The School of Law at Fordham University

Law School Admissions

Application

Director of admissions Kathryn Espiritu
Application deadline March 15
Full-time program application fee $70
Part-time program application fee $70
Besides the fall semester, can enter in N/A

The School of Law at Fordham University

Admissions & Enrollment (Overall)

Acceptance rate 26.5% – Low
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.53
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 165

Admissions & Enrollment (Full-time)

Acceptance rate 28.5%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 163-167
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.35-3.71
Median undergraduate GPA for full-time program entrants 3.53
Median LSAT score for full-time program entrants 165

Admissions & Enrollment (Part-time)

Acceptance rate 14.8%
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 160-165
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.39-3.71
Median undergraduate GPA for part-time program entrants 3.52
Median LSAT score for part-time program entrants 163

Law School Academics

Academic Program Details

Academic calendar Semester
Joint degrees offered
J.D./M.B.A.
J.D./M.S.W.
J.D./M.A.
J.D./LL.M
Special programs offered to J.D. students (as provided by the school)
Ctr. on Law & Info. Policy; Ctr. on Natl Sec.; Debtor Educ.; Competition Law Inst.; Corp. Law Ctr.; Family & Child Advocacy; Fashion Law Inst.; Feerick Ctr. for Soc. Justice; Forum on Law, Culture, & Society; Inst. on Religion, Law & Lawyers Work; Intellectual Prop. Inst.; Leitner Ctr. for Intl Law & Justice; Louis Stein Center for Law & Ethics; Ireland, Korea, Ghana summer programs.
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 242
Seminars 150
Positions available in seminars 2,984
Positions available in simulation courses 959
Positions available in faculty-supervised clinical courses 770
Student activities (as provided by the school)
Fordham L.Rev., Fordham Urb. L.J., Fordham Intl L.J., Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J., Fordham Envtl. L.Rev., Fordham J. Corp. & Fin. L., Moot Court, Brendan Moore Trial Advocacy Center, Dispute Resolution Society, Student Bar Association, 25+ Public Interest Resource Center groups, and 30+ student organizations.

Curricular Offerings (Full-time)

Typical first-year full-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 80
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 1,464
Positions filled in full-time program simulation courses 439
Positions filled in faculty-supervised full-time program clinical courses 506
Full-time students involved in field placements 100
Full-time students involved in law journals 454
Full-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 224
Full-time students enrolled in independent study 227

Curricular Offerings (Part-time)

Typical first-year part-time section size taught by full-time faculty (excludes small sections) 80
Is there typically a part-time “small section” of the first-year class taught by full-time faculty (excluding Legal Writing)? Yes
Positions filled in part-time program seminars 522
Positions filled in part-time program simulation courses 408
Positions filled in faculty-supervised part-time program clinical courses 62
Part-time students involved in field placements 71
Part-time students involved in law journals 43
Part-time students involved in advanced moot court or trial competitions 13
Part-time students enrolled in independent study 20

Faculty Profile (Fall 2011)

Student-faculty ratio 13.6:1 – Medium
Full- and part-time faculty 247
Full-time minority faculty 18.8%
Part-time minority faculty 12.3%
Total faculty 267
Total faculty (men) 60.3%
Total faculty (women) 39.7%
Total faculty (minorities) 14.6%

Class Size

Law School Ranking

#29 Best Law Schools

(5) Ranking by Specialties

#15 in Clinical Training
#11 in Dispute Resolution
#12 in Intellectual Property Law
#32 in Law Firms Rank Schools
#5 in Part-time Law

Law Ranking Scores

Score 66
Peer assessment score (out of 5) 3.2
Assessment score by lawyers/judges (out of 5) 3.7
GPA (25th-75th percentile) 3.36-3.71
Median undergraduate GPA for all program entrants 3.53
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile) 163-167
Median LSAT score for all program entrants 165
Acceptance rate 26.5% – Low
Student-faculty ratio 13.6:1 – Medium
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 77.8% – High
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 93.7% – High
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 88.1% – Medium
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar NY
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 76.4%

Law School Student Body

Student Body (Overall)

Total Enrolled 1496

Student Body (Full-time)

Enrollment (full-time) 1,244

Student Body (Part-time)

Enrollment (part-time) 252

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

First-year students discontinuing law school 1.0%
Second-year students discontinuing law school 2.9%
Third-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Fourth-year students discontinuing law school N/A
Male students discontinuing law school 1.6%
Female students discontinuing law school 1.0%

