University of Southern California (Gould)

Law School Overview

U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category

Rank Category Name #18 Best Law Schools

Specialties #5 in Tax Law

Law School Overview

The Gould School of Law at University of Southern California has an application deadline of February 1. The full-time program application fee at the Gould School of Law at University of Southern California is $75. Its tuition is full-time: $52,598 per year. The student-faculty ratio is 11.7:1. The Gould School of Law at University of Southern California has 114 full- and part-time faculty on staff.

At the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, much of the classwork is interdisciplinary and designed to introduce students both to the foundations of law and the real-life challenges of lawyers. Law students can also complete dual degrees at other respected academic departments at USC, including a J.D./M.B.A. through the Marshall School of Business and a J.D./M.A. in Communications Management through the Annenberg School of Communications. Some of these programs can be completed in three years, the same length of time a traditional J.D. requires.

The school runs more than five clinics to give students hands-on legal experience, including an Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic and a Small Business Clinic. There are eight centers on campus that examine specialized legal issues, including the Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics and the Center for Communication Law and Policy. There are also a variety of student organizations to check out, ranging from a capella singing group Lawcapella to the Surf Law Society. USC Law students have three journals to get involved with: The Southern California Law Review, The Interdisciplinary Law Journal, and The Review of Law and Social Justice. Law students can apply for on-campus housing, but the school notes that most students live off campus.

Notable alumni of USC Law include Larry Flax, cofounder of California Pizza Kitchen, and Charles Prince, former chairman and chief executive officer of Citigroup.

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Year founded	1900
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	(213) 740-2523
Admissions E-mail	admissions@law.usc.edu
Web site	http://lawweb.usc.edu

Academics

Full- and part-time faculty	114
Student-faculty ratio	11.7:1
Total faculty	133

Student Body

Enrollment (full-time)	637
Gender distribution (full-time)
J.D. candidates graduating in 2011-2012	220

Cost

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $52,598 per year
Room and board	$15,900

Careers

Employed at graduation 2	54.6%
Median private sector starting salary	$160,000
Median public service starting salary	$61,350

Library

Total volumes and volume equivalents

467,974

* Law School Overview details based on 2012 data