The College of Law at University of Iowa

Law School Admissions

Application

Director of admissions Collins Byrd
Application deadline March 1
Full-time program application fee $60
Part-time program application fee $0
Besides the fall semester, can enter in N/A

The College of Law at University of Iowa

Admissions & Enrollment (Overall)

Acceptance rate 38.9% – Medium
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.64
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 161

Admissions & Enrollment (Full-time)

Acceptance rate 38.9%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 158-164
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.51-3.81
Median undergraduate GPA for full-time program entrants 3.64
Median LSAT score for full-time program entrants 161

Admissions & Enrollment (Part-time)

Acceptance rate N/A
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) N/A
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) N/A
Median undergraduate GPA for part-time program entrants N/A
Median LSAT score for part-time program entrants N/A

Law School Academics

Academic Program Details

Academic calendar Semester
Joint degrees offered
Accounting, Master of Accountancy History, MA
Biology, MS Journalism, MA
Business Administration, MA Library & Information Science, MA
Chemistry, MS & PhD Mass Communications, PhD
Civil & Environmental Engineering, MS Masters of Business Administration, MBA
College of Medicine, MD Masters of Public Health, MPH
Computer Science, MS Philosophy, MA
Economics, MA Political Science, MA
Educational Administration, PhD Psych & Quantitative Foundations, PhD
Electrical & Computer Engineering, MS Religious Studies, PhD
English, MA Social Work, MSW
Geography, MA Sociology, MA
Health Management & Policy, MHA Spanish, MA
Higher Education, MA Urban & Regional Planning, MS
Higher Education, PhD
Special programs offered to J.D. students (as provided by the school)
Innovation Business & Law Program; International & Comparative Law Program; Writing Resource Center; Academic Achievement Program; Clinical Law Program; Citizen Lawyer Program; Legal Externships; International & Comparative Law summer program in Arcachon, France; London Law Consortium; and exchange programs in Bucerius, Germany, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and Lisbon, Portugal.
Programs/courses offered in
appellate advocacy intellectual property law
clinical training international law
dispute resolution tax law
environmental law trial advocacy
health care law

Curricular Offerings (Overall)

Classroom course titles, beyond the first-year curriculum, offered last year 65
Seminars 27
Positions available in seminars 331
Positions available in simulation courses 273
Positions available in faculty-supervised clinical courses 81
Student activities (as provided by the school)
The UI College of Law has 4 student-run journals, which along with Trial Advocacy and Moot Court provide opportunities for professional skills training. Its student organizations work to enhance the professional and cultural opportunities available to students while organizing volunteer service projects. For a complete listing, please see http://www.law.uiowa.edu/journals-orgs/

Curricular Offerings (Full-time)

Typical first-year full-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 70
Is there typically a full-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? Yes
Typical size of first-year “small section” 40
Positions filled in full-time program seminars 302
Positions filled in full-time program simulation courses 256
Positions filled in faculty-supervised full-time program clinical courses 81
Full-time students involved in field placements 91
Full-time students involved in law journals 200
Full-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 43
Full-time students enrolled in independent study 101

Curricular Offerings (Part-time)

Typical first-year part-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 0
Is there typically a part-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? N/A
Positions filled in part-time program seminars 0
Positions filled in part-time program simulation courses 0
Positions filled in faculty-supervised part-time program clinical courses 0
Part-time students involved in field placements 0
Part-time students involved in law journals 0
Part-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 0
Part-time students enrolled in independent study 0

Faculty Profile (Fall 2011)

Student-faculty ratio 11.9:1 – Low
Full- and part-time faculty 49
Full-time minority faculty 10.3%
Part-time minority faculty 0.0%
Total faculty 63
Total faculty (men) 61.9%
Total faculty (women) 38.1%
Total faculty (minorities) 9.5%

Class Size

Law School Ranking

#29 Best Law Schools

(1) Ranking by Specialties

#25 in Law Firms Rank Schools

Law Ranking Scores

Score 66
Peer assessment score (out of 5) 3.4
Assessment score by lawyers/judges (out of 5) 3.8
GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.51-3.81
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.64
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 158-164
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 161
Acceptance rate 38.9% – Medium
Student-faculty ratio 11.9:1 – Low
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 70.3% – Medium
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 90.6% – Medium
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 92.9% – High
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar IA
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 90.6%

Law School Student Body

Student Body (Overall)

Total Enrolled 550

Student Body (Full-time)

Enrollment (full-time) 550

Student Body (Part-time)

Enrollment (part-time) N/A
Gender distribution (part-time) N/A

Attrition Rates for Full- and Part-time Students (2010-2011)

First-year students discontinuing law school 4.0%
Second-year students discontinuing law school 2.2%
Third-year students discontinuing law school 1.1%
Fourth-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Male students discontinuing law school 3.5%
Female students discontinuing law school 1.2%