Law School Cost

Financial Aid Contact Information

Financial aid director Stephen Brown
Financial aid phone (212) 636-6815
Financial aid application deadline April 15

Expenses

Tuition and fees
Full-time: $47,986 per year
Part-time: $36,056 per year
Room and board $18,408
Books $1,712
Miscellaneous expenses $5,467
Is the tuition the same for first-, second-, and third-year students? Yes
Does the university offer housing restricted to law students? Yes
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 34.7%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 2.7%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 0.5%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.0%
Median grant amount $10,000
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $5,000–$17,200
Full-time students receiving grants 37.9%

Grants (Part-time students)

Students receiving grants of less than one-half tuition 19.0%
Students receiving grants of one-half tuition or more but less than full 1.6%
Students receiving grants of full tuition 0.0%
Students receiving grants of more than full tuition 0.0%
Median grant amount $7,500
Grant range (25th–75th percentile) $5,000–$13,000
Part-time students receiving grants 20.6%

Indebtedness

Average indebtedness of 2011 graduates who incurred law school debt $131,648
Proportion who borrowed 76.4%
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) 120,653
Microform titles 148,988
Electronic titles 73,713
Other non-book titles 310
Total titles 343,664
Volumes (excluding microforms) 380,116
Volume equivalent microforms 254,317
Total volumes and volume equivalents 634,433
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 119
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty on a regular schedule 90
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on a regular schedule 17
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on a regular schedule 21
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on a regular schedule 67
Number of weeks per year library operates on an abbreviated schedule 8
Number of hours per week library is open on an abbreviated schedule 105
Number of hours per week professional staff are on duty are on an abbreviated schedule 77
Number of hours per week only full-time support staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 13
Number of hours per week only students or other part-time staff are on duty on an abbreviated schedule 29
Number of hours of reference service provided per week on an abbreviated schedule 45
Number of weeks per year library operates on expanded schedule 8

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) 19
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in the law library (excluding computer labs) 282
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in classrooms 287
Number of open, wired network connections available to students in computer labs 0
Number of open, wired network connections available to students elsewhere in the law school 32
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 38,770
Total seats available for library users 454
Details about the library and other facilities (as provided by the school) With a staff including ten lawyer-librarians, the law library’s extensive collections and sophisticated technology provide outstanding resources for all law-related research needs. Extensive treatise and periodical collections offer persuasive perspectives on contemporary and historical legal issues. The law library offers the most generous staffed hours of any academic law library in NYC.

Law School Careers

Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2010 administrations)

State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar NY
Bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 88.1% – Medium
Statewide bar passage rate (first-time test takers) 76.4%

Class of 2010 Graduates

Total graduates 491
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 77.8%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 93.7%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Graduation

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 0.8%
Graduates whose employment status is known 99.2%
Graduates known to be employed at graduation 77.8%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 0.6%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 17.5%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 3.3%

Class of 2010 Graduates-Class Breakdown at Nine Months

Graduates whose employment status is unknown 0.8%
Graduates whose employment status is known 99.2%
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation 93.7%
Graduates known to be enrolled in a full-time degree program 0.6%
Graduates known to be unemployed and seeking work 2.6%
Graduates known to be unemployed and not seeking work 2.2%

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

25th percentile private sector starting salary $110,000
Median private sector starting salary $160,000
75th percentile private sector starting salary $160,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information 82%
Median public service starting salary $53,000

Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2010)

Percent employed in academia 1.7%
Percent employed in business and industry 11.3%
Percent employed in government 10.7%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships 12.6%
Percent employed in law firms 50.2%
Percent employed in public interest 13.5%
Percent employed in an unknown field 0.0%

Employment Location (Class of 2010)

Graduates employed in-state 76%
Graduates employed out-of-state 20.2%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 2%
Number of states where graduates are employed 23
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 1.7%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 85.7%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 0.9%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 0.2%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 4.1%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 0.2%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 0.4%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 2.2%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 0.9%
Employment location unknown 1.5%

Career Services

(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)

Career services operations The CPC orchestrates an extensive recruitment program welcoming employers from both the private and public sectors to interview students for internships and post-graduate positions. The Career Development Curriculum features more than 60 programs in one of three areas: skills-based, career exploration and career success.

Job Type

Bar admission required/anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks) 75.0%
Bar admission required/anticipated – percent employed in full-time positions 97.7%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent) 20.7%
J.D. preferred – percent employed in full-time positions 31.6%
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) 4.1%
Professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 84.2%
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) 0.2%
Non-professional other – percent employed in full-time positions 100.0%