The University of Kansas School of Law

KU Law

Three years at KU Law will transform you. You will work extraordinarily hard. You will study theory, policy, the law on the books, and the law in practice. And you will walk away ready to confront the world's legal challenges. A rich curriculum, topflight faculty, collegial environment—all in a vibrant university town brimming with intellectual and cultural abundance. KU Law—a great place to be.

Lawrence, Kansas

Championship basketball and the legendary Phog Allen Fieldhouse are what many people think of when visiting Lawrence, Kansas. While Lawrence and KU are the home of a great basketball tradition, living in Lawrence encompasses so much more. Routinely ranked as one of the top college towns in America, Lawrence prides itself on its thriving music scene, dynamic arts community, and a host of outdoor activities. Historic Massachusetts Street ("Mass Street") is the heart of downtown Lawrence. With its diverse restaurants, clubs, and shops, Mass Street is the community center and a gathering place for students, professors, and locals. Lawrence's weekly farmers' markets feature organic and locally grown food from farms in the Kaw Valley. And students seeking golf, biking, running, or sailing can enjoy all these activities in and around Lawrence.

Where Teaching Matters

KU Law faculty care about teaching. They are committed to excellence in the classroom and to serving as mentors for law students. This is the KU Law tradition. Students are encouraged to consult regularly with their professors about their progress in the study of law as well as career plans, job opportunities, and the professional responsibilities of lawyers. Law faculty offices are located throughout Green Hall, and doors are open to students.

Faculty members enrich their teaching by researching and writing about the areas of law they teach. They regularly participate in symposia, publish widely in legal journals, and enjoy national and international recognition for the quality of their scholarship. Notably, many of the textbooks used at KU Law and at law schools across the country are authored by our faculty.

Learning the Law—Academics and Practice

Our philosophy at KU Law is to teach our students the foundations of the law, then provide them with the hands-on experience necessary to begin their careers ready for practice. We offer 13 clinical programs with more than 200 available clinical openings for students. KU Law clinical students work directly with partner legal organizations to serve their clients. Students with an interest in becoming prosecutors work directly with county and states' attorneys in the courtroom as part of our Criminal Prosecution Clinic. For students inclined toward representing defendants, the Paul E. Wilson Project for Innocence allows them the chance to advocate on behalf of wrongly convicted defendants. Starting this year, students in our Supreme Court clinic will work with the Kansas Supreme Court researching topics vital to the future of jurisprudence in our home state. These are just a few of the opportunities available for students to experience law as it happens.

The school's setting at the heart of a major university also makes possible the 12 joint-degree programs open to law students. The most popular joint-degree programs are business, health services administration, and social welfare, but joint degrees are also available in East Asian languages and cultures, economics, indigenous studies, journalism, philosophy, political science, public administration, urban planning, and East European, Eurasian, and Russian Studies.

Summer Start Program

The law school's unique summer start program is fully integrated with the curriculum of the fall and spring semesters. Students who enroll as summer starters have the option of either using the credits earned during the summer to lighten their courseload during their first year, or accelerating their graduation by a semester through additional summer coursework between their first and second years. Such students will graduate at the end of their third year fall semester.

Small Class Sizes, Extensive Course Selection

Small classes are instrumental in fostering the closely knit and supportive environment found in Green Hall. More than two-thirds of our upper-level classes feature class sizes of 25 (or fewer) students. These seminar-sized classes allow students and professors to engage in extended discussion and discourse. Students also have a rich course selection to choose from, with more than 100 upper-level courses offered. KU Law students can focus on a number of core strengths, including intellectual property, corporate, media, tax, public interest, tribal, natural resources environment, and advocacy. Certificate programs in each of these areas ensure students will have ample opportunities to study in these fields.

Jayhawk Lawyers

KU Law is a national law school with a strong regional presence. Over the past four years our graduating students—Jayhawk Lawyers—have found employment in more than 35 states across the nation. Recent graduates have found positions clerking for the US Supreme Court and working for the nation's top law firms in New York, Dallas, and Chicago, and even overseas. Closer to home, many students stay in Kansas and benefit from the diverse and local Kansas economy. Our location in the I-70 technology corridor directs many of our students toward a practice in intellectual property law. Others practice sophisticated corporate law in both the litigation and transactional departments of major law firms. Still others venture to rural counties to serve the needs of communities across the state. Our graduates also excel as prosecutors, defenders, and judges in local, state, and federal courts.

A History of Diversity

Since its founding in 1878, KU Law has been open to all qualified applicants—regardless of gender or ethnicity. We are proud of this history, and we remain committed to providing access to a legal education for men and women of all religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and physical abilities. Attracting students from diverse backgrounds ensures that all points of view will be heard in our classrooms and in the legal community.

International and Comparative Law

KU Law has one of the leading International and Comparative Law programs in the region. Students studying international law are taught by leading academics in the fields of international trade and finance. The school also hosts the Center for International Trade and Agriculture, which promotes research and outreach for students, scholars, and policymakers throughout the region and the world. KU Law students can add to their experience by taking part in our study-abroad programs in England, Ireland, and Turkey. Past teachers have included US Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

International students can enroll in either the LLM or two-year JD program, which enables them to practice law in the United States or take what they have learned back to their home countries. Students who complete a KU Law LLM are eligible to apply for transfer to the two-year program. KU Law also offers an SJD program for international scholars.

Affordability

Finally, KU Law takes prides in its ability to offer a world-class legal education at a reasonable rate of tuition. Our students graduate with an average debt burden far below the amounts found at other law schools. Affordability means choice for our graduates—they can choose to start their careers serving the public, clerking for the judicial system, or pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities in law and business.

Applicant Profile

The University of Kansas School of Law

This grid includes only applicants who earned 120–180 LSAT scores under standard administrations.

	GPA
LSAT Score	3.75+	3.50–3.74	3.25–3.49	3.00–3.24	2.75–2.99	2.50–2.74	2.25–2.49	2.00–2.24	Below 2.00
LSAT score 175–180	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely
LSAT score 170–174	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely
LSAT score 165–169	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 160–164	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 155–159	Good	Good	Good	Good	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 150–154	Good	Good	Good	Good	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 145–149	Possible	Possible	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 140–144	Possible	Possible	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 135–139	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 130–134	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 125–129	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely
LSAT score 120–124	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely	Unlikely

Good  = Good Possibility

Possible  = Possible

Unlikely  = Unlikely