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University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
The Hugh and Hazel Darling Law Library, UCLA School of Law
HistoryFounded in 1949, UCLA School of Law is one of four existing law schools within the University of California system. The others are Boalt Hall at UC Berkeley, King Hall at UC Davis, and Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. A fifth UC law school was launched in 2007 at UC Irvine, but the new Donald Bren School of Law will not start classes until fall 2009. The UCLA Law Review, the law school's flagship scholarly journal, was first published in 1953. Additionally, the first scholarly journal in the nation focused on issues affecting Latinos, the Chicana/o Latina/o Law Review, was first published in 1971 as the Chicano Law Review. Degrees and areas of specializationThe school offers the standard Juris Doctor degree as well as several programs of specialization within the degree (which are indicated by notations on a student's diploma). Students can specialize in Business Law and Policy, Entertainment Law, Public Interest Law, Critical Race Studies, and Law and Philosophy. The size of an entering class can range as high as 340 but classes are always divided into sections to encourage development of a sense of community among incoming students.[3] At least one first-year substantive course is always taught in a small section format of only thirty students.[4] The Socratic method is in use by some professors, but most faculty allow for a slightly more relaxed classroom atmosphere than at other top-tier law schools.[5] The school also has traditionally offered a strong clinical program, which is housed in its own wing (built at a cost of $9 million).[6] Each year, the clinical program puts students through realistic simulations of trials, depositions, and client meetings; these are staffed with a pool of nearly 500 volunteers drawn from all over the Southland who play parties, witnesses, judges, and jurors.[7] Several joint degree programs are available. These require four years of study, resulting in the simultaneous award of a Juris Doctor and a Master?s Degree in Afro-American Studies, American Indian Studies, Management, Public Health, Public Policy, Social Welfare, or Urban Planning. The school also offers a Master of Laws (LL.M.) law program, which involves one year of post-law-graduate studies. This program is popular among foreign students, who then take the California bar exam. Finally, it offers a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) Degree, designed for students who already have a J.D. and hope to become law professors. Faculty and studentsUCLA School of Law has over 100 faculty members with expertise in all major disciplines of law; it "is one of the most diverse in the country."[8] Since 2002, faculty members have published 48 new books, 45 chapters, and over 150 journal articles. The 2004-2005 first-year student admission rate was 13.5% — among the most selective in the country. 99.6% of 2004 UCLA School of Law graduates seeking employment secured professional employment within nine months of graduation. The median starting salary for 2004 graduates was $110,000. Among 2004 graduates employed in the private sector, the median salary was $125,000. In 2007 it was $135,000. Location
The School of Law's south entrance facing Charles E. Young Drive East The school proper is housed in a five-story brick building known simply as the Law Building. The oldest parts of the Law Building's interior are notorious for a "high school atmosphere" and "dark, drafty classrooms,"[10] but it has been extensively improved by the addition of the clinical wing in 1990 and the new law library in 2001. A few offices, like the Office of Career Services, are housed in an adjacent building, Dodd Hall. The campus sits on the sloping foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, between the communities of Brentwood to the west and Holmby Hills to the east. The entrance to the Playboy Mansion is a short ways up Sunset Boulevard, in Holmby Hills. Just beyond Holmby Hills is Beverly Hills. RankingsUS News ranks UCLA 16th among top law schools in the US, and as the third most diverse of the four law schools in the UC system.[11][12] It has the largest student body in the system after Hastings, and the second smallest student/faculty ratio after Berkeley.[13] While it is the second most expensive law school in the UC system, it is only slightly less expensive than Berkeley.[14] While it grants the most in financial aid, students still tend to graduate with more debt on average than at the other UC schools.[15][16] According to Brian Leiter's Law School rankings, UCLA ranks 10th in the nation in terms of scholarly impact as measured by academic citations of tenure-stream faculty.[17] In terms of overall student numerical quality, UCLA ranks 15th in the nation.[18] Journals and Student Organizations
Notable alumni
Notable faculty members
ReferencesExternal links
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