University of Houston Law Center
The information on this page was provided by the law school.
Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD Programs
The University of Houston Law Center is the leading law school in the nation’s fourth largest city (soon to be third), and our curriculum is among the broadest offered in the Southwest. Excellence and value are the hallmarks of our law school. We encourage prospective students to investigate all of the advantages that make the Law Center what it is: an unparalleled value in legal education and a great place to launch a career in law. The state-assisted UH Law Center is noted throughout the South and Southwest not only for its excellence, but also for its progressive and innovative approach to the teaching of law.
The UH Law Center is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools and has a chapter of the Order of the Coif, the national legal honorary scholastic society. The Law Center confers a Juris Doctor (JD) degree as a first degree in law and a Master of Laws (LLM) degree to students pursuing work beyond the JD degree. The UH Law Center is located on the University of Houston main campus, three miles south of downtown. Students benefit from our location in one of the nation’s top legal markets. Our ties to the local market mean career and internship opportunities for students and allow us to bring top practitioners to campus to teach specialty courses and coach our winning mock trial and moot court teams. The city is also home to the world’s largest health care and medical complex and is recognized as the energy capital of the world with multiple Fortune 500 companies headquartered here.
The JD Program
The J.D. program is a 90 hour curriculum culminating in the Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. Students at UHLC have two options for pursuing their degree: full-time program or part-time evening program. The full-time program is designed for students who plan to devote nearly all of their time to the study of law and typically takes 3 years to complete. The part-time evening program is designed for students who plan to work during law school and typically takes 4 years to complete.
To be eligible for admission to the J.D. program, all applicants must:
- Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university;
- Have a recent score on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT); or GRE score.
- Register with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS).
Curriculum/Basic Program of Study
Full-time students are divided into three sections, and part-time students comprise a fourth. The emphasis is on collaboration rather than competition, and these sections represent a core strength of the Law Center experience. Students take all of the required first-year classes with students in their section. In addition to the core classes required in the first year, students are required to complete a course in professional responsibility, one or more experiential course(s) totaling at least six credit hours, and one major piece of legal research and writing before graduation. Law Center professors take a modern approach to their teaching and incorporate practical skills into classroom plans that reinforce the lessons of legal theory. Our dedicated faculty are committed to student success both in the classroom and through our faculty-student mentor program for first-year students.
Special Programs
The University of Houston Law Center emphasizes current legal and administrative problems confronting the region and nation, including intellectual property law, environmental law, energy law, tax law, health law, and international law. The UH Law Center is home to the Health Law and Policy Institute, a research and instruction center on interdisciplinary issues. The UH Law Center is also host to the Criminal Justice Institute; the Institute for Intellectual Property and Information Law; the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resource Center; the Center for Children, Law, and Policy; the Blakely Advocacy Institute; the Center for US and Mexican Law; and the Program on Law and Computation.
There are a number of dual-degree programs available through the UH Law Center, allowing students to earn two degrees in less time than it would take to complete them sequentially. Students interested in pursuing this option must make separate application to the UH Law Center and to the desired program. Dual-degree programs include:
- JD/LLM (for current, transfer, and visiting students)
- Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law
- Health Law
- Intellectual Property and Information Law
- International Law
- Tax Law
- JD/MBA
- JD/MA
- JD/MSW
- JD/MD with Baylor College of Medicine
- JD/MPP
- JD/MPA
- JD/MPH
- JD/JD International Energy Lawyers Program with the University of Calgary
- BA/JD (3+3 Undergraduate/Law Dual Degree Program)
Clinical Programs
The Law Center’s clinical programs offer hands-on training in which our students have worked on precedent-setting cases in state and federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. The available clinics include the appellate civil rights clinic, civil justice clinic, civil practice clinic, criminal defense clinic, consumer law clinic, military justice clinic, entertainment law clinic, entrepreneurship and community development clinic, immigration clinic, and mediation clinic. We provide our upper-division students with opportunities to participate in externships with nonprofit organizations and government agencies and judicial internships with federal appellate and district courts, as well as state appellate and trial courts. A wealth of opportunities are available in the Houston area, but Law Center students have earned credit for work performed in other areas of the country and throughout the world.
