The University of San Diego
Student-Focused Education, Practice-Ready Graduates
Located in the heart of sunny San Diego, the University of San Diego School of Law delivers a rigorous study of the law in a collaborative learning environment. The USD School of Law is devoted to developing ethical, capable and compassionate lawyers committed to the common good. Our curriculum combines traditional legal courses taught by a group of distinguished faculty with unique, hands-on learning opportunities.
8:1
Student-to-Faculty Ratio
A low student-to-faculty ratio ensures every student has access to an individualized learning experience.
15
Legal Clinics
Practical learning opportunities allow students to fully immerse themselves in real-world legal experiences.
94%
Post-Grad Employment Rate
Our dedicated careers team and an extensive alumni network ensure that students find meaningful post-graduate employment in the law.
Areas of Focus
Academic Programs
With a robust theoretical foundation backed by real-world exposure to the law, our comprehensive academic programs ensure that students are practice-ready lawyers upon graduation.
Hands-On Educational Opportunities
Experiential Learning Programs
The USD School of Law offers a unique combination of intensive classroom instruction and practical experiences, delivered by distinguished faculty, for students who are driven to become influential leaders in their chosen legal field.
Legal Clinics
Founded in 1971, the USD School of Law’s Clinical Education Program is renowned as one of the most successful and extensive in the nation. Under the supervision of experienced professors, as well as dedicated attorneys from our community, students receive the unique opportunity to apply classroom knowledge in real-world legal situations. This commitment to serving the underrepresented members of our community is an essential part of who we are.
Advocacy Programs
The USD School of Law's advocacy programs provide the opportunity for student advocates to compete in national and international trial, appellate, arbitration and transactional tournaments. These collaborative and competitive programs deliver invaluable lessons in advocacy that cannot be found in the classroom.
Experiential Advocacy Practicum
The USD School of Law Experiential Advocacy Practicum allows law students to practice skills common to those performed by junior attorneys. The practicum represents an expansion of experiential learning and the integration of practical skills training, and is part of the required coursework for all first-year students.
Field Placement Program
The USD School of Law’s Field Placement Program offers a prestigious experiential learning opportunity wherein students earn academic credit for performing legal work at government agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses or courthouses. This hands-on approach provides students with the highly-desirable opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge in real-life legal situations.
Centers and Institutes
The centers and institutes at the USD School of Law provide opportunities for students to work closely with leading scholars through policy and legislative research, symposium and panel discussions, and clinical opportunities. These first-hand learning opportunities help set us apart as a top law school in California. The centers and institutes also make it possible to recruit and retain highly regarded faculty by providing them resources to pursue legal scholarship. Further, they serve as hubs of legal research and policy work for several of San Diego’s most vital industries.
Study Abroad
With two law summer study abroad programs and ten semester exchange programs, all of which are fully integrated with our regular international and comparative course offerings, we offer students the unique opportunity to pursue their legal degree while experiencing life outside of the United States.
Implementation Plan for ABA Revised Standards 303(b) and 303(c)
USD School of Law prepared an Implementation Plan for ABA Revised Standards 303(b) and 303(c). This plan is the product of discussions on the revised ABA standards and broad efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion within the University of San Diego School of Law. The School of Law’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force engaged in extensive stakeholder consultation with faculty, administrators, students, and alumni, and developed recommendations that incorporated revised standards 303(b) and (c). Additional consultation with faculty and administrators identified what the School of Law is already doing to support professional identity formation and to incorporate instruction on racism, bias, and cross-cultural competency into the program of legal education, as well as how to deepen offerings in these areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Offering an unparalleled legal education delivered in the stunning and vibrant city, the University of San Diego School of Law is one of the best law schools in California. With a distinguished faculty that focuses their passion for the law into their teaching, comprehensive law courses that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each student and opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to real-world legal situations, our law school is an ideal choice for students ready to pursue a legal career, or professionals seeking to further their knowledge of the law.
The USD Promise means that we are with you every step of the way. With a profound understanding of the challenges ahead, an ever-adapting curriculum and a caring and supportive staff, faculty, student community and alumni network, we offer students everything they need to find meaningful paid legal work. Our commitment to supporting our graduates in their various endeavors, long past graduation, is one of the many things that make the University of San Diego School of Law one of the best law schools in Southern California.
The time our students spend studying law to earn their legal degree from the University of San Diego School of Law depends on a variety of factors, including which program they enroll in.
Earning a JD legal degree requires three years of full-time law courses or four years of studying law in our part-time program. Our dual degree programs, offered in conjunction with the University’s graduate schools, allow students to apply credit toward both a JD legal degree as well as a master’s degree. With careful planning, each concurrent degree can be completed with approximately four years of law courses.
