University of Chicago

Law School Overview

U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category

Rank Category Name #4 Best Law Schools

Specialties Locked in International Law

Law School Overview

The Law School at University of Chicago has an application deadline of February 1. The full-time program application fee at the Law School at University of Chicago is $75. Its tuition is full-time: $50,727 per year. The student-faculty ratio is 7.5:1. The Law School at University of Chicago has 98 full- and part-time faculty on staff.

Through the University of Chicago’s unique quarter schedule, students take a more shortened courses during their law school careers. Instead of operating on a traditional semester schedule, the Law School has three shortened terms, which begin at the end of September and wrap up in mid-June.

Law students can earn joint master’s degrees in business or public policy in four years through Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Harris School of Public Policy Studies. To pursue other areas of study without committing to a major, law students can take as many as four classes at other University of Chicago schools in their second and third years.

Outside of class, there are more than 50 student organizations to get involved in, from the Winston Churchill Gaming Society, a club that reports it honors “player of at least poker and pinochle” Churchill, to Law School Musical, a group that puts on a law school parody performance each winter. Second and third year students can also get hands-on legal practice in four legal clinics, which help clients with problems as varied as start-up business issues and human rights complaints.

Students can live in the Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park, either in university-owned housing or in private apartment buildings. The law school’s location in Chicago offers a wide variety of legal placement opportunities. For students looking farther afield, the Chicago Law School has an International Human Rights Internship Program that sets up law students with work in Australia, India, Korea, and South Africa.

Notable alumni of the University of Chicago Law School include John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General.

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Year founded	1902
Public/private	Private
Law school designation	National

Admissions

Application deadline	February 1
Full-time program application fee	$75
Part-time program application fee	N/A
Admissions Phone	(773) 702-9484
Admissions E-mail	admissions@law.uchicago.edu
Web site	http://www.law.uchicago.edu

Academics

Full- and part-time faculty	98
Student-faculty ratio	7.5:1
Total faculty	110

Student Body

Enrollment (full-time)	610
Gender distribution (full-time)
J.D. candidates graduating in 2011-2012	215

Cost

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $50,727 per year
Room and board	$13,590

Careers

Employed at graduation 2	90.6%
Median private sector starting salary	$160,000
Median public service starting salary	$47,657

Library

Total volumes and volume equivalents

681,612

* Law School Overview details based on 2012 data