500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Phone: 408.554.5048; Fax: 408.554.7897
E-mail: LawAdmissions@scu.edu; Website: law.scu.edu
Santa Clara Law, just 40 miles south of San Francisco, is located on the lush, historic, 105-acre campus of Santa Clara University, California's oldest operating institution of higher learning. The university was founded by the Jesuits in 1851 on the site of the Mission Santa Clara de Asis, one of California's original 21 missions. Established in 1911, Santa Clara Law has fostered an exceptional academic program based on the Jesuit tradition for more than 100 years. Approved by the ABA, Santa Clara Law is a member of the Order of the Coif and the AALS.
Santa Clara Law students are committed to excellence, ethics, and social justice. The school strives to prepare its students to serve as lawyers who lead in any field, and offers students ample opportunities to apply their skills in internships, clinics, field placements, and community involvement.
Santa Clara Law is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, one of the most vibrant and exciting economies in the world, and home to leading national and international law firms as well as companies such as Google, Apple, eBay, Intel, and Yahoo!
Our location enhances the curriculum, including the nationally acclaimed high-tech and intellectual property program, which features experienced Silicon Valley executives and attorneys who share their experience in courses, workshops, and lectures. In addition, students benefit from the location through internship and job opportunities, lectures, and networking events.
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most beautiful regions in the US, and the Mediterranean climate boasts sun more than 300 days a year. North of Santa Clara are the world-class cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. Southwest are the coastal towns of Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur.
Santa Clara Law is one of the most diverse law schools in the country, and the school offers an array of programs that encourage and support diversity. Santa Clara Law students learn with students from all 50 states and numerous foreign countries, and they are taught by a diverse and talented group of faculty members who are committed to an inclusive learning experience. Forty-one percent of applicants for fall 2011 were from outside California, and the 2011 entering class included 41 percent minorities and 48 percent women.
Towering palm trees, spacious lawns, and vibrant flower gardens surround the Heafey Law Library. A traditional moot courtroom provides the setting for advocacy training and activities of the Edwin A. Heafey Jr. Center for Trial and Appellate Advocacy. Other facilities include the Bergin Hall faculty office building and Bannan Hall, where our law career services, Academic Success Program, and many other programs are located. Students also have access to the full array of campus facilities, including computer labs, the Cowell Student Health Center, Benson Memorial Center, and the Pat Malley Fitness Center, which includes a well-equipped weight room, fitness classes, an outdoor pool, locker rooms with steam rooms and saunas, and courts for basketball, volleyball, and racquetball.
Santa Clara Law offers full- and part-time programs (with day and evening classes), extensive diversity outreach programs, and an Academic Success Program. More than 200 courses are available, and 86 semester units are required to graduate. The degrees available include JD, JD/MBA, JD/MSIS, LLM in International Law, LLM in US Law for Foreign Attorneys, and LLM in Intellectual Property. An academic orientation introduces first-year students to the study of law. The first-year curriculum is prescribed.
The JD/MBA and the JD/MSIS combined-degree programs are a powerful union of Santa Clara's nationally recognized School of Law and Leavey School of Business. Students earn both degrees in a full-time program lasting three and one-half to four years.
The International Law Program sponsors summer law study programs in more locations than any other American law school, including programs in: Munich, Germany; Strasbourg, France; Geneva, Switzerland; Oxford, England; Hong Kong; Singapore; Shanghai, China; The Hague, the Netherlands; Istanbul, Turkey; San Jose, Costa Rica; Tokyo, Japan; Vienna; Budapest; Sydney, Australia; and Seoul, Korea. Nearly all programs offer internships with law offices, corporations, or groups particularly suited to allow students on-site observation and participation in areas of international law. Students may earn a certificate in International Law.
With its central Silicon Valley location, Santa Clara Law is one of the top places in the country to study intellectual property and high-tech law for good reasons. Students learn from a dozen full-time faculty members with expertise in every aspect of intellectual property (IP) and high-tech law plus two dozen part-time faculty members working in IP and high-tech law at leading Silicon Valley firms and companies. Students have unparalleled internship opportunities with leading high-tech companies and law firms. The IP and high-tech curriculum is one of the largest in the country, and students can create a highly personalized course of study, including a certificate in High-Tech Law or International High-Tech Law.
