
• 13% federal government
• 11% academic
• 5% corporate
• 15% state or local government

American Lawyer Top 100, Classes of 2013-22

Members of the classes of 2013-2022 practice in 99 of the American Lawyer Top 100 firms.

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 five of the past six years. These rankings are based on student surveys.

Ten professors are members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 34 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

Resident Faculty (Full-Time)
Male: 60
Female: 33
People of color: 14
Total: 93

Other Faculty: 152 (adjuncts, lecturers, etc.)

Data reported to the ABA for 2022-23

Public Service

The following statistics are for 2021-22.

$801,000 awarded to 167 students working in public interest jobs in the summer of 2022

Where Grantees Worked

16,340 pro bono hours logged 

99 Class of 2022 graduates completed at least 75 hours of pro bono while in law school, completing the school's Pro Bono Challenge

6,500 pro bono hours logged by 194 students at 101 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.