UCLA School of Law
Los Angeles, California · Public · ABA-approved since 1950 · Data updated November 2, 2026
UCLA School of Law is a public law school in Los Angeles, California, approved by the American Bar Association since 1950. It admitted a fall 2025 class with a median LSAT of 171, higher than 91% of ABA-approved schools, saw 96.7% of its first-time bar takers pass in 2025 and placed 94.3% of its 2025 graduates in full-time lawyer jobs.
What stands out
- First-time bar passage 13.5 points above the average for the states where its graduates sat.
- Harder to get into than 94% of schools: it accepted 12.1% of applicants.
- 94.3% of 2025 graduates in full-time lawyer jobs, more than at 92% of schools.
Admissions: LSAT, GPA and acceptance rate
For the class that entered in fall 2025, the University of California, Los Angeles received 8,623 completed applications and made 1,039 offers, an acceptance rate of 12.1%. 328 students enrolled in the first-year class. The typical ABA school accepted 35.8%.
| Entering class, fall 2025 | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSAT | 166 | 171 | 172 |
| Undergraduate GPA | 3.73 | 3.95 | 4.00 |
A quarter of the class scored 166 or lower on the LSAT and a quarter scored 172 or higher. An applicant at or above the median, 171, 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.
1 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
Full-time tuition and fees for 2025-26 are $61,862 a year for California residents and $74,107 for everyone else. That is more than 73% of ABA schools charge. The school estimates living costs of $40,046 a year off campus.
| Annual cost, 2025-26 | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition, full-time, resident | $59,084 |
| Fees, full-time, resident | $2,778 |
| Tuition, full-time, nonresident | $71,329 |
| Fees, full-time, nonresident | $2,778 |
| Living costs, on campus | $40,046 |
| Living costs, off campus | $40,046 |
In 2024-25, 83% of full-time students received a grant or scholarship from the school. The median award was $24,456, and the middle half of awards ran from $15,000 to $43,333. Subtract the median award from the full-time tuition and fees above and a typical recipient pays about $37,406 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 | 50% |
| Half to full tuition | 24% |
| Full tuition | 6% |
| More than full tuition | 3% |
Scholarships that can be cut. The school reports that it does not award scholarships that are reduced or ended because of grades, other than for failing to stay in good academic standing.
Three years, roughly. At 2025-26 prices, three years of full-time tuition and fees at the in-state rate plus off-campus living costs come to about $305,724. With the median scholarship every year, about $232,356. Tuition usually rises each year, so treat this as a floor.
Bar passage
Of 328 graduates who took a bar exam for the first time in 2025, 317 passed: 96.7%. The average for the same exams, weighted by where its graduates sat, was 83.1%, so the school finished a full 13.5 points above that average.
| Where they sat, 2025 | Takers | Passed | School | State average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 280 | 269 | 96.1% | 82.7% |
| New York | 32 | 32 | 100% | 87.3% |
| 10 other jurisdictions | 16 | 16 | 100% | 82.9% |
The ABA also follows each class for two years. Of the 312 members of the class of 2023 who took a bar exam, 300 had passed one within two years: 96.2%.
Jobs after graduation
The ABA counts where each class is working ten months after graduation. Of 332 2025 graduates, 313 (94.3%) had full-time, long-term jobs that require bar passage, and 9 more (2.7%) had full-time, long-term jobs where a law degree is an advantage. At the typical ABA school, 83.4% were in lawyer jobs. 4 (1.2%) were unemployed and looking for work. 14 of the full-time, long-term jobs were funded by the school.
Law firm jobs by firm size
Shares are of all 332 graduates. Firms of more than 250 lawyers, the usual sense of “Big Law,” hired 187 (56.3%).
Where graduates work
Most employed graduates stayed in California (266), followed by New York (30) and District of Columbia (4).
Students who leave
In 2024-25, 3 first-year students left the University of California, Los Angeles: 1 for academic reasons (0%) and 2 for other reasons, such as transferring to another school (1%).
Transfers run both ways: 4 first-year students transferred out and 35 transferred in from other law schools. The students who transferred in had a median first-year law school GPA of 3.74.
Classes, clinics and faculty
The University of California, Los Angeles offered 232 upper-level course titles beyond the first-year curriculum in 2024-25. Of its upper-level class sections, 70% had fewer than 25 students and 4% had 75 or more.
| Hands-on learning, 2024-25 | Number |
|---|---|
| Law clinic seats available | 257 |
| Law clinic seats filled | 217 |
| Field placement (externship) positions filled | 145 |
| Simulation course seats filled | 616 |
| Co-curricular offerings (journals, moot court, etc.) | 24 |
The school reports 142 full-time faculty and 95 more who teach part-time or in other roles. With 1,020 J.D. students, that is about 7 students per full-time faculty member.
How the University of California, Los Angeles compares in California
California has 17 ABA-approved law schools. Among them, the University of California, Los Angeles ranks 2nd in median LSAT, 2nd in first-time bar passage, 2nd in share of graduates in lawyer jobs and 6th-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 the University of California, Los Angeles'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Los Angeles | 171 | 3.95 | $61,862 | 96.7% | 94.3% |
| Georgetown University Washington, DC | 171 | 3.93 | $83,576 | 94.5% | 91.6% |
| Brigham Young University Provo, UT | 170 | 3.95 | $15,992 | 96.8% | 89.8% |
| Duke University Durham, NC | 171 | 3.91 | $81,829 | 98.2% | 98.7% |
| New York University New York, NY | 172 | 3.92 | $87,214 | 96.9% | 98.1% |
| University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA | 170 | 3.92 | $66,374 | 94.8% | 96.8% |
Frequently asked questions
What LSAT score do you need to get into UCLA School of Law?
There is no cutoff, but the class that entered in fall 2025 had a median LSAT of 171, with the middle half scoring 166 to 172. The median undergraduate GPA was 3.95. The school accepted 12.1% of applicants.
What is the bar passage rate at UCLA School of Law?
96.7% of University of California, Los Angeles graduates taking a bar exam for the first time in 2025 passed, against a weighted state average of 83.1%. Within two years of graduating, 96.2% of the class of 2023 who took a bar exam had passed.
How much does UCLA School of Law cost?
Full-time tuition and fees for 2025-26 are $61,862 a year for California residents and $74,107 for nonresidents. Most students pay less: 83% of full-time students received a grant, with a median award of $24,456.
Do UCLA School of Law graduates get jobs?
Ten months after graduation, 94.3% of the class of 2025 had full-time, long-term jobs requiring bar passage, and 2.7% more had full-time, long-term jobs where a law degree is an advantage. 1.2% were unemployed and seeking work.
Is UCLA School of Law ABA-accredited?
Yes. UCLA School of Law has been approved by the American Bar Association since 1950, so its graduates can sit for the bar exam in every state.