Santa Clara University Law School
Santa Clara, California · Private · ABA-approved since 1937 · Data updated November 2, 2026
Santa Clara University Law School is a private law school in Santa Clara, California, approved by the American Bar Association since 1937. It admitted a fall 2025 class with a median LSAT of 159, higher than 49% of ABA-approved schools, saw 82% of its first-time bar takers pass in 2025 and placed 75.3% of its 2025 graduates in full-time lawyer jobs.
What stands out
- A median scholarship of $40,000, larger than at 89% of schools.
Admissions: LSAT, GPA and acceptance rate
For the class that entered in fall 2025, Santa Clara University received 2,575 completed applications and made 1,354 offers, an acceptance rate of 52.6%. 256 students enrolled in the first-year class (206 full-time, 50 part-time). The typical ABA school accepted 35.8%.
| Entering class, fall 2025 | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSAT | 157 | 159 | 162 |
| Undergraduate GPA | 3.21 | 3.50 | 3.74 |
A quarter of the class scored 157 or lower on the LSAT and a quarter scored 162 or higher. An applicant at or above the median, 159, is in the stronger half of this class; one below the 25th percentile is a long shot unless something else in the file stands out.
18 of the entering students were admitted on a GRE score instead of the LSAT.
Where would your numbers fall in this class?
Enter an LSAT score and undergraduate GPA. We compare them with the class that entered in fall 2025. This shows where your numbers sit, not your chances: admissions offices read the whole file.
Tuition, living costs and scholarships
Santa Clara University charges tuition by the credit hour: $2,260 a credit, plus $990 in annual fees. The degree takes 86 credits, so a full-time year of about 29 credits comes to roughly $65,777. That is more than 80% of ABA schools charge. The school estimates living costs of $35,618 a year off campus.
| Annual cost, 2025-26 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition per credit hour, full-time, resident | $2,260 |
| Annual fees, resident | $990 |
| Living costs, on campus | $35,618 |
| Living costs, off campus | $35,618 |
| Living costs, at home | $35,618 |
In 2024-25, 65% of full-time students received a grant or scholarship from the school. The median award was $40,000, and the middle half of awards ran from $30,000 to $57,262. Subtract the median award from the full-time tuition and fees above and a typical recipient pays about $25,777 a year in tuition and fees, before living costs. That is a rough guide, since awards vary and some students get nothing.
| Size of grant, all students | Share of students |
|---|---|
| Less than half tuition | 17% |
| Half to full tuition | 24% |
| Full tuition | 18% |
| More than full tuition | 1% |
Scholarships that can be cut. Santa Clara University awards some conditional scholarships, which shrink or end if a student's grades fall below a set mark. Of 110 students who entered in 2024-25 with one, 32 had it reduced or eliminated (29%). For students who entered in 2023-24 the figure was 17 of 37. Ask any school that offers you one exactly what you must do to keep it.
Three years, roughly. At 2025-26 prices, three years of full-time tuition and fees plus off-campus living costs come to about $304,185. With the median scholarship every year, about $184,184. Tuition usually rises each year, so treat this as a floor.
Bar passage
Of 205 graduates who took a bar exam for the first time in 2025, 168 passed: 82%. The average for the same exams, weighted by where its graduates sat, was 82.6%, so the school finished within a few points of that average (-0.6 pts).
| Where they sat, 2025 | Takers | Passed | School | State average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 186 | 154 | 82.8% | 82.7% |
| 11 other jurisdictions | 19 | 14 | 73.7% | 80.4% |
The ABA also follows each class for two years. Of the 216 members of the class of 2023 who took a bar exam, 190 had passed one within two years: 88%.
Jobs after graduation
The ABA counts where each class is working ten months after graduation. Of 198 2025 graduates, 149 (75.3%) had full-time, long-term jobs that require bar passage, and 5 more (2.5%) had full-time, long-term jobs where a law degree is an advantage. At the typical ABA school, 83.4% were in lawyer jobs. 22 (11.1%) were unemployed and looking for work.
Law firm jobs by firm size
Shares are of all 198 graduates. Firms of more than 250 lawyers, the usual sense of “Big Law,” hired 38 (19.2%).
Where graduates work
Most employed graduates stayed in California (153), followed by New York (2) and Washington (2).
Students who leave
In 2024-25, 9 first-year students left Santa Clara University: 3 for academic reasons (1%) and 6 for other reasons, such as transferring to another school (2%).
Transfers run both ways: 4 first-year students transferred out and 4 transferred in from other law schools.