Our LLM and MSLS programs may be completed in as little as one year, or as many as four years, depending on a student’s pending visa restrictions.
Our paralegal program requirements can be completed in four months through our Intensive Day Program or eight months through our Extended Day Program. Regardless of the time spent in law school, earning a degree in law from one of the top law schools in the vibrant surroundings of beautiful southern California is an incredible return on your investment.
Enrolling in law courses at one of the most renowned California law schools is a decision that will pay off time and again as you pursue (or enhance) your legal career. Prospective students should familiarize themselves with the financial obligations of attending the University of San Diego School of Law, as well as the tuition, fees, and living expenses outlined on our cost of attendance page.
Successful applicants are well-rounded; possess strong writing skills; are innovative and thoughtful; identify as change-makers, leaders and advocates; and are invested in making an impact on society through the specialized fields they choose to enter after earning their degree in law.
No prerequisite courses are required to apply to the University of San Diego School of Law.
The University of San Diego School of Law only accepts applications submitted with either the standardized LSAT or GRE. GRE applicants must include all valid scores from the past five years with their application (note, the last score we can accept for consideration – without exception – is from the June administration of the GRE exam). For additional information, access to test preparation tools or to register for the GRE please visit the ETS website.
LSAT applicants may only submit an application to the University of San Diego School of Law through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) and must participate in the Credential Assembly Service. For prospective students who apply with an LSAT, but would like the admissions committee to also consider a GRE score, please submit this as additional material for review.
Our first-year full-time students are divided into sections (assigned a week before classes start) which are used to direct the schedule. Typically students take two classes per day on Mondays through Thursdays, and one class on Fridays, with times varying based on the student’s assigned section. It is also important to note that all incoming first-year students will be required to take at least one evening class.
The University of San Diego School of Law is proud of our longstanding tradition of welcoming attorneys from around the world to our law programs. Prior to enrolling in our programs, prospective students who were educated abroad must get their transcripts and degree evaluated by credential evaluation services such as LSAC, as well as successfully complete an LSAT or GRE. To learn more about the admissions process for international students, please visit our international student page.
The University of San Diego School of Law is proud to provide an array of financial assistance options through our comprehensive financial aid program, which is designed to support eligible students as they further their legal education or pursue a law degree. Upon enrollment, students are automatically considered for relevant merit-based and need-based scholarships, as determined by our Admissions committee, which focuses on students with academic merit or promise and/or who are in need of financial assistance. We award more than 350 scholarships and grants, and coordinate awards with any other financial aid that a student receives.
Although there is no restriction against students working throughout the duration of their courses, we strongly discourage full-time students from engaging in any employment while earning their degree.
Although we do not require students to complete summer internships, it is strongly encouraged as it is an incredibly beneficial way to supplement classroom learning. Upon graduation, students are required to have participated in three to four legal experiences during their enrollment in law school.
The University of San Diego School of Law is honored to continue our distinguished affiliation with the Yellow Ribbon Program, a provision of the post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.
Consideration of awards will be extended to Juris Doctor, Master of Science, Master of Laws, and Diploma in Taxation students. As part of this program, we provide a direct tuition grant of $7,500 to qualifying veterans, who may also be eligible for a matching Yellow Ribbon grant from the VA, for a total award amount of up to $15,000. Grants will be divided equally between the fall and spring terms, and a student must be enrolled in at least eight units of credit per semester to be eligible for funding.
To learn more about our VA program and eligibility guidelines for post-9/11 benefits, including the Yellow Ribbon Program, please visit the Department of Veterans Affairs website, or call 1-888-GIBill1 (1-888-442-4551).
We welcome and encourage prospective students to explore our campus in order to gain a deeper understanding of what life would be like as a student at the top law school in San Diego. To schedule an in-person visit, tour our beautiful campus virtually, or for more information, please check out our Visiting Campus page.
Each of the University of San Diego School of Law programs has a slightly different application process. Please review the section below that is applicable to your chosen program, visit the linked admissions page, and follow the streamlined instructions for submitting your application.
- JD candidates should visit our JD admission requirements page and apply for free online.
- LLM candidates should visit our LLM admission requirements page and apply for free online.
- MSLS candidates should visit our MSLS admission requirements page, complete the PDF application and submit a signed copy via mail to the address below or email it to llminfo@sandiego.edu.
University of San Diego School of Law
Graduate and International Program
Warren Hall, Room 207
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110-2492 USA
Paralegal candidates should visit our paralegal program requirements page and then submit a completed application packet via mail to the address below or email it to paralegal@sandiego.edu.
USD Paralegal Program
Barcelona 205
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110