141 Bruton-Geer Hall, PO Box 117622
Gainesville, FL 32611-7622
Phone: 352.273.0890, Toll-free: 877.429.1297; Fax: 352.392.4087
E-mail: admissions@law.ufl.edu; Website: www.law.ufl.edu
The University of Florida Levin College of Law is one of the nation's most comprehensive and widely respected law schools. It was founded in 1909, has been a member of the Association of American Law Schools since 1920, and was approved by the American Bar Association in 1925. It boasts an impressive list of distinguished visitors to campus, including six visits by Supreme Court Justices in the past six years. Its beautiful campus features expansive, state-of-the-art facilities thanks to efforts such as a $25-million expansion and renovation project completed in 2005 and a trial advocacy center completed in November 2009.
The college's faculty are highly accomplished scholars, educators, and practitioners whose broad knowledge base and strong teaching skills are highly praised in student evaluations. Many are authors of treatises, casebooks, or major books used by law schools and practitioners throughout the nation, as well as hundreds of articles in law reviews and specialty journals.
The law school is known for graduating state and national legal, political, business, government, and educational leaders, and for nurturing a strong alumni network, the UF Law "Gator Nation." UF Law graduates include five ABA presidents—including 2010–2011 President Stephen Zack—numerous federal and state judges, partners in major national and international law firms, members of Congress and the Cabinet, governors, and state legislators. Alumni support has built the endowment into one of the largest in the country for public law schools. This, combined with the state's financial assistance, allows the college to remain affordable while its academic quality rivals many of the best-known private colleges.
The University of Florida is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive universities, is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, and is recognized as one of the nation's leading research universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. The campus occupies 2,000 acres, mostly within the city of Gainesville's 131,000-population area in North Central Florida. The area is consistently ranked among the best places to live in America, with extensive educational, cultural, and recreational offerings.
The Levin College of Law offers students strong fundamentals and a diverse range of specializations and interdisciplinary options. The activities and scholarship of its unusually large faculty allow for numerous interesting programs and curricular concentrations. More than 70 courses and 15 to 20 seminars are offered each semester. Students can earn a certificate in Environmental and Land Use Law, Criminal Law, Estates and Trusts Practice, Family Law, Intellectual Property Law, or International and Comparative Law. The Levin College of Law also offers one of the most extensive joint-degree programs of any US law school, including popular joint degrees in Business, Public Health/Medicine, Education, and Engineering, among many other areas. Students can gain hands-on experience in litigation, negotiation, mediation, client relations, and government service at the highest levels through a broad array of courses, study-abroad opportunities, externships, pro bono work, and clinical programs. The first-year curriculum is required, as is a second-year drafting course and Professional Responsibility in the third year. JD candidates must produce—under close faculty supervision—a major, written, finished product that shows evidence of original systematic scholarship based on individual research. Students often satisfy this requirement through a "senior paper" produced while enrolled in a seminar.
The richness and diversity of the school's faculty, student body, and course offerings are strengthened by the presence of its top-ranked Graduate Tax Program—leading to an LLM in Taxation, LLM in International Taxation, or SJD in Taxation. The school also offers an LLM in Environmental and Land Use Law, as well as an LLM in Comparative Law for foreign lawyers. In addition, UF Law is a major hub for international legal programs and has decades of experience and relationships in Latin America and Europe. The college's innovative centers and institutes include the Center for Governmental Responsibility, Center on Children and Families, Criminal Justice Center, Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations, Camp Center for Estate and Elder Law Planning, and Institute for Dispute Resolution.
More than 65 active extracurricular organizations at the law school help students develop valuable skills and professional contacts as well as make a positive difference in the community. Students can earn credits and polish their legal skills through cocurricular organizations such as the Florida Law Review, Florida Journal of International Law, University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy, Journal of Technology Law and Policy, and trophy-winning US and international moot court and trial teams.
Following completion in 2005 of a major expansion and renovation project, the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center is now one of the largest academic law libraries in the Southeast and among the top 20 in the nation in terms of space. The expanded library offers comfortable study areas, reading rooms, computer training labs, multimedia workstations, and reference rooms for use by students and faculty. Two new three-story education buildings feature spacious, state-of-the-art classrooms equipped to offer the latest in teaching technology, including desktop outlets for laptop use, wireless Internet access, and "smart podia."
