Boston University

Law School Overview

U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category

Rank Category Name #29 Best Law Schools

Specialties #2 in Healthcare Law #10 in Intellectual Property Law #7 in Tax Law

Law School Overview

The School of Law at Boston University has an application deadline of March 31. The full-time program application fee at the School of Law at Boston University is $75. Its tuition is full-time: $44,168 per year. The student-faculty ratio is 12.7:1. The School of Law at Boston University has 131 full- and part-time faculty on staff.

Faculty at the Boston University School of Law teach using the Socratic method, which encourages interactive discussions, and, with a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio, classes and clinic sizes are relatively small. The BU Law curriculum offers several concentrations, including business organizations and finance law, and is especially highly ranked for its specialty programs in health law, intellectual property law, and tax law. Students can also bolster their legal education by completing a dual degree, such as a J.D./LL.M. in Taxation, a J.D./M.B.A. in Law and Healthcare Management, or a J.D./M.S. in Law and Mass Communication.

The school has several research centers and institutes, including the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and the Institute of Jewish Law, as well as law journals such as the American Journal of Law and Medicine and the Public Interest Law Journal. Outside of class, students can get involved in more than 30 student organizations and can participate in community service events through the optional BU Pro Bono Program or in annual events such as Legal Follies, the yearly law school variety show. For an international law experience, BU Law students can study abroad in locations including Florence; Lyon, France; and Tel Aviv.

Notable alumni of the BU School of Law include Michael Fricklas, executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary at media conglomerate Viacom Inc., and Jack VanWoerkom, executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at The Home Depot.

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Year founded	1872
Public/private	Private
Law school designation	National

Admissions

Application deadline	March 31
Full-time program application fee	$75
Part-time program application fee	N/A
Admissions Phone	(617) 353-3100
Admissions E-mail	bulawadm@bu.edu
Web site	http://www.bu.edu/law/

Academics

Full- and part-time faculty	131
Student-faculty ratio	12.7:1
Total faculty	160

Student Body

Enrollment (full-time)	740
Gender distribution (full-time)
J.D. candidates graduating in 2011-2012	273

Cost

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $44,168 per year
Room and board	$12,070

Careers

Employed at graduation 2	44.0%
Median private sector starting salary	$132,500
Median public service starting salary	$52,500

Library

Total volumes and volume equivalents

682,657

* Law School Overview details based on 2012 data