The Santa Clara Law community has a true commitment to social justice, and students serve the poor and the marginalized in many ways while in law school, including work for the Center for Social Justice and Public Service, which offers an array of resources for students who want to focus on this area during their legal education and in practice. Santa Clara Law takes seriously the charge of graduating lawyers who lead with a commitment to a more humane and just world, and many students choose to earn a certificate in Public Interest.
Santa Clara Law students can participate in a wide variety of clinical and field experiences. The Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center houses four clinics, including Immigration, Low Income Taxpayer, Workers' Rights, and Consumer clinics. Students participate in all phases of a case from the initial client interview through the trial. Northern California Innocence Project students work with legal staff to evaluate claims of factual innocence. Students work with prisoners, crime and evidence labs, law enforcement, defense attorneys, and prosecutors to help exonerate the wrongfully convicted. Students may also work as judges' clerks in appellate courts, including the California Supreme Court, or trial courts, including the United States District Court or county superior courts.
Santa Clara Law has 35 student groups, including an extensive array of minority student organizations and national and international moot court teams. The school's quarterly, Santa Clara Law Review, is published by a student editorial board. The Computer and High Technology Law Journal provides a practical resource for the high-tech industry and legal community. The Journal of International Law is a respected, peer-reviewed scholarly journal. Through the Student Bar Association and student-faculty committees, students participate in the decision processes of the school.
A faculty committee reviews all applications. No one is automatically accepted or rejected. When the LSAT is repeated, the highest score received is used.
Santa Clara Law has a policy for special admission, and applicants may request special consideration because of race, disadvantaged background, or other factors.
Applicants are encouraged to visit Santa Clara Law. Arrangements can be made through the Admissions Office to tour the campus, attend a class, or meet with an admission counselor.
Law Career Services offers several workshops, presentations, and services to help students launch a career. These include on-campus interviewing, job fairs, mock interviews, diversity receptions, and speed networking. Each year, a number of law firms, companies, and public and government agencies interview on campus or request résumés from our students. A high percentage of our graduates are employed within nine months of graduation in positions throughout the United States.
This grid includes only applicants who earned 120–180 LSAT scores under standard administrations.
| GPA | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSAT Score |
3.75+ Apps |
3.75+ Adm |
3.50– 3.74 Apps |
3.50– 3.74 Adm |
3.25– 3.49 Apps |
3.25– 3.49 Adm |
3.00– 3.24 Apps |
3.00– 3.24 Adm |
2.75– 2.99 Apps |
2.75– 2.99 Adm |
2.50– 2.74 Apps |
2.50– 2.74 Adm |
2.25– 2.49 Apps |
2.25– 2.49 Adm |
2.00– 2.24 Apps |
2.00– 2.24 Adm |
Below 2.00 Apps |
Below 2.00 Adm |
No GPA Apps |
No GPA Adm |
Total Apps |
Total Adm |
| LSAT score 175–180 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 13 |
| LSAT score 170–174 | 17 | 15 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 82 | 73 |
| LSAT score 165–169 | 51 | 51 | 73 | 66 | 71 | 66 | 66 | 61 | 45 | 37 | 23 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 352 | 304 |
| LSAT score 160–164 | 110 | 89 | 201 | 153 | 190 | 140 | 167 | 128 | 59 | 32 | 36 | 19 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 805 | 578 |
| LSAT score 155–159 | 116 | 50 | 255 | 103 | 293 | 97 | 240 | 56 | 114 | 16 | 51 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 12 | 1120 | 348 |
| LSAT score 150–154 | 68 | 2 | 138 | 2 | 185 | 7 | 181 | 5 | 100 | 1 | 55 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 766 | 18 |
| LSAT score 145–149 | 18 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 340 | 0 |
| LSAT score 140–144 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 140 | 0 |
| LSAT score 135–139 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| LSAT score 130–134 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| LSAT score 125–129 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| LSAT score 120–124 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 389 | 211 | 764 | 348 | 865 | 325 | 774 | 260 | 421 | 93 | 238 | 48 | 124 | 18 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 85 | 27 | 3699 | 1334 |
Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 99% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.