UI College of Law Leaps Ahead in U.S. News & World Report Ranking

Wednesday, March 12 2014

MOSCOW, Idaho – The University of Idaho College of Law jumped 16 spots in the newest U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings. The report analyzed more than 200 law programs, and the UI climbed to 118—the seventh highest gain out of all law schools.

“While these rankings should not be the only basis for choosing a law school, this leap represents our exceptional faculty-to-student ratio, significantly improving career prospects for graduates, our college’s excellent value in legal education, and our growing reputation both in the legal academy and in the profession,” said Michael Satz, College of Law interim dean.

This noteworthy jump in the ranks caps a year’s worth of significant achievements for the College of Law. When most law schools saw substantial decreases in applications for this year, Idaho Law experienced an 11.9 percent increase, from 580 completed applications in 2012 to 658 in 2013. Overall, Idaho Law showed increases in enrollment, diversity and total applications.

According to the Law School Admission Council’s summary report, only three other schools nationwide saw increased applications of 10 percent or more in 2013. Nationally, applications were down 17.9 percent and 20 percent in the Mountain West region.

“This recognition comes from a team effort. Whether it’s our faculty publishing and presenting their high-profile and high-impact scholarly research, our career services office working on employment opportunities for graduates, our admissions team bucking the national trend in lower law school enrollment, or our communications team getting the word out about our institution via social media and the web or more traditional print media, we earned this through the hard work and dedication of so many people committed to making the College of Law the best that it can be,” said Satz.

Last fall, preLaw magazine recognized Idaho Law’s Boise program and curriculum as one of the top 25 most innovative in American legal education. The magazine also ranked Idaho Law as providing the 15th best externship program in the country. National Jurist magazine, which reaches 100,000 U.S. law students, recognized Idaho Law’s Boise program as one of the top 15 experiential law programs in the country. The college’s environmental law, intellectual property, alternative dispute resolution, and business and tax law curriculums also received national recognition.

Idaho Law reports that the Class of 2012 had an employment rate of 77 percent in the categories of bar passage required and J.D. Advantage, higher than the national average of 75.2 percent as reported to the ABA, according to Director of Career Development Anne-Marie Fulfer. This was especially good news because the 77 percent figure represented an increase of 3.5 percent for Idaho’s Class of 2011, which was 73.5 percent and fell below the national average of 74.8 percent. The increase in employment rates and relatively stable median LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs likely contributed to the college’s increase.

“During these tough times for the legal academy, when many law schools are seeing applications and enrollments drop, Idaho Law remains strong,” said Satz. “We will continue to face challenges in the next few years though, and we must remain nimble and responsive to the needs of our students, the profession, and in executing our mission as the State of Idaho’s only public law school.”

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Contact: Cindy Hollenbeck, College of Law, (208) 885-7115(208) 885-7115, cynthiah@uidaho.edu