New York University School of Law
The information on this page was provided by the law school.
Official Guide to ABA-Approved JD Programs
Founded in 1835, New York University School of Law has a long record of academic excellence, national scholarly influence, and innovative achievements. It has consistently been a pacesetter in legal education, pioneering new approaches to practical-skills training and the early recognition that law has an increasingly global dimension to which all students should be exposed in the classroom. Its innovative lawyering and clinical programs; interdisciplinary colloquia; public interest initiatives; and law-and-business transaction courses have all served as models for others. The law school has a proud history of fairness and openness: More than 100 years ago, NYU Law became one of the first law schools to routinely admit women and other groups discriminated against by many other institutions, and it continues to offer opportunities to exceptional students from groups historically underrepresented in the profession. The school’s location in one of the world’s financial and cultural capitals provides students ready access to the very best practitioners and policy makers, including top executives in business and finance, as well as leaders of international, governmental, and public interest organizations. Through its numerous clinics, centers, and institutes, the law school provides unparalleled professional experience for students who graduate to pursue careers in government, business, and, of course, the legal profession.
The JD Program
The curriculum at NYU School of Law is designed to offer students the best possible foundation in legal theory and practice, and to empower them with the skills they need to be successful lawyers—and leaders—in the 21st century. Taught by top-tier faculty, the curriculum is distinguished by its depth and breadth across all traditional areas of legal study, its interdisciplinary strength, and its global perspective. The law school is committed to providing students with a sophisticated understanding of how US law interacts with—and is informed by—the regimes of other nations and the international community, and to educating lawyers who will use their degrees to become leaders of the profession and of society.
Long an innovator in legal education, the law school continually updates its curricular and programmatic offerings to ensure that NYU Law graduates are optimally equipped to compete in the 21st century legal marketplace. Recent additions include foreign study programs in Buenos Aires and Paris; a Washington, DC-based Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic; increased training in business and financial literacy and leadership; and offerings in cybersecurity law, policy, and technology. Social entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence are also growing areas of focus and expertise.
Previous innovations have included the addition of a first-year Legislation and the Regulatory State course and a first-year elective that allows students to choose among Constitutional Law, Corporations, International Law, Tax, or Property. The Lawyering Program, recognized for its excellence by a Carnegie Foundation report on the state of law school education, complements the theoretical and doctrinal courses offered in the first year and sets the foundation for 40+ fieldwork clinics that students can choose from in their 2L and 3L years, including the recently added International Transactions Clinic.
Students take classes taught by faculty who are leaders in their fields, ranging from international, environmental, constitutional, and criminal law to civil procedure, torts, intellectual property, and administrative law and policy, among others. NYU Law’s distinguished interdisciplinary curriculum includes its preeminent law and philosophy program and a robust law and business program. The latter offers unique transactional courses that teach students how lawyers can add value to the strategic development, design, negotiation, and implementation of deals in law, finance, real estate, entertainment, tax, and business. Aside from these programs, students enjoy intellectual and pedagogical diversity, mixing traditional classes with a choice of courses in cutting-edge fields such as the law of democracy and compliance and risk management, as well as colloquia, clinics, independent research, journal work, study abroad, fellowships, and more.
Student Journals and Activities
There are 10 student-edited publications, and additional writing opportunities are available through the Moot Court Board. There are more than 80 student organizations, including Law Students for Human Rights, the award-winning Suspension Representation Project, and the school’s student government group, the Student Bar Association.
Institutes and Centers
A rich intellectual life outside the classroom is sustained by more than 30 institutes and centers, including the Brennan Center for Justice, the Hauser Global Law School Program, the Robert L. Bernstein Institute for Human Rights, the Frank J. Guarini Center on Environmental and Land Use Law, the Institute for Policy and Integrity, and the Pollack Center for Law and Business. These enterprises bring together leading faculty and professional teams of lawyers, economists, and policy experts to produce research and commentary that influence the real world of law, policy, and business. They also provide students with unique opportunities to travel to places where legal services are needed and to work on sophisticated projects in the areas of national security, real estate, criminal justice, human rights, and international law, among others. Among our newest centers are the Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, which serves as a hub for faculty and students who wish to pursue research on these issues, and our Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law, which supports the study of the relationship between race, ethnicity, and economic inequality on one hand, and the successes and failures of legal structures on the other. Also recently added are the Institute for Corporate Governance and Finance, dedicated to studying and encouraging the development of institutional investors as a responsible force in corporate governance, and the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship, which is committed to improving legal systems for entrepreneurs seeking to advance social justice.
Career Placement and Bar Passage
Tuition and Aid
NYU School of Law has multiple avenues through which it helps eligible students meet their legal education costs. The school offers a substantial number of students awards based on their intellectual potential, evidence that they will enrich the educational environment, and financial need. In addition, the school offers a number of programmatic scholarships. The Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program selects entering students for their intellectual potential and demonstrated commitment to public service through law. AnBryce Scholarships are awarded to outstanding students who are among the first in their immediate families to pursue a graduate degree. Furman Academic Scholarships are given to students who show promise in becoming legal academics. Scholarships are also available in the areas of business law, international law, Latino human rights, public policy, cybersecurity, patent law, and law and technology. Additionally, under the school’s generous Loan Repayment Assistance Program, a JD graduate working in an eligible public interest position for 10 years—and earning up to $100,000 a year—may qualify to have all of his or her eligible federal law school loans forgiven.
Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers
The admission process is highly selective, seeking individuals of exceptional ability with diverse experiences, backgrounds, and points of view. The Committee on Admissions reviews each undergraduate transcript closely, with attention to factors such as trends in the applicant’s grades, class rank, the ratio of pass/fail to graded courses, the diversity and depth of coursework, and the length of time since graduation.
Other aspects of the application also influence the decision. For example, the committee evaluates work experience and extracurricular and community activities for evidence of advancement, leadership, and the capacity for assuming responsibility. Factors other than undergraduate grades and standardized test scores may be particularly significant for applicants who have experienced educational or socioeconomic disadvantages.