Trial Advocacy
Practice skills courses, coordinated through the Blakely Advocacy Institute, are an integral part of the curriculum. Students can enhance their skills in trial, negotiation, pretrial, and appellate work through hands-on courses that simulate real-life situations. Several levels of courses are offered in civil and criminal advocacy. Intramural mock trial and moot court competitions are sponsored by the Advocates, an affiliated student organization. The institute also sponsors teams for criminal and civil interscholastic moot court and mock trial competitions, with UH Law Center students earning top honors in national and international competitions.
Student Life
Student Organizations
Extracurricular activities give voice to the diversity of the campus. Student groups represent special interests and provide important avenues to help law students succeed. Many arrange mentoring programs and match first-year students with second- or third-year students or working professionals. Others coordinate résumé-writing workshops, guest speaker forums, preregistration discussions of specific course offerings, or law-related charitable efforts that benefit the community.
Journals
After completing the first year of study, UH Law Center students can gain valuable writing experience while working on one of the school’s acclaimed student-run journals. First-year grades and demonstrated proficiency in legal writing are the critical criteria that lead to membership in these journals, and membership is offered during the summer after first year.
The UH Law Center journals include:
- Houston Law Review
- Houston Business and Tax Law Journal
- Journal of Consumer & Commercial Law
- Houston Journal of Health Law and Policy
- Houston Journal of International Law
Housing
All UHLC students are eligible for on-campus housing. Due to the proximity to the Law Center, the most popular on-campus housing option is the University Lofts.
Campus Resources
The resources offered to students reach far beyond the UH Law Center campus. Whether you need exercise for stress relief, help with student accommodations, or childcare, the University of Houston campus has it all.
- Campus Recreation and Wellness Center - located a few blocks from the UH Law Center. This amazing facility offers everything from a three-story rock-climbing wall to a world-class natatorium. A full range of exercise classes is available, along with multiple settings for indoor sports, ranging from soccer to basketball to martial arts (uh.edu/recreation).
- Students with Disabilities - assistance is available through the Justin Dart Jr. Center. The Center provides auxiliary aids, exam assistance, transcription services, and library services for students with special needs. With early notice, the Office of Student Services will work with students to approve and secure accommodations for anyone in need of assistance (uh.edu/csd).
- UH Student Health Center - provides a range of medical services and health counseling and can refer students to acute-care health facilities when needed (uh.edu/healthcenter).
- Health insurance - recommended for all students and is required for all international students with an F or J visa status (uh.edu/healthcenter).
- Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) - has professional counselors who are able to assist students with personal issues ranging from stress related disorders to alcohol or drug dependency (uh.edu/caps).
- Child Care - provided on campus by the UH Children’s Learning Center, which enrolls children of students, faculty, and staff (https://uh.edu/clc/).
Career Placement and Bar Passage
Tuition and Aid
| Expense | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition |
$29,552.61
|
| Fees |
$5,377.25
|
| Expected Cost of Attendance |
$55,787.86
|
Dean’s Scholarships are offered to highly qualified students in each entering first-year class. These scholarships vary in number and amount each year, and are renewable for the three or four years of the JD program. Every applicant accepted for admission to the JD program is automatically considered for available merit scholarships, and no additional application is required.
Additionally, the UH Law Center Financial Aid & Scholarship Office administers a variety of need based financial aid programs. Applicants should begin the financial aid process by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after January 1. The code for the University of Houston is 003652.
Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers
The UH Law Center enrolls full-time students and part-time students beginning in the fall semester, which starts in August. There is no spring or summer admission for first-year students.
Qualifications for JD enrollment are based upon factors relevant to the legal profession and to enrolling a diverse student body with a variety of perspectives, experiences, and viewpoints that will enhance the educational experience of all students. Undergraduate grade-point average and LSAT scores as indicators of academic ability are important criteria for admission. However, it is university policy, consistent with Texas statutes, that no single criterion can be utilized as the sole determiner of admission status, nor can fixed weights be applied to any one criterion during the admission process; therefore, the personal statement, letters of recommendation, résumé, and optional statements are extremely important in the decision-making process. All files receive a full-file review, and consideration is given to many factors. Additional factors include, without limitation, the applicant’s background, race and ethnicity, honors and achievements, service to others, communication skills, talents relevant to the practice of law, hardships overcome, advanced degrees, work experience, leadership, and other relevant factors. These and other elements may be addressed in a personal statement of up to three pages, double-spaced, or in a one-page optional statement.
Admitted Applicant Profile
