Saint Louis University School of Law
Saint Louis University School of Law, also known as SLU Law, is the law school affiliated with Saint Louis University, a private Jesuit research university in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has been American Bar Association approved since 1924 and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.
Saint Louis University
School of Law
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam (Latin)
"For the greater glory of God"
1843-1847 (original)
1908
(re–establishment)
$1.3 Billion[1]
William P. Johnson (since 2017)[2]
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
601 (2023)[3]
94th (tie) (2024)[6]
Two-year pass rate of 96.8% (class of 2020) 94.6% (2023 First-Time takers)[7]
History[edit]
The Law School was initially founded by Judge Richard Aylett Buckner and opened in 1843, making it the first law school to open west of the Mississippi River.[8][9] The original Law School closed at some point after Buckner died in 1847. The Law School was re-established in 1908 in the Midtown neighborhood on the corner of Leffingwell Avenue and Locust Street.[10] In its 1908 re-establishment, the law school accepted its first female law students.[11] In August 2013, the school moved to its current location, Scott Hall, a new facility at 100 North Tucker Boulevard in Downtown Saint Louis.[12]
Admissions[edit]
The 2021 incoming class accepted 536 of 887 applicants for an admissions rate of 60.4%. Of those accepted, 193 enrolled as Full-Time students and 18 as Part-Time for a yield rate of 39.4%. The median LSAT score was 156 and the median undergraduate GPA was 3.5.[43]
The 2021 incoming class has a gender distribution of 55% female, 44.5% male, and 0.5% Gender Identity X (not exclusively male or female).[44] The 2021 incoming class consisted of 159 white students, 21 Black students, 11 Asian students, and 3 American Indian/Alaskan Native students. 14 students were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[45]
109 undergraduate institutions were represented in the 2021 incoming class and students were from 29 different U.S. states and 3 foreign countries.[46]
Rankings[edit]
In the 2024 U.S. News & World Report rankings, Saint Louis University School of Law was ranked 94th in the "Best Law Schools" list.[50] The Law School's Center for Health Law Studies was ranked as the best in the country.[51] The Part-Time Program was ranked 29th.[52]
In the 2012 category "When Lawyers Do the Grading," the School of Law was ranked 67 by recruiters and hiring partners at highly rated firms.[53]
The Law School has three student-edited academic law journals:
Additionally, from 1981 through 2017 the school published the Saint Louis University Public Law Review. This law journal focused on legal issues of public interest and public policy and to provide an uncensored forum to legal scholars, practicing attorneys, legislators, and public interest advocates for debating topics of public interest law.[61]
Other publications[edit]
The SLU Law Brief Alumni Magazine[62] is a publication about the law school that is distributed to alumni and supporters with articles written by faculty, alumni, and students.
Students at one time published the 1843 Reporter, an independent student newspaper administered and funded without assistance from the school.[63] It published bi-monthly and sought to foster a sense of community and on-campus dialogue, as well as provide an outlet for students wishing to publish in a non-journal forum.
Saint Louis University School of Law has over 30 student organizations. The organizations are typically student-driven and hold elections where student members can be chosen for leadership positions within the club. The organizations' funding is distributed in part by the law school's student government, the Student Bar Association (SBA). Organizations include:[64]
Employment[edit]
The Class of 2021 reported a 90.2% employment rate for graduates employed in both full-time bar passage required (71.7% of graduates) and full-time JD advantage (18.5% of graduates) positions. 114 graduates stayed in Missouri while the next two most common employment locations were Illinois (22) and California (3)[67]
Costs[edit]
The total cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at the Law School for the 2023-2024 academic year is $71,054 for Full-Time students and $56,990 for Part-Time students.[68] The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $249,077.[69] More than 92% of students received a merit-based scholarship.[70]
