Overview

Applicants
3,179
Acceptance Rate
35%
Median Undergrad GPA
3.63
Accepted Applicants Who Attend
206

Test Scores

LSAT
25th-75th percentile
(enrolled students)
157 - 165

Deadlines

Application Deadlines
March 15

Application Process

Rolling Admissions
Yes

Application Fee
$0

CAS Service Used
Yes

Applicants accepted in terms other than fall
No

Transfer Applicants Accepted
Yes

Deferred Admission
Yes

Other Admission Factors

Academic

LSAT Score
Undergraduate GPA
Letters of Recommendation
Essay / Personal Statement

Selectivity Rating

Faculty Information

Student/Faculty
8:1
Total Faculty
97

43
Female
37
Underrepresented Minorities


Students Say

The School of Law at the University of California, Davis is one of the smallest law schools in California and offers a community balanced with an “atmosphere of excellence.” King Hall (as students refer to it, named after Martin Luther King, Jr.) is well-known for its strong environmental law and public interest programs, and the “fantastic” clinical programs give students fantastic “incredible opportunities to gain practical lawyering skills.” UC Davis also recently added the California Supreme Court Clinic to its list of clinical experiences, making it the first law school to have a clinic focus on its State Supreme Court. Needless to say, the opportunities for those who are self-starters “are clearly also present.”
The seminars given here “are one of, hands-down, the best academic and intellectual opportunities offered at the law school.” These small group settings (anywhere from three to twenty-one students) are “true diamonds:” “collaborative, organic environments where extremely high-level, student-driven discussion and thought can flourish.” Each first year class is also given an upper level law student tutor to help guide students through the courses and achieve success.
Most large classes are run on the Socratic method, but there is plenty of variance in teaching methods and many professors “have a more conversational style approach, which is refreshing.” Professors here are “staggeringly, incredibly helpful, and genuinely dedicated to students learning.” They are “extremely approachable and there are various social events such as Coffee Hours where you can interact in a more informal manner.” “In my smallest class every student had a one-on-one or two-on-one lunch with the professor at some point during the semester,” says a 1L. Not only are they accessible, but they “eagerly encourage students to come to office hours and often lament how few students take advantage of that time.”
The faculty and administration are “eager to engage with students” and the student body is “deeply involved with the administration in a constant conversation about budget, classes, and events.” Students appreciate the name recognition in the Bay Area and Southern California for legal opportunities, and the “accessibility to Sacramento for job opportunities.”

Career overview

Pass Rate for First-Time Bar Exam
76%
% of graduates who are employed within ten months of graduation
90%

Career Services

On campus summer employment recruitment for first year JD students
Yes

On campus summer employment recruitment for second year JD students
Yes

# of Employers that Recruit on Campus Each Year
100

Employers who most frequently hire graduates
PRIVATE LAW FIRMS,STATE OF CALIFORNIA, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC INTEREST ENTITIES, DISTRICT ATTORNEYS, PUBLIC DEFENDERS.

Graduates Employed by Area

50%
Private Practice
16%
Government
10%
Public Interes
8%
Business/Industry
5%
Judicial Clerkships
3%
Academic

Graduates Employed by Region

81%
Pacific
2%
International
2%
MidWest
1%
Mountain

Prominent Alumni

Tani Cantil-Sakauye
Chief Justice, California Supreme Court

Darrell Steinberg
Mayor of Sacramento

George Miller
Member, US House of Representatives, CA 7th district

Monika Kalra Varma
Executive Director, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area

Hon. Dean D. Pregerson
US District Court Judge

Dates

Financial Aid Rating
Mar 2
Application Deadlines
Feb 1

Financial Aid Statistics

Average Annual Total Aid Package Awarded
$53,846

% Students Receiving Some Aid
95%

Expenses per Academic Year

In-State Tuition
$47,332
Out-Of-State Tuition
$57,014
Estimated On-Campus Room and Board
$0
Estimated Off-Campus Room and Board
$14,816
Estimated Cost for Books / Academic Expense
$1,046
Fees
$0

Student Body Profile

Total Enrollment
530
Parent Institution Enrollement
37,278

Number of Foreign Countries Represented
18
Average Age at Entry
25

% Out-of-State
45%
% International
8%

Demographics

44.00%
% Under-represented Minorities

100% are full time
0% are part time
58% female
42% male

Campus Life

Students Say

The community and collegial atmosphere (“We practically do hold hands and sing Kumbaya in the hallways”) are “the best things” about UCD according to students, who “genuinely enjoy being law students at King Hall. “The pervasive feeling is that we’re all in this together,” says one. The diversity in the law school is “very good,” with a mix of students from all over the world integrating in the JD/LLM, and visiting and exchange students. The building itself has recently been renovated with several new rooms added on and a library that is “stunning in its beauty,” which “shows that your tuition money is going towards making the law school a better place.” There are plenty of great student groups which “provide the key for networking and meeting legal professionals and alumni.”
Law students also have a lot of fun together outside of the classroom, as well: the school is located in a secure location, “free from distractions and yet close to Sacramento and San Francisco where you can network with legal professionals and build your career and close to Napa and other wine counties and Lake Tahoe where you can visit in a day for recreation.” People here tend to be “very liberal” and Davis is “surprisingly bourgeois” for a city “in the middle of nowhere.” “I call it the ‘Nebraska of California’ because it is surrounded by farmland,” says a student.

More Information

% of Classrooms with Internet Access
100%

Admissions Office Contact

Contact
Kristen Mercado
Assistant Dean of Admission & Financial Aid

Address
School of Law-King Hall, 400 Mrak Hall Drive
Davis, CA 95616-5201

Phone
530-752-6477

Email
admissions@law.ucdavis.edu