UF Law among top 20 best value law schools in nation

September 23, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- The University of Florida Levin College of Law has been ranked as the 13th “Best Value Law School” in the nation by The National Jurist magazine.

The rankings take into account full-time tuition, cost of living, student debt, employment rates and bar passage rates. According to the article, the Best Value Law Schools ranking is, “designed to find the law schools where graduates have excellent chances of passing the bar and getting a legal job without taking on a ton of debt.”

“U.S. News ranks us in the top 25 percent of the nation’s law schools, but students pay less in tuition, fees and expenses while graduates have less accumulated debt than nearly any of our peers,” said UF Law Interim Dean George Dawson. “This National Jurist ranking should be of particular interest to prospective students, since it also considers the important factors of bar passage and employment rates.”

Dawson also noted that the college’s faculty approved a new strategic plan last week aimed at increasing experiential learning opportunities for students and improving their prospects for good positions in the legal field. Helping graduates to find good jobs has been a priority at the school, and employment statistics are already on the upswing. The nine month employment statistic for 2013 graduates was 82.05 percent, excluding students who enrolled in LL.M. programs.

The National Jurist ranking reflects a long tradition of UF Law being among the best value in legal education. UF Law is the third most affordable out of the top 50 law schools in the U.S. based on American Bar Association data for in-state tuition and fees plus annual expenses.