Law School Cost

Financial Aid Contact Information

Financial aid director Susan E. Palmer
Financial aid phone (319) 335-9142
Financial aid application deadline N/A

Expenses

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $26,348 per year (in-state)
Full-time: $46,056 per year (out-of-state)
Room and board $9,810
Books $2,300
Miscellaneous expenses $4,523
Is the tuition the same for first-, second-, and third-year students? Yes
Does the university offer housing restricted to law students? No
Does the university offer graduate student housing for which law students are eligible? Yes
Does the university offer a public-interest scholarship program to current J.D. students? Yes

Grants (Full-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 23.6%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 2.4%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 20.4%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 5.3%
Median grant amount $22,554
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $2,475–$22,554
Full-time students receiving grants 51.6%

Grants (Part-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition N/A
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full N/A
Students receiving grants of full tuition N/A
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition N/A
Median grant amount $0
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $0–$0
Part-time students receiving grants N/A

Indebtedness

Average indebtedness of 2011 graduates who incurred law school debt $94,595
Proportion who borrowed 82.5%
Does the school offer a loan repayment assistance program for 2011 J.D. graduates? Yes

Law School Library

Library Information Resources

Print titles (excluding nonbook titles) 350,496
Microform titles 140,886
Electronic titles 473,683
Other non-book titles 5,222
Total titles 970,546
Volumes (excluding microforms) 857,946
Volume equivalent microforms 454,237
Total volumes and volume equivalents 1,312,183
Number of volumes in the collection that are stored off site and are systematically retrievable 0
Library’s online catalog or website includes links to electronic titles or databases made available by another campus library or consortia Yes

Library Schedule of Operation

Number of hours per week library is open on a regular schedule 106
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty on a regular schedule 91
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on a regular schedule 15
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on a regular schedule 0
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on a regular schedule 87
Number of weeks per year library operates on an abbreviated schedule 11
Number of hours per week library is open on an abbreviated schedule 67
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty are on an abbreviated schedule 67
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 0
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on an abbreviated schedule 67
Number of weeks per year library operates on expanded schedule 3

Information Technology

Department(s) responsible for the law school information technology operations law school information technology department, law school library, university information technology department
Approximate number of full-time-equivalent information technology staff (excluding hourly students and other temporary staff) 7
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in the law library (excluding computer labs) 424
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in classrooms 30
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in computer labs 21
Number of open, wired network connections available to students elsewhere in the law school 42
Does the law school have a wireless network? Yes
Wireless network is available in the law library, in classrooms, in computer labs, in administrative/faculty offices and work areas, elsewhere in the law school
Does the school require entering students to own a computer? No

Physical Library Facilities

Net square feet of space assigned for library purposes 76,591
Total seats available for library users 705
Details about the library and other facilities (as provided by the school) Boyd Law Building is centrally located with a recently remodeled in-house legal clinic. The UI Law School Library has the 2nd largest collection of volumes and microform volume equivalents and the 2nd largest number of unique individually cataloged titles in all formats including electronic.

Law School Careers

Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2010 administrations)

State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar IA
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 92.9% – High
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 90.6%

Class of 2010 Graduates

Total graduates 212
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 70.3%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 90.6%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Graduation

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 0.5%
Graduates whose employment status is known 99.5%
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 70.3%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 6.6%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 22.6%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 0.0%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Nine Months

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 0.0%
Graduates whose employment status is known 100.0%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 90.6%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 5.7%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 2.4%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 1.4%

Starting Salaries of Graduates Employed Full-time (Class of 2010)

25th percentile private sector starting salary $52,000
Median private sector starting salary $67,500
75th percentile private sector starting salary $110,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information 74%
Median public service starting salary $55,000

Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2010)

Percent employed in academia 0.5%
Percent employed in business and industry 20.8%
Percent employed in government 13.5%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships 7.3%
Percent employed in law firms 53.6%
Percent employed in public interest 3.1%
Percent employed in an unknown field 1.0%

Employment Location (Class of 2010)

Graduates employed in-state 32%
Graduates employed out-of-state 65.0%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 3%
Number of states where graduates are employed 30
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 1.1%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 3.2%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 18.3%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 48.9%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 9.7%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 0.5%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 2.7%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 7.5%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 5.4%
Employment location unknown 0.0%

Career Services

(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)

Career services operations UI College of Law’s Career Services Office provides career and job search assistance to law students and alumni. Programs include: Partner for a Day (L1 job shadow), Early Bird Interviews, OCI, and programs. The Career Services Office works with students and alumni to launch careers and keep on the path to meaningful and successful careers.

Job Type

Bar admission required/anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) 71.7%
Bar admission required/anticipated – percent employed in full-time positions 95.4%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) 7.1%
J.D. preferred – percent employed in full-time positions 80.0%
Professional other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse) 5.2%
Professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 81.8%
Non-professional other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path) 6.1%
Non-professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 46.2%