University of Pennsylvania

Law School Overview

U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category

Rank Category Name #7 Best Law Schools

Specialties Locked in Intellectual Property Law

Law School Overview

The law school at University of Pennsylvania has an application deadline of March 1. The full-time program application fee at the law school at University of Pennsylvania is $80. Its tuition is full-time: $53,138 per year. The student-faculty ratio is 10.3:1. The law school at University of Pennsylvania has 118 full- and part-time faculty on staff.

At the University of Pennsylvania, professional students can put a cross-disciplinary slant on their education. Penn Law students can enroll in courses in other academic departments, and other professional school students can take Penn Law courses, too.

With a few additional courses, students can create an area of specialization by earning a certificate in areas like East Asian Studies or Gender and Sexuality Studies. Law students can also earn an additional degree in three years, completing both a J.D. and another degree, including an M.B.A. through The Wharton School, a master’s in bioethics through the School of Medicine, or a master of City & Regional Planning through the School of Design.

The law school is housed in several buildings on the Penn campus in University City, Philadelphia, which allows for a quick trip to other professional school buildings. Law students can apply for on-campus housing. For trips further afield, students can study abroad through seven official programs and can even earn a master’s degree in Global Business Law through the Institut d’Études Politiques (Sciences Po).

Students must complete at least 70 hours of pro bono work before they can graduate from Penn Law. In addition to community service projects, students can spend their free time getting involved in legal clinics and more than 100 student organizations like Penn Law Boxing and the Urban Law Reform group.

Notable alumni of Penn Law School include George Wharton Pepper, founder of law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP, and Sam Hamadeh, cofounder of career site Vault.com.

To see which law firms rank the highest, please visit U.S. News Best Law Firms.

Year founded	1790
Public/private	Private
Law school designation	National

Admissions

Application deadline	March 1
Full-time program application fee	$80
Part-time program application fee	N/A
Admissions Phone	(215) 898-7400
Admissions E-mail	contactadmissions@law.upenn.edu
Web site	http://www.law.upenn.edu

Academics

Full- and part-time faculty	118
Student-faculty ratio	10.3:1
Total faculty	131

Student Body

Enrollment (full-time)	776
Gender distribution (full-time)
J.D. candidates graduating in 2011-2012	270

Cost

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $53,138 per year
Room and board	$13,672

Careers

Employed at graduation 2	83.6%
Median private sector starting salary	$160,000
Median public service starting salary	$58,376

Library

Total volumes and volume equivalents

1,145,798

* Law School Overview details based on 2012 data