Classes, clinics and faculty
Santa Clara University offered 149 upper-level course titles beyond the first-year curriculum in 2024-25. Of its upper-level class sections, 78% had fewer than 25 students and 3% had 75 or more.
| Hands-on learning, 2024-25 | Number |
|---|---|
| Law clinic seats available | 381 |
| Law clinic seats filled | 189 |
| Field placement (externship) positions filled | 305 |
| Simulation course seats filled | 843 |
| Co-curricular offerings (journals, moot court, etc.) | 16 |
The school reports 53 full-time faculty and 86 more who teach part-time or in other roles. With 746 J.D. students, that is about 14 students per full-time faculty member.
How Santa Clara University compares in California
California has 17 ABA-approved law schools. Among them, Santa Clara University ranks 12th in median LSAT, 10th in first-time bar passage, 15th in share of graduates in lawyer jobs and 11th-lowest tuition.
| School | Median LSAT | Tuition | Bar pass | Lawyer jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford University | 173 | $79,707 | 99.4% | 86.8% |
| University of California, Los Angeles | 171 | $61,862 | 96.7% | 94.3% |
| University of California, Berkeley | 170 | $66,374 | 94.8% | 96.8% |
| University of California, Irvine | 169 | $61,288 | 89.9% | 92.9% |
| University of Southern California | 169 | $85,948 | 94.1% | 94.3% |
| University of California, Davis | 165 | $59,870 | 93.2% | 91.7% |
| Pepperdine University | 164 | $73,550 | 90.7% | 91.8% |
| Chapman University | 163 | $63,201 | 80.3% | 76.2% |
| Loyola Marymount University (Loyola Law School) | 163 | $71,386 | 79.7% | 85.7% |
| University of San Diego | 163 | $67,751 | 86.7% | 88.6% |
| UC Law San Francisco | 161 | $54,329 | 86.2% | 87% |
| Santa Clara University | 159 | $65,777 | 82% | 75.3% |
| Southwestern Law School | 157 | $63,160 | 72.1% | 78.6% |
| University of the Pacific, McGeorge | 156 | $63,318 | 71.1% | 68.9% |
| California Western School of Law | 155 | $64,870 | 71.4% | 74.1% |
| University of San Francisco | 155 | $59,990 | 80.9% | 76.3% |
| Western State College of Law | 152 | $55,648 | 81.1% | 79.6% |
More on each, and on the California bar exam: law schools in California.
Schools with similar admissions numbers
These five schools admitted fall 2025 classes with the median LSAT and GPA closest to Santa Clara University's, so an applicant who fits here is likely to be a similar fit there. Compare what each costs and how its graduates fare.
| School | Median LSAT | Median GPA | Tuition | Bar pass | Lawyer jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara University | 159 | 3.50 | $65,777 | 82% | 75.3% |
| Albany Law School Albany, NY | 158 | 3.54 | $64,234 | 86.7% | 88.5% |
| University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA | 160 | 3.54 | $41,633 | 93% | 82% |
| Southwestern Law School Los Angeles, CA | 157 | 3.51 | $63,160 | 72.1% | 78.6% |
| University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK | 157 | 3.45 | $32,300 | 71% | 79.6% |
| University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM | 157 | 3.56 | $21,020 | 77% | 74% |
Frequently asked questions
What LSAT score do you need to get into Santa Clara University Law School?
There is no cutoff, but the class that entered in fall 2025 had a median LSAT of 159, with the middle half scoring 157 to 162. The median undergraduate GPA was 3.50. The school accepted 52.6% of applicants.
What is the bar passage rate at Santa Clara University Law School?
82% of Santa Clara University graduates taking a bar exam for the first time in 2025 passed, against a weighted state average of 82.6%. Within two years of graduating, 88% of the class of 2023 who took a bar exam had passed.
How much does Santa Clara University Law School cost?
Full-time tuition and fees for 2025-26 are about $65,777 a year. The school charges by the credit hour, so that figure assumes a full-time load of 29 credits a year. Most students pay less: 65% of full-time students received a grant, with a median award of $40,000.
Do Santa Clara University Law School graduates get jobs?
Ten months after graduation, 75.3% of the class of 2025 had full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage, and 2.5% more had full-time, long-term jobs where a law degree is an advantage. 11.1% were unemployed and seeking work.
Is Santa Clara University Law School ABA-accredited?
Yes. Santa Clara University Law School has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1937, so its graduates can sit for the bar exam in every state.