The most recent addition to the law school is the sophisticated, high-tech, two-and-a-half story Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center, which features a fully functional trial and appellate courtroom, audience gallery, and bench for seven judges.
Professional counselors in the college's Center for Career Development offer a wide variety of services and programs to help students plan a self-directed career search and develop marketing skills that will serve them for many years to come. Staff members help students develop legal credentials; capitalize on their diverse strengths and experiences; explore legal and nontraditional career paths; and find summer internships, externships, and clerkships, as well as permanent postgraduation employment. They also help link students with alumni, practitioners, and the community, and host large on-campus recruiting events that bring numerous employers to campus each year. Other resources include workshops and seminars on practical career skills, individual career and job-search counseling, on- and off-campus networking events, and an online job bank with downloadable handouts, samples, and forms.
Through its admissions process, the Levin College of Law seeks to admit and enroll students who will excel academically, attain the highest standards of professional excellence and integrity, and bring vision, creativity, and commitment to the legal profession. The LSAT, LSAC Credential Assembly Service, admissions statement, and résumé are required. Recommendation letters are not required, but up to four will be accepted. A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required prior to enrollment.
The admissions staff and the faculty admissions committee base their decisions on the applicant's academic credentials, including LSAT score, UGPA, level of writing skills, and breadth of studies, as well as on other information including, but not limited to, the applicant's work and other life experience, leadership experience, depth of particular interest, and any other aspect of an applicant's background suggesting suitability for the study and practice of law.
Students may transfer in August, January, or May from ABA-approved law schools, but only applicants who have completed the required first-year, full-time curriculum before enrolling at UF and who are in the upper one-third of their class will be considered. A transfer certification form from the dean is required, and no more than 29 semester hours will be transferred.
The law school seeks to enroll approximately 300 (full-time only) students each fall. The college places great importance on obtaining a diverse class and actively recruits minority students. To arrange an appointment or a tour of the law school, contact the Admissions Office.
The 2011–2012 tuition is $18,709.80 for Florida residents and $38,074.50 for nonresidents. Additional expenses total approximately $15,890 for books, supplies, computer (required), clothing, room, food, transportation, student orientation fee (entering students only), and personal/insurance.
Merit-based and merit/need-based scholarships and grants, and short- and long-term loans (FAFSA required) are available to qualified students. Merit awards are based on information collected in the application for admission. To be considered for merit/need-based scholarships and need-based grants, admitted students must submit a FAFSA and a UF Law Financial Aid Application for need-based scholarships and grants.
Housing is available for single students in dormitories and for families in university apartments. Plentiful off-campus housing is available. New and current UF law students may access the UF College of Law Roommate Referral System online.
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 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| LSAT score 170–174 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 57 |
| LSAT score 165–169 | 77 | 72 | 79 | 77 | 56 | 53 | 37 | 34 | 23 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 307 | 265 |
| LSAT score 160–164 | 152 | 143 | 241 | 173 | 193 | 61 | 103 | 28 | 48 | 7 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 787 | 419 |
| LSAT score 155–159 | 167 | 76 | 247 | 22 | 200 | 5 | 110 | 4 | 73 | 5 | 38 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 875 | 112 |
| LSAT score 150–154 | 74 | 4 | 112 | 6 | 133 | 1 | 99 | 2 | 62 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 544 | 14 |
| LSAT score 145–149 | 41 | 1 | 60 | 0 | 59 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 341 | 1 |
| LSAT score 140–144 | 8 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 180 | 0 |
| LSAT score 135–139 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 64 | 0 |
| LSAT score 130–134 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| LSAT score 125–129 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 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 | 545 | 316 | 791 | 296 | 712 | 135 | 483 | 72 | 299 | 30 | 174 | 7 | 68 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 81 | 16 | 3196 | 873 |
Apps = Number of Applicants
Adm = Number Admitted
Reflects 99% of the total applicant pool; highest LSAT data reported.